Madrid, 21 December 2016 – Over 50 of the world’s leading civil society organisations, along with key experts, have called on UNESCO to share a draft access to information policy, which it is currently being discussed inside the organisation.
In a letter to UNESCO Secretary General Irina Bokova, the civil society access to information groups stress “the cardinal importance of engaging in genuine consultations with external stakeholders as part of the process of developing a policy in this area,” to ensure that the final policy reflects the concerns of those it is designed to benefit.
Helen Darbishire, Executive Director of Access Info Europe, commented that UNESCO was on the verge of making a classic decision making process mistake by carrying out internal consultations and aiming to finalise the policy before sharing.
“To ensure that UNESCO’s new access to information policy will work in practice, consulting with experts and future users is absolutely essential,” said Darbishire.
“For consultations to be genuine, they must take place early enough in the policy cycle to be meaningful,» added Darbishire, noting that UNESCO now has the opportunity to take a lead and establish good practice through an open and participative process.
The full letter and list of signatures is available here: 
For more information, please contact:
Andreas Pavlou | Access Info Europe
Send an e-mail or call +34 913 656 558