Project on -Right to Information
Right to Information In Bangladesh
Introduction: The Right to Information is the key to all other rights. It is among the most important instruments to effectively empower those to whom power should belong in democracy - the people. The United Nations has called it the touchstone of all the freedoms to which UN is consecrated.3 The history of the recognition of the right to information is much older though. The first country to have the RTI law was Finland and Sweden in 1766 when the former was a territory governed by Sweden. The joint Parliament of the then Finland and Sweden adopted the first RTI law of the world titled Access to Public Records Act, 1766. Nearly seventy countries have since enacted RTI law or act, of which over 40 have done so during the decade of nineties and thereafter. The newly elected Government of Bangladesh adopted the Right to Information Act in the first session of the 9th Parliament on March 29, 2009, marking a significant step forward in fulfilling the constitutional pledge of the state of Bangladesh.
This upsurge of the RTI law worldwide comes as an indicator of the growing recognition of the importance of the citizens’ access to information as a catalyst for strengthening democracy, promoting human rights and good governance, and fighting corruption. Enactment of RTI laws has in many cases taken persistent efforts of campaign. and advocacy by a multiplicity of stakeholders in the public, private, and non-governmental sectors, particularly the latter who like in Bangladesh, played the catalytic role. The experience of RTI movement shows that while enactment of the law appears as a dream-come-true for the campaigners, its implementation, like any other law enforcement, is much more challenging.
Thanks to the adoption of the RTI Act, Bangladesh has also placed before itself the challenge of implementing the Act and delivering the people the right to information. This paper seeks answer to the questions on why is it important
Introduction: The Right to Information is the key to all other rights. It is among the most important instruments to effectively empower those to whom power should belong in democracy - the people. The United Nations has called it the touchstone of all the freedoms to which UN is consecrated.3 The history of the recognition of the right to information is much older though. The first country to have the RTI law was Finland and Sweden in 1766 when the former was a territory governed by Sweden. The joint Parliament of the then Finland and Sweden adopted the first RTI law of the world titled Access to Public Records Act, 1766. Nearly seventy countries have since enacted RTI law or act, of which over 40 have done so during the decade of nineties and thereafter. The newly elected Government of Bangladesh adopted the Right to Information Act in the first session of the 9th Parliament on March 29, 2009, marking a significant step forward in fulfilling the constitutional pledge of the state of Bangladesh.
This upsurge of the RTI law worldwide comes as an indicator of the growing recognition of the importance of the citizens’ access to information as a catalyst for strengthening democracy, promoting human rights and good governance, and fighting corruption. Enactment of RTI laws has in many cases taken persistent efforts of campaign. and advocacy by a multiplicity of stakeholders in the public, private, and non-governmental sectors, particularly the latter who like in Bangladesh, played the catalytic role. The experience of RTI movement shows that while enactment of the law appears as a dream-come-true for the campaigners, its implementation, like any other law enforcement, is much more challenging.
Thanks to the adoption of the RTI Act, Bangladesh has also placed before itself the challenge of implementing the Act and delivering the people the right to information. This paper seeks answer to the questions on why is it important
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