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Category Archives: News

Inter-American Development Bank: Note on Revised Draft Access to Information Policy

4 March 2024.  The Centre for Law and Democracy (CLD) has submitted a Note on the Inter-American Development Bank’s (IDB) Revised Proposal for its Access to Information Policy. The Revised Proposal will, when adopted, replace the current 2010 Access to Information Policy. An initial draft proposal was released by the IDB in 2022 and CLD … Continue reading

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Panama: Note on the Transparency and Access to Public Information Bill

15 January 2024. A new right to information (RTI) Bill was presented to Panama’s National Assembly in August 2023 but was then withdrawn the following month due to civil society pressure. At the request of local civil society groups, the Centre for Law and Democracy (CLD) prepared an analysis of the Bill, with the aim … Continue reading

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Are You a Law Student Interested in International Human Rights? Summer Internship Applications Now Open

8 January 2024. The Centre for Law and Democracy (CLD), an international human rights organisation based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, will host up to four interns for the summer of 2024. The position will involve a range of substantive legal work in areas such as freedom of expression, media law, digital rights and access to … Continue reading

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Zambia: Analysis of New Access to Information Act

20 December 2023.  On 15 December 2023, Zambia finally signed its Access to Information Act into law, following years of public debate about the importance of such legislation. The Centre for Law and Democracy (CLD) is today pleased to launch publicly its Analysis of the Access to Information Act, 2023. We also did an RTI … Continue reading

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Nova Scotia: Submission on the Right to Information Act

29 November 2023. The Centre for Law and Democracy (CLD) is today launching publicly its Submission to the Review of Nova Scotia’s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Legislation (FOIPOP Act). The Submission, which was provided in response to a call for inputs from the government of Nova Scotia, Canada, assesses the FOIPOP Act, … Continue reading

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Myanmar: More Regressive Amendments to Broadcasting Act Adopted

20 November 2023. The military junta which is ruling Myanmar adopted another set of regressive amendments to the erstwhile progressive Broadcasting Act last week, following their first set of amendments in November 2021. The current amendments give the military junta full control over the National Broadcasting Council, which was in the original version of the … Continue reading

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Central American Bank for Economic Integration: Observations on the Draft Access to Information Policy

16 November 2023. The Centre for Law and Democracy (CLD) has submitted Observations on the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI’s) draft Access to Information Policy. This draft would replace the current Access to Information Policy, which dates from 2020. The Observations welcome a number of positive proposed changes to the Policy but also … Continue reading

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Maldives: Note on the Right to Information Act

23 October 2023. The Centre for Law and Democracy (CLD) is today launching its Note on the Right to Information (RTI) Act of the Maldives. Originally prepared to support a planned official review of the RTI Act, which may now be on hold, CLD is disseminating the Note in the hope of stimulating further discussion … Continue reading

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Happy International Right to Know Day!

28 September 2023. The Centre for Law and Democracy (CLD) would like to wish everyone a happy International Right to Know Day (IRTKD), 2023. First established in 2002 by a group of leading right to information civil society organisations meeting in Sofia, Bulgaria, IRTKD has grown in stature and recognition, being formally recognised by UNESCO … Continue reading

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Ukraine: Manual for Journalists on Documenting International Crimes

Add New [Текст українською йде далі] 11 September 2023. The Centre for Law and Democracy (CLD) has developed a detailed Manual for Journalists on Collecting and Preserving Information About International Crimes, along with a short pamphlet, Preserving Information for International Criminal Convictions: A Pocket Guide for Journalists. The week before last, we issued a statement … Continue reading

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Ukraine: Training for Journalists on Documenting International Crimes

30 August 2023. [Текст українською йде далі] The Centre for Law and Democracy (CLD) and the Regional Press Development Institute (RPDI) provided a training programme for Ukrainian experts and journalists last week based on our Manual for Journalists on Collecting and Preserving Information About International Crimes. The core idea behind the programme is that journalists … Continue reading

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Myanmar: NGO Law Imposes Severe Restrictions on Civil Society

21 August 2023. The Centre for Law and Democracy (CLD) released today its Analysis of the Organisation Registration Law, or NGO Law, which was adopted in late 2022 by Myanmar’s military junta, which has claimed lawmaking authority since the February 2021 coup. The NGO Law imposes substantial restrictions on both domestic and international NGOs. It … Continue reading

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Myanmar: Baseline Study on Access to Information Post-Coup

[Burmese text follows] 14 August 2023. The Centre for Law and Democracy (CLD) and the Hope Organization are today launching a baseline Study on Access to Information in Myanmar: Changes in How Health CSOs Access Information. The Study, which relied on a survey of 60 CSOs operating in Myanmar, assessed the state of access to … Continue reading

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Myanmar: Note on Printing and Publishing Enterprises Law Amendments

24 July 2023. On 6 March 2023, the military council ruling Myanmar issued amendments to the Printing and Publishing Enterprises Law (PPEL). These amendments weakened the already inadequate safeguards contained in the PPEL to protect the printing, publishing and news industries from abuses of power. The Centre for Law and Democracy (CLD) has published a … Continue reading

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Report on Developing a System for Professional Media Regulation

28 June 2023. The Centre for Law and Democracy (CLD) has prepared a Note on Professional Regulation of the Media as part of its wider work focusing on Myanmar. The aim is to support local actors to work together with the aim of putting in place a self-regulatory system to help improve professionalism among independent … Continue reading

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Invitation: Open Course on Freedom of Expression in Myanmar

8 June 2023. CLD invites you to join our online course, Freedom of Expression: International Law and the Practice in Myanmar. This nine-week online course, to be conducted in English, involves weekly one and one-half hour interactive lectures, discussions, background readings and an opportunity to interact with others who share your interest. The first six … Continue reading

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Mexico: Global Community Calls on Senators to Appoint Information Commissioners

17 May 2023. The lead oversight body for access to information in Mexico, the National Institute for Transparency, Access to Information and Personal Data Protection (INAI), is currently unable to function because the Mexican President and Senate have refused to appoint new commissioners, so that the body currently lacks the quorum required to operate. Over … Continue reading

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2023 Joint Declaration on Media Freedom and Democracy

2 May 2023. Today, the specialised mandates tasked with promoting and protecting freedom of expression at the UN, OAS, OSCE and African Commission launched their annual Joint Declaration, this year on Media Freedom and Democracy. The Joint Declaration, which was drafted with the assistance of the Centre for Law and Democracy (CLD), describes the important … Continue reading

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CLD Joins Letter on Internet Shutdowns in India

7 April 2023.  CLD has joined a letter calling on India to review and reform the legal and regulatory framework governing internet shutdowns in India. It notes that “(u)nfettered access for all to an open, secure, and reliable internet is vital to the protection of fundamental rights in India, and to ensure that the livelihoods … Continue reading

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Canada: Submission to the UPR on the Right to Information

5 April 2023. The Centre for Law and Democracy (CLD), in collaboration with the Centre for Free Expression (CFE), the Canadian Institute for Information and Privacy Studies (CIIPS) and Democracy Watch, has made a Submission to Session 44 of the Universal Periodic Review on the Right to Information in Canada, a process which is overseen … Continue reading

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