freedom1 Forum has marked the 10th International Right to Know Day, organizing a morning rally in the capital city Kathmandu today (September 28).
The morning rally bringing together around 300 participants including RTI activists, National Information Commission Chief Commissioner, journalists, legal practitioners, human rights defenders/activists, civil society representatives, journalism students and media educators began from Babarmahal and converged into a corner meet in New Baneswor.
The morning rally was inaugurated by Acting Chief Information Commissioner Shree Acharya. The placard carried by the participants read- RTI for Democracy, What’s your VDC budget? RTI for Good Governance, Our Information-Our Right.
Speaking on the occasion, Acting Chief Information Commissioner Acharya said the Right to Information (RTI) was an effective tool to promote citizens’ rights. It must be reached out to every village, he said and thanked the FF for organizing the rally which would help create public awareness about right to know/information. The Commission morally supports every RTI campaigns across the country, he added.
Similarly, FF Chairman Taranath Dahal said the International Right to Know Day was being marked across the globe today. The Right to Know was similar to the Right to Information which functions as a voice of the voiceless. He wished the Day would encourage all the people across the globe to be aware of their access to information.
Senior journalist and former Chairperson of Press Council Nepal (PCN) Harihar Birahi said the International Right to Know Day would be important to protect and promote citizen’s right to freedom1 of expression.
Former registrar at the Supreme Court and Chairperson of Association of Right to Information (ARTI) Dr Ram Krishna Timalsina said RTI is an important tool to control corruption and promote economic prosperity.
Also speaking on the occasion were noted human rights activist Charan Prasain, International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) Reserve Member and former President of FNJ Dharmendra Jha, Bishnu Pukar Shrestha of CAHURAST, Somnath Lamichhane of Nepal Press Institute, FF Rti Support Centre Facilitator Sanjeeb Ghimire, Tanka Aryal of CCRI, among others.
They shed light on the importance of Right to Know Day to promote people’s participation in governance and hold the public authorities to account.
Meanwhile, the journalists and activists trained by the FF are marking the Day organizing various programs as rally, interaction and talks programs in Bara and Kapilvastu districts of Nepal.
FF has been marking the Day since 2006 to create awareness on right to information and empower citizens.
The freedom1 of information has been internationally agreed as a fundamental human right in order to ensure easy access of the general public to information of public importance and private concerns.
Article 27 of the Interim Constitution of Nepal has guaranteed the right to information as a fundamental right of citizens and the Right to Information Act-2007 and Regulation-2008 formulated on the basis of this constitutional provision are in place.
Though RTI has been invariably used as a strong tool to check massive corruption, exact social accountability and improve governance in various countries mainly India, Bangladesh and the Philippines, its use is still not that much effective in Nepal.
The basic principle of the RTI is to ensure good governance by giving citizens a sense of ownership towards public agencies through maximum openness of information.
