The right to information is recognised under international law as a fundamental human right. Access to information is important in its own right, and as a means to protect other rights, including democracy, and to support sustainable development.
The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of information in times of crisis. Having access to accurate and timely information specific to their situation helps people make safe choices for themselves and their families.
Access to information also promotes accountability regarding the highly impactful decisions the governments make during emergencies. Governments should establish user-friendly systems for providing information so that there is a lower chance of misinformation, disinformation and rumours.
Key information should be actively released during a public health crisis, including information about the progression of the disease, steps the government are taking to protect individuals, decision-making around responding to the crisis and how to access government programmes and benefits introduced in response to the pandemic.
Information should be released routinely and in an easily understandable and accessible format. This means going beyond merely posting information on a website, since it is vital that the information reaches everyone, especially those who live in rural areas with limited access to the internet and primary media sources.
Additionally, the information must be based on scientific evidence and data, as the government has a responsibility to avoid presenting information in a skewed, propagandistic or incomplete manner.
The disclosure of the information is particularly important for accountability, because the government will likely be making momentous decisions during a crisis and that more formal accountability mechanisms may not be operating as effectively as in normal times.
The importance of access to information during the Covid-19 pandemic is greatly stressed, alongside transparency. Most governments have proactively disclosed health-related information, but not other types of information, such as budgets, procurement and special programmes and benefits.
Governments should make the minimum effort to provide the best available information to the public based on science and objective information collection. There is no place for political manipulation in this regard, as the need to ensure that everyone receives crucial information overrides it.
To achieve this, governments should put into place dedicated emergency-specific proactive disclosure strategies and policies, and provide guidance to public authorities on proactive disclosure during a pandemic to ensure strong and consistent performance. It is also important that public authorities continue to the best of their abilities, to process requests for information.
