Governments must ensure the public’s right to know in the COVID-19 pandemic

In a new report, Ensuring the Public’s Right to Know in the COVID-19 Pandemic, published today, ARTICLE 19 has highlighted several threats to governments’ obligations on access to information and public health under human rights law:

• Governments trying to limit criticism of poor decision-making or as a larger effort to restrict human rights or hide corruption;
• Emergency legislation that limits access to information about the pandemic and/or extends the deadlines by which governments have to respond;
• Public access to information not being prioritised while public services are reduced.

“In this context of health crisis,” said the EFJ General Secretary Ricardo Gutiérrez, “citizens need more than ever verified and independent information. States must be more transparent and provide greater access to information; many are doing the opposite!”

Europeanjournalists.org - May 11th, 2020

Read more: https://europeanjournalists.org/blog/2020/05/11/governments-must-ensure-the-publics-right-to-know-in-the-covid-19-pandemic/?fbclid=IwAR0luGLH-fu-HNgIj1JyUdREUGkjG0HCbwVp_Rsr3P8Yw5ptDgSsFrVtoXk)