Model Law on Access to Information officially launched

The African Commission on Human and People's Rights (ACHPR) on 12 April 2013 officially launched its Model Law on Access to Information at a ceremony held during the ACHPR's 53rd Ordinary Session in Banjul, The Gambia.

The Model Law was drafted by a team of African and international experts on access to information and freedom of expression under the auspices of the Commission's Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information in Africa, Advocate Pansty Tlakula.

The drafting process and consultations with various stakeholders which took about two years to complete, was coordinated by the University of Pretoria's Centre for Human Rights.

The Model Law is a guideline intended to provide benchmarks to all African States towards enactment of effective access to information laws in line with standards set in key instruments such as the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights and the Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression in Africa.

The law is also meant to encourage wide adoption of access to information laws on the African continent, as well as encourage their effective implementation.