It is crucial in terms of directing people on how and where to access essential services; it facilitates contact with relatives and friends and assists in the discovery of missing persons. Information is necessary to act as a watchdog over assistance activities and to help guard against corruption. In terms of accountability of service providers, right to information empowers a person to obtain information from public agencies which ultimately forces them to be effective, transparent, accountable, and efficient.
During my experience of Media Advocacy Group (MAG) in an RTI program in Mahottari and Kailali, I was fortunate enough to witness a culture of seeking information that was inculcated after conducting a series of trainings and local dialogues between service seekers and service providers. Women felt empowered when they understood that seeking information was not just a fundamental right but their democratic duty, without which democracy could not be sustained.It was revealed that the public authorities themselves did not know the type of information that could be publicly disclosed. Majority of the people were of the view that RTI Act was exclusively meant for journalists. In a short span of time women, elderly people and people living with HIV started seeking information from authorities on issues such as allocation of funds, access to safe drinking water, medical supplies and distribution of food. Certainly, the utilization of Right to Information Act accelerates the empowerment process of citizens, and especially the marginalized.
However, in the wake of the devastating earthquake, people's access to information in terms of their right has been completely ignored. Insignificant weight has been given to the service providers' need to promote and respect the right to information. Although the Right to Information is guaranteed as a fundamental right of citizens by the Interim Constitution of Nepal (2007), more than half the population of Nepal is oblivious about the implementation of this Act. Besides the citizens, the public agencies themselves are unaware of their duties and responsibilities of proactive disclosure and dissemination of information.
The extent to which relief and rehabilitation efforts are effective is largely dependent on people's access to key information. To highlight some of the ongoing efforts, National Information Commission has been playing an exemplary role in implementation of the RTI Act by ensuring the assignment of an Information Officer in government offices. Similarly, UN Women and MAG set up Information Centers to facilitate the flow of information between women and assistance providers in the earthquake-affected districts and advocate for timely access of relief on behalf of excluded populations.
The Information Centers resulted from the provisions in the Common Charter of Demands which promotes women's equal access to information, drafted by leaders of women's organizations with the technical support of UN Women. It is also worth mentioning that UN Women is partnering with the National Information Commission (NIC) to facilitate dialogues between and among women organizations, inviting government and responsible agencies to ensure women's right and access to information and to build a path towards a sustainable future.
In order to make RTI more effective in Nepal, it is important to learn some important lessons from India where the Act emerged as a powerful tool for India's civil society to promote transparency and hold those in power accountable. With regard to the appropriation of funds, information obtained through an RTI application by an NGO based in Punjab, in 2008, revealed that bureaucrats heading local branches of the Indian Red Cross Society used money intended for victims of the Kargil war and natural disasters to buy cars, air-conditioners and to pay for hotel bills, among other things. Local courts charged the officials found responsible with fraud and the funds were transferred to the Prime Minister's Relief Fund.
The role of transparency, accountability and access to information in promoting the pillars of good governance has been widely acknowledged. Effective and transparent systems of accountability are essential for proper utilization of funds. The media plays a crucial role in providing key information to people as well as monitoring relief efforts and strengthening the aid delivery mechanism. Openness about both the sources and expenditure of funds is one of the important components of relief and reconstruction process. This should entail information about the amount of money received by public agencies, national and international organizations, and how funds and aid were distributed.
A variety of methods should be applied to ensure that information is readily available and accessible. Particular attention should be paid to the fact that survivors and those belonging to minority groups may require information in languages other than the official one. Survivors should actively participate in humanitarian relief and assistance efforts to ensure that relief and recovery programs are effective and sustainable. Additionally, mechanisms should be established for the communities to provide feedback and express complaints regarding relief, response and reconstruction efforts. The significance of information to survivors is apparent, even for those who are not directly involved in relief operations. Instead, in such circumstances, the affected populations are too often ignored without any formal channels to access information and raise their concerns.
Although there is little that can be done to prevent such disasters, there are ways to mitigate the impact. Accurate, reliable and credible information plays a crucial role in these contexts. Providing access to right and timely information can greatly mitigate the effects of a disaster, including helping save vulnerable lives.
The author is Program Director at Trilord Pvt Ltd
Shristi.j@gmail.com
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