From left Benson Ochieng Director, Institute for Law &Environmental Governance, Kenya; Carole Excell, Senior Associate WRI; Kenneth Kakuru, Executive Director, Greenwatch, Uganda; Peter Veit, Senior Fellow, WRI; Shamiso Mtisi, Environmental Lawyer, Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association,Zimbabwe

The Carter Center alongside the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression and Access to information in Africa, the Media Foundation of West Africa, and Open Democracy Advice Centre hosted an African Regional Conference on the Right of Access to Information in February, 2010 in Accra, Ghana. The goal of the conference was to advance the right of access to information in Africa. Members from The Access Initiative (TAI) attended and participated alongside regional and international institutions, government, civil society, media, academia, and the private sector, from at least 15 focus countries in Africa. TAI members shared a number of key points which were included within the final report including:-

1. The importance of calling for unjust access to information laws to be amended or repealed.
2. The critical need to engage multi stakeholder initiatives including in the extractive industries and the construction sectors.
3. The need to engage and strengthen institutions such as Parliament, national human rights commissions, national anti- corruption agencies, and the judiciary to protect the right of access to information.
4. The importance of proactive dissemination of public
   information, including all national and sub-national laws and regulations, criteria for resource allocation and budgets.
5. The recognition of the need for access to information to serve the goals of sustainable development.

As a result of the conference, a regional action plan was developed to provide more specific guidance for the advancement of the right of access to information in Africa. The Conference noted that it has been difficult to advance the right of access to information in Africa as only five countries have passed laws. Critical recommendations from the Conference included the obligation of States to accept responsibility and take leadership by ensuring the right of access to information and fulfilling existing constitutional provisions for the right by a.enacting and implementing a comprehensive right to information legislation and supportive policies; b.repealing, amending or reforming all laws and administrative measures inconsistent with the right of access to information;and c.assuring adequate budgets for full and effective implementation of access to information laws and instruments.