Blog – Page 87 of 164 – Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA)

23Nov

How Nigeria and Uganda are Faring on the Right to Information

admin November 23, 2018

By Tomiwa Ilori |
Transparency and accountability in governance are key tenets of participatory democracy. To this end, Sweden was the first country in the world to introduce a right to information (RTI) law back in 1766. Finland followed in 1919, and to-date, over 100 countries across the world have enacted laws that give citizens the right to access information in the hands of government.
In Africa, 21 countries have passed Freedom of Information (FOI) laws, while 16 have proposed laws. Most countries have constitutional provisions for the right to information, pursuant to obligations under various international and regional instruments. These include the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression. A model law on access to information for Africa was prepared by the African Commission to serve as a template and encourage more countries to adopt legislation embodying international, regional, and sub-regional standards.
Meanwhile, there have been regional efforts to ensure citizens’ realisation of the right of access to information. Civil society organisations together with the African Union and African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights adopted the African Platform on Access to Information Declaration in 2011. There was also the Midrand Declaration on Press Freedom in Africa in 2013 which recommended that African countries take up open governance culture through access to information laws. However, the reality for most countries is that information requests are routinely refused or ignored, with citizens sometimes turning to the courts in order to access information in the hands of government.
Nigeria passed its freedom of information law in 2011. Under the Act, public institutions and “private companies utilising public funds, providing public services or performing public functions” are mandated to make public records and information freely available, guarantee citizens’ right to be duly informed of facts relevant to them and maintain records of all activities, operations and businesses. Without specifying whether its calendar or working days, the law provides for a response time to information requests of seven days. This may be extended if the request involves a large number of records or consultations have to be made. Proactive disclosure is also provided for under the law. Information exempt from disclosure includes that related to international relations, defence, law enforcement and investigations. Wrongful denial of information is an offence under the Act, punishable with a fine of Nigerian Naira 500, 000 (US$1,400).
The Attorney General of Nigeria is mandated to collate information on implementation of the Act based on information from the various government entities. According to statistics from the official FOI website, the number of requests made by citizens is on the decline. In 2013, 1,183 requests were recorded, of which 48 were denied. The following year, requests dropped by three quarters to 314, 35 of which were denied. Requests further dropped in 2015 to 217, of which 36 were unsuccessful. Figures for subsequent years are unavailable but denial of access to information remains prevalent.
In a May 2018 case, a human rights lawyer was denied information on fuel imports by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). The corporation argued that it was established “by law to manage the commercial interests of Nigeria in the oil and gas sector of the economy and conduct trade therein”, and was therefore not a public institution within the meaning of the Freedom of Information Act.
The following month, a Nigerian court denied an access to information request for details of the President Muhammadu Buhari’s medical bills. The request was filed to the Central Bank of Nigeria by the Advocacy for Societal Rights Advancement and Development Initiative (ASRADI).
Some cases of denial have compelled requesters to seek orders for disclosure. For example, the Nigerian Contract Monitoring Coalition initiated a court case and succeeded in compelling the Power Holding Company of Nigeria, the Electricity Distribution Company Plc and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation to release information, which had initially been denied.
Courts have also set precedent in proactive disclosure by public institutions. In February 2014, a Federal High Court ordered the National Assembly to make its financial records accessible to members of the public through the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act of 2011. This galvanised the #OpenNASS advocacy campaign. More recently, the Court of Appeal in the Akure Division, Ondo State, ruled that the Act is applicable across federal states. This has put to rest the debate as to whether States in Nigeria need to comply with the provisions of the Act.
The situation in Nigeria mirrors that in Uganda whose access of information law was passed in 2005 but challenges still persist. The law has remained largely unimplemented because many public institutions have a culture of secrecy –they rarely release information pro-actively and routinely ignore citizens’ requests for information. Where government information or data is available, it is often not in reusable formats. Likewise, most citizens are not empowered to make information requests due to ignorance of the law, thus undermining participation in civic engagements and governance processes.
Furthermore, implementation of the access to information law in Uganda is hindered by limitations to the bodies or organs to which information requests can be made – the law excludes private entities and civil society. Like Nigeria, information exempt from access in Uganda includes that related to privacy of an individual, defense, security, international affairs, legal proceedings and law enforcement. The response time for a request is within 21 days of receipt. Wrongful denial of requests is punishable under the Act with a fine of Uganda Shillings 4,800,000 (US$1,300) or imprisonment for three years or both.
User statistics from Uganda’s Ask Your Government portal show that since its launch in June 2014 to-date, 2,647 requests have been made to 106 agencies. Out of these, 231 are indicated as successful and 40 unsuccessful. With over 2,300 requests awaiting responses beyond the 21 days limit, the majority can be regarded as refusals pursuant to section 18 of the Access to Information Act (ATIA), 2005. The section states: “where an information officer fails to give the decision on a request for access to the person concerned within the period contemplated under section 16, the information officer is, for the purposes of this Act, regarded as having refused the request”.
Some Ugandan citizens have also opted to seek redress from the courts for denied requests. In 2009, two Ugandan journalists sued the government over failure by the Solicitor General to grant access to information regarding oil production, prospecting and exploitation agreements. The case was dismissed on the basis that a clause in those agreements provided for confidentiality.
In a landmark case, on February 2015, a Chief Magistrate’s Court in Kampala ruled that the reasons for which information is requested or the belief about how it will be used “are irrelevant considerations” in determining government’s approval or denial of a request. The ruling came after the Hub for Investigative Media was denied access to information related to activities of the National Forestry Authority funded by the World Bank between 2009 and 2011.
Implementation of access to information laws in Nigeria and Uganda shows that there is a lot to be done with respect to giving life to the existing legislation. Some of the ways through which the policy and practice gaps can be overcome is through records digitisation in all public institutions. This will not only help to save time in operations, it will also help with efficient record-keeping, search, retrieval and disclosure. Equally, translating freedom of information laws into local languages will help raise awareness on the rights of citizens and the obligations of duty bearers which will go a long way in realising the objectives of the FOI laws. Implementation of the laws can also be fast-tracked through compliance reporting to parliament by state institutions.
Ultimately, the experiences of Nigeria and Uganda show that courts are proving to be a means of recourse, and if effectively utilised, have the potential to set national and even regional precedent to make it easier for citizens to exercise the right to information.

23Nov

East and Central Africa: More Advocacy Needed for Progressive ICT Laws and Regulations

admin November 23, 2018

Statement |
Civil society representatives, lawyers, and journalists from East and Central Africa have called upon their governments to develop policies that protect citizens’ digital rights and promote the use of the internet for free expression and for pursuing economic and education opportunities. The call was made amidst growing concerns that an increasing number of African countries are taking measures that restrict rather than promote the use of the internet. These measures include introduction of taxes that hinder access and use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and laws that hamper freedom of expression through ICT.
The call was made following a workshop on ICT Policy and Advocacy for actors from East and Central Africa, which took place in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo. Hosted by the Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA) and Rudi International on November 4–6, 2018, alongside the Haki Conference, the workshop drew 29 participants from Burundi, Kenya, DR Congo, Rwanda and Uganda.
Participants noted that the region faces similar challenges such as a lack of data protection laws, mass data collection efforts by governments and business entities, rising self-censorship by individuals and groups who fear reprisals for their online activities, gender-based cyber violence, and high perceptions of undue government surveillance on citizens’ communications. Moreover, some countries in the region have registered blockage of critical websites at the instigation of state authorities, while intimidation and harassment of independent bloggers and activists remain rampant, which affects freedom of expression and the free flow of information online.
In particular, participants urged the Rwanda government to amend its law on interception of communications to strictly define officers who can apply for warrants for monitoring of communications, to strengthen judicial oversight over interceptions activity, and to strictly guard the possibility for mass electronic surveillance.
Burundi was urged to enact a strong access to information law that requires state agencies to pro-actively release information, protects whistleblowers, and effectively advances citizens’ access to information online and offline.
Meanwhile, Burundi, DR Congo, Rwanda and Uganda, were urged to speed up the enactment of comprehensive privacy and data protection laws that strongly protect the integrity of users’ data and severely punish those who misuse such data. None of the countries in the region has a data protection law, although all require mandatory registration of SIM cards and are undertaking various exercises to collect massive amounts of citizens’ data.
In DR Congo, the lack of up-to-date laws to govern the telecommunications sector was noted with concern. Participants called on the National Assembly to expedite the enactment of the bill to update the outdated 2002 law on telecommunications, which is currently before the legislature. However, the parliament should widely consult civil society and the private sector and meaningfully integrate their inputs into the law to be adopted. Moreover, the DR Congo government should enact other ICT-related laws, such as on cyber crime and data protection; and take decisive measures to increase access to affordable fibre around the country, particularly in rural and under-served areas, and meaningfully invest Universal Service Funds in improving broadband access.
The region has this year seen the introduction of online content regulations that undermine the use of ICT. Tanzania and Uganda have started licensing online content producers at a fee, while in July, Uganda set a precedent by introducing taxes to access social media sites including Facebook, Whatsapp and Twitter. The DR Congo, which has ordered various internet disruptions in the last two years, also issued regulations in 2018 that require online publishers to register. .
Indeed, in the wake of these developments, participants called on states to develop laws that robustly stimulate the affordability and usage of the internet and related technologies as opposed to curtailing access to digital communications and stifling freed expression and access to information. The participants also shared their views at DR Congo’s first digital rights conference that concluded with the issuance of the Goma Declaration (French). The training in DR Congo was part of the CIPESA-run OpenNet Africa project (www.opennetafrica.org) which is working to grow the network of individuals and groups that work on advancing internet freedom and building their capacity to engage in digital rights advocacy.

20Nov

Call for Evaluation Consultant: ICT4Democracy in East Africa Network

admin November 20, 2018

The Collaboration on International ICT Policy in East and Southern Africa (CIPESA) is seeking an evaluation consultant to establish the achievements, outcome and challenges registered by the ICT4Democracy in East Africa Network during the period June 2016 to December 2018. The evaluation will assess the appropriateness, effectiveness and outcomes of the network in relation to the program objectives
Closing date for applications: 17:00 hours East African Time (EAT) on Friday December 7, 2018
Further details on the scope, eligibility and how to apply are available here.

01Nov

FIFAfrica 2018: Taxes Sur les Réseaux Sociaux et Coupures Internet au cœur des Discussions

admin November 1, 2018

FIFAfrica18 Update |
Du 26 au 28 septembre 2018 se tenait à Accra la 5è édition du Forum on Internet Freedom in Africa (FIFAfrica), auquel participait Internet Sans Frontières. J’ai eu le privilège d’y représenter l’association. Co- organisé par le Collaboration on International ICT Policy for Eastern and Southern Africa, un organisme consultatif indépendant, et la Media Foundation for West Africa, ce forum se veut un haut lieu d’échanges entre différents acteurs sur l’état et les perspectives des libertés et droits numériques en Afrique.
Les Taxes sur l’utilisation des réseaux sociaux au cœur des discussions
Il a évidemment été question des législations visant à taxer auprès des utilisateurs l’usage des réseaux sociaux et applications de messagerie, quelques jour après qu’une régulation similaire ait été retirée au Bénin, suite à une forte mobilisation des béninois, soutenue par Internet Sans Frontières. Le panel consacré aux implications économiques et sociales des taxes sur les réseaux sociaux, auquel j’ai pris part pour Internet Sans Frontières, était modéré par Sandi Chimpala de TechTrends, aux côtés du Dr. Wairagala Wakabi de CIPESA, Broc Rademan de Research ICT Africa et Kojo Boakye de l’entreprise Facebook . Au delà de l’impact économique négatif, les panélistes ont rappelé ces taxes sont porteuse d’un relent autoritariste, en ce qu’elles font peser de réelles menaces sur la liberté d’expression, et l’accès l’information. L’occasion m’a été donnée de rappeler que la victoire historique et inédite des citoyens béninois face à leur gouvernement ne doit pas faire oublier que de nombreux utilisateurs en Ouganda, en Zambie subissent encore le poids de ces régulations injustes.

L’urgence en Afrique d’adopter des indicateurs de l’universalité de l’Internet
Internet Sans Frontières a également pris part à la session organisée par l’UNESCO sur les indicateurs de l’universalité de l’Internet : fruit d’une réflexion entamée en 2017, ces indicateurs doivent permettre à chaque pays d’auto-évaluer le niveau d’universalité de l’Internet disponible dans un territoire donné, en particulier vérifier que l’Internet est fondé sur les droits humains, s’il est ouvert, accessible à tous, et fruit de la participation de plusieurs acteurs. Aux côté de James Marenga, Vice-président de l’Institut des Médias pour l’Afrique Australe (MISA), de Damola Sogunro, Principal Computer Analyst au Ministère de la Communication et des Technologies du Nigeria et de Dorothy Gordon, activiste technologique ghanéenne et spécialiste du développement, j’ai pu rappeler
les nombreux obstacles qui entravent l’accès aux informations en ligne sur le continent Africain tels que les coupures d’Internet, la restriction des libertés et la criminalisation des discours en ligne, la faible protection de la vie privée, les taxes relatives à l’usage d’Internet et le manque de transparence par rapport aux activités des gouvernements.
Plaidoyer contre les coupures Internet et données
Le panel consacré au plaidoyer axé sur les données relatives aux coupures d’Internet en Afrique a permis de rappeler le travail d’Internet Sans Frontières contre cette forme grave de censure, aux côtés de ses partenaires Access Now, the Global Network Initiative, et Netblocks, tous membres de la coalition Keepiton fondée en 2016. Les données sont nécessaires dans cette lutte, notamment celles permettant de connaitre le nombre précis de coupures Internet, mais également l’impact économique et financier de celles-ci. En 2017, le premier calcul par Internet Sans Frontières du coût économique de la coupure totale d’Internet dans les régions anglophones du Cameroun, la plus longue à ce jour en Afrique, a permis d’intéresser un tout nouveau public au plaidoyer contre la censure sur Internet, en particulier les médias et institutions économiques et financières. D’où l’importance de l’outil COST (Cost of Shutdowns Tool), développé par l’organisation Netblocks, qui automatise le calcul du coût des coupures Internet.
FIFAfrica, un espace de discussion et de collaboration nécessaire
J’ai pu constater à travers ma participation que le FIFAfrica est un creuset qui permet de débattre de manière interactive et éclairée sur les enjeux et défis actuels de la société de l’information en Afrique.
Vous pouvez en apprendre d’avantage sur la 1ère participation d’Internet Sans Frontières à ce grand RDV africain dans ce podcast d l’émission Afrique 7 jours de la Deutsch Welle.

15Oct

FIFAfrica: Responding to the Need for Stronger Advocacy on Internet Freedom in Africa

admin October 15, 2018

FIFAfrica |
There is rising awareness among Africa’s growing online community about the use of the internet to defend human rights, complement independent local media, strengthen democratisation, and demand accountable and transparent governance. However, there are limited avenues for Africans to participate in discussions that shape internet governance. While global convenings such as the Internet Governance Forum (IGF), the Stockholm Internet Forum (SIF, the Internet Freedom Festival (IFF) and RightsCon discuss the internet freedom landscape – including in Africa – attendance by African stakeholders is often limited.
Since 2014, the Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA) has convened the annual Forum on Internet Freedom in Africa (FIFAfrica) to provide a pan-African space where discussion at the global level can be consolidated at Africa-wide level, drawing a large multi-stakeholder audience of actors from within and beyond the continent.
This year’s edition of FIFAfrica was held in Accra, Ghana on September 26-28, 2018. It brought together 280 participants from 47 countries to deliberate on gaps, concerns and opportunities for advancing privacy, access to information, free expression, non-discrimination and the free flow of information online on the continent. Hosted in partnership with the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), FIFAfrica18 was the first to be held in West Africa. Previous Forums have been hosted in East Africa and Southern Africa.
Through panel discussions, workshops, exhibitions and lightning talks, the proceedings of FIFAfrica18 explored common strategies for impactful work in promoting internet freedom in the face of persistent affronts to the rights of African online users.
In his keynote address titled “Many African Governments Hate the Free Internet – And That Is A Very Good Thing”, veteran journalist, publisher and curator of Africapedia, Charles Onyango-Obbo noted that the Internet in Africa “had finally seized from the state narrative-making power”, making “political control difficult”. According to Obbo, governments across the continent appreciate the power of the internet hence their efforts to suppress its use. Calling for the internet’s liberation, he urged stakeholders to “get on their keyboards and fight” against the growing trend of censorship, surveillance and regulation.
This call to action resonated throughout sessions on addressing gender-based violence online; the potential of the internet for civic agency and eGovernance; the role of community networks in bridging the digital divide; safety and security for critical internet users; pushing back against internet shutdowns; local content development; curbing cybercrime; promoting online consumer rights; privacy and data protection; advocacy at global level; and fighting misinformation/fakenews, among others.
The particularly poignant state of internet freedom in some African countries was illustrated by frontline experiences shared from Ethiopia and Cameroon. The Zone 9 bloggers collective shared their plight of repression, surveillance, censorship and incarceration under Ethiopia’s repressive regime. The recent release of their members and their continued commitment to human rights advocacy in the context of Ethiopia’s ongoing reforms were perhaps the strongest indication that the spirit to fight should live on. A special edition of the Blacked Out YouTube video on the devastating internet shutdowns in Cameroon was screened at FIFAfrica and exemplified the internet’s potential to challenge and expose authoritarian rule.
In commemoration of the International Day for Universal Access to Information (IDUAI), UNESCO hosted a session on access to information through the lens of the Internet Universality Indicators. The indicators are a tool designed to enrich stakeholders’ capacity for assessing internet freedom and development, broaden international consensus, and foster access to information, online democracy and human rights. As Dorothy Gordon, Chairperson of the Information for All Programme (IFAP), noted during the session, “the lack of information literacy in African countries has created terrible fear in the population regarding the use of new communication methods and internet-enabled devices. The Internet Universality Indicators will point out existing obstacles to access the internet and provide governments with key areas for improvement.”
Furthermore, FIFAfrica also served as the platform for the launch of the 2018 edition of the annual State of Internet Freedom in Africa research report, which CIPESA has produced since 2014. This year’s report focused on data protection and privacy in select African countries. Previous editions researched intermediaries’ role in advancing internet freedom, the economic cost of shutdowns, government strategies to stifle citizens’ digital rights, and citizens’ perceptions on privacy, access and security. The reports are fundamental for a keener understanding of the issues affecting internet freedom in the respective countries, and form a strong basis for action plans on promoting internet freedoms in these countries.
Beyond raising awareness of the need to advance internet freedom, FIFAfrica also focuses on skills building. Practical workshops held as pre-events the Forum included one on strategic litigation led by the Media Legal Defence Initiative (MLDI), which aimed to build the capacity of internet activists to collaborate across disciplines to more effectively push back against regressive legal frameworks that are not conducive to access and use of the internet in Africa.
Meanwhile, CIPESA and Small Media hosted a workshop on internet freedom and the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) aimed at supporting civil society organisations across Africa to engage with the UPR process through research, capacity developmen,t and developing tools to support internet freedom advocacy. Further, the Localization Lab also hosted a localisation sprint to translate digital security tools and resources into Amharic, Fante, Igbo, Swahili, Tswana, Twi, and Yoruba to support the education, training, and adaptation of digital security and circumvention tools in the region.
The outcomes of the Forum are expected to support the development of substantive inputs to inform recommendations and subsequent follow up on human rights online happening at national level, at the African Union and the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights (ACHPR), and the Human Rights Council. Moreover, it is anticipated that participants will use the skills, knowledge, and networks from FIFAfrica to advance internet freedom research and advocacy in their respective countries and regions.

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