Another Review of Access to Information Draft Law Coordinated

Ministry of Information is running another review of Cambodian draft law on access to information.

Addressing participants joining the review on July 1, Minister of Information H.E. Khieu Kanharith explained that the draft law was comprehensively consulted with various stakeholders including civil society organisations.

Participating civil society organisations along with other stakeholders had agreed on the result of the consultation, so the ministry submitted the draft law for technical review by concerned ministries, especially the Ministry of Justice.

With technical endorsement by those ministries, the Ministry of Information submitted the draft law for the concurrence by the Council of Ministers, he added.

Nevertheless, some of the participating civil society organisations recently filed a request to the office of the Prime Ministers to review the draft law again.

Therefore, the Ministry of Information was tasked to run another review of the law, he continued.

According to H.E. Khieu Kanharith, the Ministry of Information in collaboration with UNESCO as well as relevant partners, ministries and institutions worked hard to draft the law in a participatory and consultative manner.

This law sets out the rights and obligations of receiving and providing information, as well as the principles, rules, procedures to access confidential information and protection of whistle-blowers in order to ensure that every member of the public has the right to receive information from public institutions in accordance with the Cambodia’s Constitution.

Source: Agency Kampuchea Press