Coalition on Right to Information honors RTI Champions 2015 awards ceremony held at NPC Islamabad
By.Asghar Ali Mubarak 
Islamabad, The Coalition on Right to Information, (CRTI) held at NPC Islamabad, the CRTI RTI Champions Awards ceremony at National Press Club. CRTI RTI Champions awards are given each year to honor citizens, journalists and organizations that use right to information laws of Pakistan to have access to information held by public bodies. In the citizen’s category, Mr. Arif Noor, elementary school teacher from Vehari won RTI Champion award. Mr. Noor filed an RTI request under the Punjab transparency and Right to Information Act 2013 to get access to the certified copy of seniority list of teachers. Instead of providing him the requested information, his senior launched an enquiry against him. His RTI request became bases for the first ever punishment awarded to a public official for denying a citizen access to information requested by referring to an RTI law
In journalist category, Mr. Waseem Abbasi won RTI Champion award for filing 19 investigative stories based on certified information received from different government departments under Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Right to Information Act 2013 and the Punjab Transparency and Right to Information Act 2013. Some of his stories have brought to the fore abysmal state of affairs in health sector.
In the organization category, the RTI Champion award was given to Shehri for its contribution to right to information movement in the country. Rising demands for the enactment of RTI laws. One of their earlier RTI requests exposed how a residential area plot in Karachi was being treated as a commercial plot
Senator Farhat Ullah Babar and Samar Minallah gave the awards. Speaking on the occasion Senator Farhat Ullah Babar said that PMLN government was not interested in enacting right to information law and that is why it has failed to table in the parliament right to information bill approved by Senate Committee on Information and Broadcasting on July 15, 2014. Samar Minallah said that Right to information is one of the basic human rights and realization of all other rights is dependent on this right. Mr. Arif Noor said that when he was harassed by his superior for seeking information from his own department he told his seniors that he was citizen of Pakistan first and employee of the department later. Mr. Waseem Abbasi said that right to information law is a great equalizer as it helps journalists who do not have sources to get certified information like senior journalists from government departments.
United we struggle for right to information in Pakistan.
The Coalition on Right to Information (CRTI) was established on December 17, 2012 in Islamabad by a group of civil society organizations with the goal to promote an open information and communications policies at the federal, provincial and district levels. The CRTI is working towards the enactment in Pakistan of right to information laws according to international best practices of right to information legislation and implementation of existing information laws. The CRTI is also focused on advocating and facilitating enabling mechanisms, processes, practices, tools and techniques to ensure the implementation of a user-friendly right to information regime across the country.
Coalition on Right to Information Charter of Demands 2015
Coalition on right to Information (CRTI) demands from provincial and federal governments, media and the political parties the following: 1. That Freedom of Information Ordinance 2002 is repealed and new law be enacted. 2. That Balochistan Freedom of Information Act 2005 and Sindh Freedom of Information Act 2006 be repealed and new laws be enacted; 3. That these information laws to be enacted at federal and in Balochistan and Sindh establish independent and autonomous Information Commissions to ensure proactive disclosure of information by public bodies as well provision of information to citizens when they demand under the information laws in cost-effective, and easy manner. 4. That the federal and provincial information laws should only be enacted after input by Coalition on Right to Information (CRTI), media and other stakeholders. 5. That all political parties should clearly spell out in their manifestoes as to how will they protect and promote citizens’ right to information; 6. That both print and electronic media should try to mobilize public opinion and pressure on the federal and provincial governments to enact right to information laws as these laws will improve investigative reporting by allowing the media to have access to certified information available with the public bodies; 7. That provincial and federal government departments provide information to citizens when requested under the existing information laws; 8. That Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa public bodies proactively disclose information enlisted in sections 4 and 5 of the Punjab Transparency and Right to Information Act 2013 and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Right to Information Act 2013 respectively. 2 About CRTI: Coalition on Right to Information (CRTI) was established on December 17, 2012 with the goal to create a society wherein information flows freely from private and public bodies for public good. CRTI is working towards the enactment of right to information laws according to international best practices of right to information legislation and implementation of existing information laws. Following civil society organizations are members of the coalition: Centre for Civic Education Centre for Governance and Public Accountability (CGPA) Centre for Investigative Reporting in Pakistan Centre for Peace and Development Initiatives, (CPDI) Civil Action Resources Individual and Institute for Research, Advocacy and Development (IRADA) Inter media Liberal Forum Pakistan Lok Sujag Pakistan Foundation Fighting Blindness (PFFB) Shehri-Citizens for a Better Environment (Shehri-CBE) Society for Alternative Media and Research (SAMAR) Society for Human Rights and Prisoners Aid (SHARP) Sustainable Educational and Environmental Development (Seed) The Network for Consumer Rights Protection.
About CRTI
CRTI is a platform of 37 civil society organizations working towards the enactment of right to information laws according to international best practices of right to information legislation and implementation of existing information laws.
