Monitoring and Reporting on Access to Information

UNESCO assists Member States to comply with and implement international treaties and agreements, norms and standards related to Universal Access to Information, contributing towards knowledge societies. Access to information builds on these internationally recognized rights and encompass the core principles of good governance: participation, transparency, and accountability. Obstacles to access to information can undermine the enjoyment of civil and political rights, as well as economic, social, and cultural rights. UNESCO provides evidence-based and, where appropriate, integrated policy advice to help countries implement and report on their work on the 2030 Agenda, particularly by mainstreaming constitutional, statutory and/or policy guarantees for public access to information. UNESCO provides governments and civil society organizations with capacities to collect, analyze, and increase the availability of high-quality, timely and reliable data on SDG 16.10.2.

National governments, the primary duty-bearers responsible for making progress towards SDGs, have an obligation to monitor and report progress on their commitments and actions to guarantee public access to information, which is reflected in SDG Target 16.10. Under this target, Indicator 16.10.2 has been put in place to track progress on “the number of countries that adopt and implement constitutional, statutory and/or policy guarantees for public access to information”, giving attention to the two essential components of such progress: “adoption” and “implementation”.