On August 26 a discussion on the new opportunities that Ukraine has received after the ratification of the Council of Europe Convention on Access to Official Documents (Tromsø Convention) is to be held. Its purpose is to raise awareness of Ukrainian citizens and authorities about the standards of access to official documents provided by the Convention, and talk about the best international practices in this area.
The event is organised by the project “European Union and Council of Europe working together to support freedom of media in Ukraine” in partnership with the Center for Democracy and Rule of Law.
Representatives of the media, civil society, government and local authorities are invited to participate.
What? Discussion "What opportunities Ukraine has received after the ratification of the Council of Europe Convention on Access to Official Documents"
When? 26 August, 2020, 15:00-18:00
Where? online (platform KUDO)
Participants
- Yevhenia Kravchuk, Deputy Chairwoman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Humanitarian and Information Policy
- Christophe Poirel, Director of the Human Rights Directorate, Council of Europe
- David Goldberg, Expert on Freedom of Information (Great Britain)
- Toby Mendel, Executive Director, Centre for Law and Democracy (Canada)
- David Banisar, Senior Legal Counsel, Article19 (United Kingdom)
- Peter Noorlander, Director, Bertha Justice Initiative
- Natasha Pirc Musar, Director, Pirc Musar & Lemut Strle (Slovenia)
- Pavlo Pushkar, Head of Division, Department for the Execution of Judgments of the European Court of Human Rights, Council of Europe
- Igor Rozkladay, Deputy Director of the Center for Democracy and Rule of Law
- Oleksandr Burmagin, Executive Director of the NGO “Human Rights Platform”
- International experts, representatives of public authorities and the civil society
The discussion will take place on the online KUDO platform. Registration for the event is required until August 24 inclusive at the link. Confirmation of participation will be sent by e-mail on August 25.
Background information: On May 20, 2020, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine ratified the Tromsø Convention. Ukraine became the tenth country to ratify this important international instrument and actually put it into effect, as the Convention enters into force after the tenth ratification.
The Council of Europe Convention on Access to Official Documents is the first binding international legal instrument that enshrines the right of access to official documents created by public authorities. The Convention contains minimum standards to be applied when processing requests for access to official documents (request form) and procedures for reviewing decisions. The right to access to official documents is important for the development of democracy as well as the realization of fundamental human rights.
The project «EU and Council of Europe working together to support freedom of media in Ukraine», funded by the EU and CoE, aims to enhance the role of media, its freedom and safety, and the public broadcaster as an instrument for consensus building in the Ukrainian society and is implemented from 9 July 2020 until 9 July 2021.
