Namibia scales up access to information as a follow-up to the Windhoek +30 Declaration

Albertus Achamub, Ambassador and Permanent Delegate of Namibia to UNESCO, announced in his address to the Plenary of the UNESCO Governing bodies that Namibia in 2022 passed an Access to Information Bill into an Act of Parliament, as a direct follow-up to the Windhoek +30 Declaration. The announcement was made on the first day of the UNESCO 215^th session of the Executive Board which took place from 5 to 19 October.

The Windhoek +30 Declaration, which calls for information as a public good, is an outcome of the 2021 global conference for World Press Freedom Day hosted by the government of Namibia in the capital Windhoek. This Declaration has a historic character as it was adopted in the city in which, 30 years earlier, press freedom activists had come together and drafted the original Windhoek Declaration for the Development of a Free, Independent and Pluralistic Press.  The Windhoek Declaration gave birth to World Press Freedom Day as an annual global event, each year celebrated by UNESCO and a different UNESCO Member State in the form of an international conference around 3 May.

Namibia’s Access to Information Law had initially been introduced for consideration to parliament in June 2020 but progress had stalled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The bill is currently under review by the national council and could be passed into law through a presidential signature.

Access to Information is a prerequisite for the development of a culture of transparency, which in turn supports accountability. Proactive disclosure of accessible information can furthermore build and restore trust between government and the people. If adopted, Namibia will become the 136^th in the world and 25th country in Africa to adopt an Access to Information Law. The number of countries adopting such laws is an indicator with the sustainable development goals framework (Indicator 16.10.1) of which UNESCO is the custodian agency.