Right to Know Day: OSCE workshop participants call for increased transparency in Kosovo municipalities, abolishment of payment for information

PRISHTINË/PRIŠTINA, 27 September 2013 – Public and civil society organizations still face challenges in accessing official documents at the municipal level, concluded participants of an OSCE-supported workshop held today in Prishtinë/Priština on the occasion of the International Right to Know Day.

Central and local level officials, representatives of the media and civil society discussed how to increase transparency in work of the municipalities across Kosovo. They agreed that approval procedures for requests for access to official documents should be standardized, and documents classification criteria further clarified in the legislative framework.

The workshop participants also called on some of the municipalities in Kosovo to abolish one Euro fee per information request, since this practice is in contradiction with legal provisions.

“I encourage municipalities to make their official documents available to the public. This will enable civil society organizations and the media to hold municipalities to account,” said Elaine Conkievich, Director of OSCE’s Democratization Department. 

“Transparency is one of the major principles of good governance and a legal obligation of the institutions towards the public.” 

Throughout 2014, the OSCE Mission will monitor the implementation of the workshop conclusions and organize further consultations on official documents classification and personal data protection. 

The OSCE Mission is mandated with human rights protection and promotion, democratization and public safety sector development.