OSCE Mission to Serbia and Montenegro supports implementation of law on free access to information

BELGRADE, 27 May 2005 - The law on free access to information and the rights of citizens to seek and receive information, as well as the obligations of the State in this respect, were the focus of a meeting that ended in Vrsac on 25 May.

Organized by the OSCE Mission to Serbia and Montenegro and the Coalition for Free Access to Information, the event brought together representatives of local government, media and non-governmental organizations.

Participants received a guidebook on the Law on Free Access to Information of Public Importance, written by the Coalition for Free Access to Information and supported by the OSCE Mission.

Rodoljub Sabic, the Serbian Commissioner for Information, described the guidebook as a remarkable tool which enables every citizen to understand and exercise the public right to know and praised the role of the Coalition and the OSCE Mission in promoting this fundamental right.

He also said there was a need for a modern Law on Personal Data and a Law on Classified Information.

Similar discussions will take place in June in the cities of Pozega, Kraljevo, Negotin, Prokuplje and Novi Sad.