OSCE Office supports training of civil servants on freedom of information

YEREVAN, 28 March 2008 - A project on freedom of information training for civil servant information officers, supported by the OSCE Office, was presented in Yerevan today.

Under the project, some 90 information officers from central government agencies and all ten regions of Armenia will learn about international standards of free access to information and receive practical guidance on applying the Armenian freedom of information law.

"Free access to government-held information is vital for the democratic functioning of any state. We hope that the institutionalization of training for government press officers will assist in the important process of further increasing the openness and transparency of Armenia's state bodies," said Ambassador Sergey Kapinos, Head of the OSCE Office in Yerevan.

The nine-month project will be implemented jointly by the Civil Service Council (CSC) of Armenia and the NGONGO
non-governmental organization Freedom of Information Centre (FOIC), and was financed by the Italian government.

In line with the Memorandum of Understanding signed on January 11 by the Office, the CSC and FOIC, a comprehensive training programme on freedom of information will be developed and officially adopted by the CSC into its permanent training curriculum for civil servants. The project also envisages amending the 'position passports' (a legal document identifying the scope of responsibilities of the position) for civil service information officers to clearly specify their functions and responsibilities with respect to freedom of information.

Armenia adopted a comprehensive Freedom of Information Law in 2003, but the full implementation of the law continues to pose a challenge for national and local authorities.

"This project will support reforms in this area by providing government information officers with comprehensive knowledge and skills in freedom of information issues," said Shushan Doydoyan, President of the FOIC.

Manvel Badalyan, CSC Chairman, said: "We should be guided by the idea that in a society each citizen is a partner of the state and should have the right and possibility to receive the needed government-held information and services without any arbitrary obstacles."

The project follows a training needs assessment for civil servant information officers and press services of the police, military and security agencies that was conducted by the CSC and the FOIC, with OSCE Office support. The assessment can be downloaded at //www.osce.org/yerevan/documents.html