This is one of the key recommendations from the latest research “Initial Assessment on implementation of the LAI” based on a survey with more than 250 state agencies across the country and an in-depth study in eight provinces and cities including Ha Giang, Cao Bang, Bac Kan, Dien Bien, Son La, Quang Binh, Quang Tri, and Da Nang.
The research is shared at an European Union-funded workshop entitled “Sharing Experiences on Promoting the Implementation of the Law on Access to Information” in Hanoi on February 21st 2020, organised by the Center for Education Promotion and Empowerment of Women (CEPEW), CARE International in Vietnam, Oxfam in Vietnam and several coalitions of social organisations.
Source: Ministry of Justice
At the workshop, participants from the Ministry of Justice, the Ethnic Council, the Office of the National Assembly provincial justice departments, news agencies, academia, and social organisations analysed and discussed the current situation of the LAI implementation.
The implementation of the Law on Access to Information (LAI), effective since July 1st 2018, has brought about positive results but more efforts and commitment from both the government and people are needed to bring in authentic effectiveness.
The dissemination and raising awareness about the Law and its guidance documents has not been prioritised. Staff from many state agencies have not known that providing information as requested by citizens is their public administration responsibilities. This has caused barriers for citizens to feel confident in accessing to information they need.
Meanwhile, citizens are yet to understand their own rights to access to information and their benefits, showing hesitation in requesting information from state agencies.
The guiding role of the Ministry of Justice and Provincial People’s Committees is highlighted in the discussion. Experts recommended that the Ministry develop a checklist of nine responsibilities for information provision and share it with all ministries and state agencies, People’s Committees, and Department of Justice in all 63 provinces and cities. A monitoring mechanism should be in place to report the task completion progress.
Experts also pointed out that Vietnam has not made the best use of its favorable technology foundation for disseminating laws and policies. The country currently has 59.2 million people using internet, accounting for 60 per cent of the population.
“We can expect better and more concrete results from implementing the Law on Access to Information,” said Ms. Ngo Thi Thu Ha, Director of CEPEW, on behalf of the research team, “We appreciate the Government Portal launched in December 2019; that is one great step to get the Government closer to citizens and vice versa. We should take this further by joint efforts in which the role of the press and mass media is critical”.
This workshop follows the first one held in March 2019 on the same topic. Both received financial support by the European Union and were organised by CEPEW, CARE, and Oxfam in collaboration with three coalitions, FORLAND, Vietnam Mining Coalition, Clean Water Alliance, and NorthNet – a network of more than 10 social organisations in the northern mountainous areas of Viet Nam./.