COVID-19 is an Opportunity to Open Access to Information in the Mekong Region
Access to information is important for people in the Mekong Region. Considered to be a fundamental human right, access to information allows people to participate more fully in society, access other rights, and effectively exercise their voice, especially in communication with their respective governments. However, communities typically marginalised in the region — such as migrant workers, rural communities, Indigenous Peoples and ethnic minorities, and women — typically have less access to information. As information is often only made available in a language that they cannot understand or a written format they cannot read, information is either obscure or inaccessible, and the digital divide continues to widen. Without mandates in policies and laws catering to these communities, the communities bear the brunt of inequalities without having access to the tools to do anything about it.
The COVID-19 pandemic has shone a spotlight on some of these inequalities. It has also highlighted that transparency and access to information can impact the ability of citizens to take quick and appropriate action to save lives. Making information accessible is urgent and has direct impacts.
The current legal framework for access to information in the region remains generally limited and in some cases, contradictory. Legal protection that specifically and broadly grants the right to access information exists only in Thailand, while relevant draft laws are starting to appear in the other Mekong countries. Without a current framework, the majority of governments in the region release information at their own discretion. Thus, different countries in the region have responded differently to releasing information about COVID-19, with different results. Vietnam experienced a positive outcome from increasing access to information about the virus as part of its emergency response. On the other hand, concerns have arisen regarding the impact of coronavirus on areas in Myanmar already struggling with conflict, hampered by government limitations on access to information and telecommunications, potentially in contravention of WHO operational planning guidelines.
Although the COVID-19 pandemic is a novel situation, the issue of accessing information is a long-standing one. Yet, the pandemic is a unique opportunity for governments to openly shift policies in favour of the right to access information, as Indonesian President Joko Widodo has done.
On the other hand, if governments can’t or won’t provide access to information in an inclusive, principled way, then alternatives need to be made available to marginalised populations to help them generate the information they need as well as to push for change on existing access. Organisations like the Asia Indigenous People’s Pact work to make information accessible in Indigenous languages and useful formats (video, visual, non-digital) for Indigenous Peoples, while reflecting and recording the realities of these communities, especially during the pandemic. In Myanmar, The Ananda works to make government budgetary data open and has produced a policy brief to help citizens ask the government questions regarding COVID-19 response. Across the Mekong Region, the Open Development Mekong network offers trainings on digital literacy to marginalised populations while aggregating and contextualising data and data products on a regionally integrated platform to turn data into usable information for its users, including on COVID-19. These skills will also be helpful to marginalized populations seeking information on the allocation of government resources to address the longer term effects of the pandemic.
At the same time, citizens need to be provided with the skills to access and use information being made available, and to advocate for the quality of information that they need. Following on efforts in Cambodia and Thailand, skills in data analysis and data literacy must be developed to enable people to effectively use the information they generate and being made available, to advocate for the quality of information they need. Meanwhile, tools increasing accessibility of information, for instance by visualising data or drawing connections between data and services, will improve familiarity and interactions with data.
Although the pandemic has highlighted the need to increase access to information and the benefits of doing so, this long-standing issue remains an action item for the Mekong region. Fortunately, advocates and organisations across the region have shown that there is more than one way to make this happen. Access to information and the skills to do so remains a vital tool for marginalised populations to exercise rights and access services, and the time to push this effort is now.
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To learn more about what the Open Development Initiative team has been up to, visit www.opendevelopmentmekong.net.
