Access to Information as an Enabler and Catalyst of Good Governance and Development – Insights from Recent Practices in the Arab Region

Good governance and the rule of law are the cornerstones for pursuing the Millennium Development Goals and development. The paper argues that there is evidence to strongly support that the implementation of the post-2015 development agenda should include the right of the public to information. The paper discusses recent developments in the Arab region, including Qatar, Tunisia, Jordan and Palestine, with regard to making government-held information and data accessible and available to the public. Recent legislative initiatives in the region demonstrate the political willingness to enable the public to access information in an effort to improve public services, strengthen transparency and involve citizens in policymaking and governance. Openness and civic engagement fuel in turn economic growth and aim at establishing knowledge-based societies. The paper also assesses the challenges of putting such legislative initiatives into practice within the societal context of the Arab region.