For Immediate Release — 20 June 2011

                                                                                                         PRESS RELEASE

Ulan Bator 20.06.11: ARTICLE 19 welcomes the adoption of the Law on Information Transparency and Freedom of Information by the Parliament of Mongolia on June 16, 2011. The Law will come into effect in December 1, 2011.

“We are very pleased that Mongolia has now joined the nearly 90 countries across the world that provide legal protection for the right to information. The adoption of the Law on Information Transparency and Freedom of Information is an important milestone for enhancing public participation and government transparency in Mongolia,” said Agnes Callamard, Executive Director ARTICLE 19.

“We call upon the government and civil society of Mongolia to work together and allocate the necessary resources to ensure the effective implementation of the Law,” continued Callamard. For many years, there have been discussions in Mongolia around the adoption of a right to information legislation. ARTICLE 19 provided comments on the Draft Law of Mongolia on Freedom of Information in 2003 and 2006 respectively.

In January 2011, the campaign for a right to information law gathered momentum when the Mongolian Ministry of Justice submitted to Parliament a Draft Law of Mongolia on Information Transparency and Freedom of Information.

ENDS NOTES TO EDITORS:
-  For media interviews or more information please contact the ARTICLE 19 Press Office, Mona Samari, Senior Press Officer, email mona@article19 or call + 44 (207) 324 2510.
-  For a copy of the 2006 ARTICLE 19 Analysis of the draft of the Access to Information Bill, visit http://www.article19.org/pdfs/analysis/mongolia-foi-law.pdf
-  For a copy of the 2003 ARTICLE 19 Memorandumon the Law of Mongolia on Freedom of Information, visit http://www.article19.org/pdfs/analysis/mongolia.foi.03.pdf
-  ARTICLE 19 is an independent human rights organisation that works globally to protect and  promote the right to freedom of expression. It takes its name from Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which guarantees free speech. For more information on ARTICLE 19 please visit www.article19.org or follow article19org on Twitter.