the right to know
“Environmental openness is an
inalienable human right. Any attempt to
conceal any information about harmful
impact on people and the environment is a
crime against humanity.”
Russian environmental activist Alexandr
Nikitin, who was charged with espionage for
contributing to a report that exposed
illegal nuclear waste dumping.
People have the right to play an active
role in protecting their environments, and
access to information is key to securing
this right. There is a great deal of
secrecy surrounding the activities of
corporations and their financial backers
around the world. Governments too often
collude with these schemes to keep illegal,
unethical or simply unpopular projects and
processes away from public scrutiny.
In response, communities and individuals
are calling for information disclosure when
activities impact the environment or
people. Campaigners and citizens are making
use of ‘right to know' provisions on the
national and international levels; for
example, Friends of the Earth Germany is
suing their government for refusing to
release information about the contribution
of the country's Export Credit Agencies to
climate change. In the United States ,
groups including Friends of the Earth are
calling for an International Right to Know
requirement, which would force companies to
reveal environmental, labor and human
rights information about their overseas
operations.
International financial institutions are
notoriously non-transparent and
nonparticipatory in their operations. In
Slovakia , Friends of the Earth is working
with people in the town of Ruzomberok to
require the European Investment Bank to
address the environmental and social
impacts of its funding for a polluting
paper mill.
