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Access to Information Laws in MENA

In a new four-part series, our authors unpack the importance of this right in the MENA region, focusing on Jordan, Tunisia, and Lebanon, and speaking to stakeholders on prospects for reform.


In 2007, Jordan became the first Arabic-speaking country in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) to issue a law governing the right of access to information. In the years since, it has been joined by Tunisia, Yemen, Lebanon, Morocco, and Sudan. 

An often-overlooked pillar of a functioning democratic society, access to information is at the heart of transparency, accountability, and equity. In a new four-part series, our authors unpack the importance of this right in the MENA region, focusing on Jordan, Tunisia, and Lebanon, and speaking to stakeholders on prospects for reform.

  • An introductory piece explains the right of access to information, its impact on society, and its significance for the MENA region. 
  • A second piece on Jordan explores how vague language in the legal text, bureaucracy, and insufficient awareness among government officials have severely slowed implementation of the right of access to information.
  • Though Tunisia’s access to information law is hailed as one of the most progressive in the world, its introduction has not been accompanied by a change in culture, leaving question marks on its efficacy, as a third piece explores.
  • In a country reeling from the explosion at its main port, a crippling economic crisis, and endemic corruption, access to information has the potential to be a gamechanger. Our final piece delves into Lebanon and the role that an access to information law has played there.
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