Democracy News

Brazil and US Announce the Open Government Partnership
July 15, 2011
By: Carlos Aramayo | Printer Friendly

On July 12, United States (US) Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Brazilian Foreign Minister Antonio Patriota announced the formation of the Open Government Partnership. The organization aims to promote the use of innovative technologies to enhance government transparency, accountability and public engagement. The partnership will be formally launched in September 2011, after the steering committee develops a cohesive declaration and member countries announce action plans. The Open Government Partnership will be co-chaired by the US and Brazil during its inaugural year. The partnership follows President Obama’s pledge at the United Nations General Assembly in September 2010, to foster open government practices around the world in an effort to fight government corruption and improve accountability.

The announcement was made at a meeting attended by government officials and nongovernment organizations from around the world. The partnership leadership also established an online presence by launching a new website, a Facebook page and a Twitter account. The endeavor comes at a time when many transparency advocates view social media and transparency websites as tools for increasing government openness and getting public feedback.

During his speech Brazilian Foreign Minister Patriota stated that the partnership does not seek to “produce rankings; rather, it will promote the exchange of views and experiences in a spirit of respect for the specific circumstances of each individual country.” Patriota added that the main goal of the partnership is to “create an environment in which countries can evaluate the implementation of voluntary commitments in a technical, neutral, non-adversarial manner.”

Secretary Clinton related recent pro-democracy protests around the world with a lack of public engagement in government affairs. “When people are kept away from participating in the work of their governments or the actions of their leaders, when they have no idea how decisions are made or tax revenues are spent, when they have no voice in the political process, eventually they will say, ‘Enough,’” Clinton stated.

Clinton added that the organization aims at building a partnership with civil society and the private sector in order to “support those leaders and citizens working to bring more transparency and accountability to governments worldwide.”

US Undersecretary for Democracy and Global Affairs Maria Otero stated that governments around the world should be pursuing greater transparency in several ways — by publishing more data, engaging with the public to monitor and oversee delivery of services and obtaining input from the public on how to improve services. Transparency “can decrease and discourage corruption,” Otero said.

Sources:
US Department of State – The Open Government Partnership

Open Government Partnership Website