Lanka Business Online: Colombo:
Tuesday, May 17, 2016.
Remarks by
Ambassador Atul Keshap
Right to
Information (RTI) Interactive Dialogue Launch
May 16, 2016
– Water’s Edge Hotel, Colombo, Sri Lanka
Honorable
Minister, Members of Parliament, ladies and gentlemen,
It is an
honor to address this gathering as you discuss the creation of a Right to
Information bill designed to enhance citizens’ access to transparency and
insight about their government.
Any democracy
requires that government officials be accountable to the citizens who elected
them, and that accountability requires transparency. Your discussions today
reflect a growing consensus in the global community – as reflected in the
United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals – for countries to “ensure
public access to information and protect fundamental freedoms.”
This year,
ladies and gentlemen, the United States will celebrate the 50-year anniversary
of our own Freedom of Information Act, set up to ensure our citizens have the
right to monitor what their government does. Its passage was not easy. First
championed by a lawmaker from California in 1955, he could not find enough
support until years later, in 1966. And even upon enactment, it was opposed by
every U.S. federal agency and department.
But what we
have learned over these years is that transparency leads to better governance,
a government more truly by the people and for the people, as enshrined in our
constitution. And our version of the Right to Information has continued to
evolve with amendments and improvements to better reflect our unique national
circumstances and changes in communications technologies.
The bottom
line is that we understand information maintained by the federal government is
a national asset that needs to be readily accessible by the public. As
President Obama stated on his first day on the job, “In the face of doubt, openness
prevails.”
Just as
President Obama made government transparency one of his first priorities, I am
also encouraged by similar pledges from President Sirisena, Prime Minister
Wickremesinghe, and other top government officials in Sri Lanka. Certainly, the
last elections have shown that Sri Lanka’s voters consider government
transparency a priority.
As Secretary
Kerry promised during his visit a year ago, the United States will “stand by
your side” as you make progress on these important good governance reforms and
human rights commitments.
As reflected
in our increased cooperation over the past 16 months, our diplomatic relations
are at an all-time high. Our development cooperation in 2015 and 2016 totaled
almost $40 million per annum, and the administration has requested a similar
amount in fiscal year 2017. As a result of your commitment to good governance
and ruling justly, the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) is working with
Sri Lanka to design a threshold program that can potentially unlock millions in
additional assistance to boost economic growth.
In February,
our governments launched the U.S.-Sri Lanka Partnership Dialogue, which expands
and reinforces our whole-of-government cooperation in development, governance,
energy, trade, and security. We also had our first ship visit to Colombo in
eleven years in March.
Through our
increasingly close partnership, we are exploring new avenues to strengthen Sri
Lanka’s economy. In April, we hosted the U.S.-Sri Lanka Trade and Investment
Framework Agreement (TIFA) Council Meeting in Washington, which will further
intensify our trade and business relations. We have launched programs to train
Sri Lankan business leaders and government officials in best practices for the
tourism industry, a sector with great promise for expansion. Experience has
shown that businesses and investors – both foreign and domestic – prefer
governance systems that are transparent and where officials are held
accountable for their decisions and actions. We are finalizing efforts to lend
expertise on public financial management reforms over the next two years.
Our
initiatives are also helping to establish a stable post-conflict society across
Sri Lanka. U.S. Agency for International Development-supported projects help
strengthen the rule of law, build a robust civil society, and strengthen
democracy and prosperity. At the request of your government, we are now
supporting reforms through assistance focused on public financial management,
the Elections Commission, and the Parliament.
All of these
build upon the decades of steadfast U.S. support designed to help create jobs
and prosperity, ensure food security and access to clean water, support women’s
livelihoods and well-being, and help citizens recover from natural disasters.
The task of
strengthening good governance anywhere in the world is never easy, but
enshrining citizens’ Right to Information in legislation will be an important
step in the right direction. Such legislation will give Sri Lankans the tools
to make their country a better place, and prevent any return to an era of secrecy
and a lack of accountability.
These are the
promises your government made to its voters before the elections last year. You
understood that a preponderant majority of well-meaning Sri Lankans want to
transition to an era of reconciliation, unity, peace, democracy, and rule of
law. I applaud your resolve to help Sri Lanka restore its standing in the
international community, including, notably, through historic co-sponsorship of
the UN Resolution that pledges Sri Lanka to tread the difficult but essential
path toward reconciliation, truth, justice, and non-recurrence of conflict for
all.
There are
other important decisions before you, the leaders of your people, including
some that will require principled leadership and determination in order to set
this country firmly on a path towards greater and lasting peace and prosperity.
The effort to make the Constitution more fair and inclusive, to reflect and
celebrate the diversity of Sri Lanka, to ensure equal rights and opportunity
for all Sri Lankans, to empower citizens to achieve their full potential,
reflects a courageous, positive, and principled vision.
As you,
acting as your citizens’ elected representatives, seize this rare and historic
moment to effect lasting and positive change, please know that the people and
government of the United States stand with you and will walk by your side as
friends.
Some of these
needed reforms are not easy, but the new atmosphere of peace and democracy in
Sri Lanka affords you a precious opportunity to effect needed change. Replacing
the outdated Prevention of Terrorism Act with a new national security legal
architecture can help not only prevent future abuses, but also ensure stronger
defenses against modern threats to Sri Lanka, and to it democracy and citizens’
rights.
All of you
understand the heart-breaking need to create a credible and effective
institution to bring truth, resolution, and justice to those families who lost
loved ones on both sides of the war, and to foster a lasting climate of
reconciliation and brotherhood after so many years of conflict.
Your
government has launched a discussion with ordinary citizens and civil society
to determine the best way forward, and we look forward to steady progress
toward healing these wounds, including the establishment of an Office of
Missing Persons, and other helpful steps.
As you
proceed with your discussions on the Right to Information, your work will send
clear signals of Sri Lanka’s commitment to reform and good governance. You are
truly fortunate to serve your citizenry at a historic and golden moment when
the vast majority of Sri Lankans want a better and more positive future, free
of war and racism, and marked by mutual respect, harmony, democracy,
transparency, and prosperity.
It is also
your good luck to enjoy an opportunity after many decades of strife to send a
powerful message to the international community that Sri Lanka is truly back on
the global stage, a model democracy with innovative solutions to post-conflict
transitions, and dedicated to fulfilling its UN commitments.
Thank you
once again for inviting me to speak before you. The United States looks forward
to opportunities to provide more support, bring more resources, and share more
expertise in your efforts to restore Sri Lanka’s rightful place as a leader in
the international community, one that contributes to the global economy;
promotes human rights, accountability, transitional justice, and democracy; and
that helps to uphold international law.
I wish you
the best of luck for a meaningful dialogue today, and the successful passage of
this important legislation, a key element on the path towards good governance.
Thank you
very much.
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