Juldeh Jalloh Urges Global Cooperation on Information Access as Sierra Leone Hosts ICIC+IDUAI
Osman Tolo Sesay Vice President Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh has called for stronger international cooperation to expand access to reliable information and strengthen information governance as global stakeholders meet in Sierra Leone.
Jalloh made the call Monday while officially opening the 17th International Conference of Information Commissioners (ICIC) alongside UNESCO’s global commemoration of the International Day for Universal Access to Information (IDUAI).
The three-day conference, held September 28-30 at the Julius Maada Bio International Conference Centre in Lungi, is being hosted by Sierra Leone’s Right to Access Information Commission in collaboration with UNESCO. Its theme is “Upholding Information Integrity in the Digital Age: The Role of Access to Information in Addressing Information Disorder.”
Delivering the keynote address on behalf of President Julius Maada Bio, Jalloh welcomed participants and described the gathering as timely amid rapid digital transformation and growing citizen participation in public affairs.
He said access to information has become an important element of modern citizenship and democratic development, particularly for countries seeking to strengthen institutions and public participation.
Jalloh traced Sierra Leone’s information and democratic development through periods of one-party rule, civil conflict and the return to multiparty democracy in the 1990s.
Against that history, he identified citizens’ ability to obtain public information as one measure of democratic development, according to his keynote address.
The vice president highlighted Sierra Leone’s Right to Access Information Act of 2013, which established the Right to Access Information Commission, as a key step in creating a formal framework for citizens to obtain public information.
He also pointed to data protection legislation as part of the country’s wider effort to regulate and protect information.
Jalloh said access to information allows citizens to examine government performance, participate in policy discussions and hold public officials accountable. He also linked greater access to stronger public institutions and public trust.
He cited the 2020 repeal of criminal libel provisions in the Public Order Act as another milestone in Sierra Leone’s efforts to reform its information and democratic environment.
The vice president said the rapid development of digital technologies and artificial intelligence has expanded opportunities for information access while creating new challenges for governments and citizens.
He identified limited internet connectivity, particularly in rural communities, literacy barriers and institutional practices affecting the release of public information among the challenges that require continued attention.
The conference itself is centered on the relationship between access to information and information disorder, with organizers describing credible and accurate public information as an important tool for addressing misinformation, disinformation and hate speech.
Jalloh also connected information governance to broader economic pressures confronting developing countries, including climate change, debt, international crises and rising energy and commodity costs.
He said governments face competing demands for limited resources and must balance investments in information systems with priorities such as health care and education.
The vice president therefore called for sustainable approaches that can strengthen information governance while taking account of the economic circumstances of developing countries.
He urged ICIC, UNESCO and other international partners to support young democracies as they develop systems capable of responding to the changing information environment.
The official conference program places Jalloh at the center of the opening ceremony and includes subsequent sessions examining how timely and reliable official information can strengthen the information environment and counter information disorder.
The conference will also examine issues including credible public data, information disorder in Africa, access to information among women and young people, data protection and beneficial ownership transparency.
Jalloh urged participants to use the gathering to identify practical measures for expanding access to reliable information, protecting information integrity and strengthening democratic institutions while accounting for the institutional and economic realities of developing countries.
The conference continues in Lungi through September 30.