Ram Takes Access-to-Information Battle International as Ramson Challenges Court Ruling

Attorney-at-Law Christopher Ram has taken Guyana’s access-to-information dispute to 13 diplomatic, regional and international organisations, accusing the Ali administration of failing to defend citizens’ right to know while Commissioner of Information Charles Ramson Sr. appeals a High Court ruling requiring him to act on outstanding information requests.

In a press release dated October 24, Ram said he had written to the heads of mission of the European Union, United States, China, United Kingdom, Canada and India, as well as CARICOM, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the United Nations Human Rights Committee, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, Transparency International and the World Justice Project.

Ram said he had asked the organisations to intervene within their respective mandates, including urging the Government to address the dispute, seeking accountability for possible violations of the right to information, and examining how the Government records and pays taxes on behalf of oil companies.