III. >> M  ethodological Approaches to Human Rights Indicators >> Ethical, statistical and human rights considerations in indicator selection Box 10 National statistical systems and the right to information Access to information is a human right in itself and empowers people to exercise other human rights. The right to information is enshrined in the international human rights treaties, especially in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and its article 19 on freedom of expression, which includes the right to seek, receive and impart information. In 1946, the United Nations General Assembly adopted resolution 59 (I), stating that “[f]reedom of information is a fundamental human right and the touchstone of all the freedoms to which the United Nations is consecrated”. If official information (excluding exemptions that must be clearly defined by law) is made available, accessible and understandable, it could serve as a catalyst for participation in decision-making and the realization of other human rights. The right to information applies to the production and dissemination of official statistics, whether produced with commonly available administrative records or more sophisticated statistical tools. Official statisticians are therefore key actors for the realization of the right to information and for human rights in general. In this regard, the Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics adopted by the United Nations Statistical Commission in 1994 stress the duty of official statistical systems to “honour citizens’ entitlement to public information” (Principle 1). The preamble to the Principles states that the essential trust of the public in official statistical information depends to a large extent on respect for the fundamental values and principles which are the basis of any society that seeks to understand itself and to respect the rights of its members. By 2010, about 90 countries had adopted right-to-information legislation. Among the main characteristics of these laws is the principle of disclosing maximum information: P ublic bodies have a duty to release information and members of the public have a concomitant right to request that information;  ot only are public bodies expected to release information if specifically requested to do so, they N are also expected to publish and disseminate information of significant public interest (e.g., details on budget spending, administration of justice); The right to access information can be claimed by any resident in the country; T he State should not require any person requesting information to demonstrate a need for or interest in the information. If a public body does not want to release the information requested, it is for the public body to justify that refusal, not for the individual to justify his or her interest. While the dissemination of administrative data has to fulfil the “right to know” of the population, it also has to protect its human right to privacy and confidentiality (Principle 6). Official statisticians also have to facilitate a correct interpretation of the data and present information according to scientific standards on sources, methods and procedures (Principle 3). This means, inter alia, understandable information for users, including non-statisticians, and dissemination of metadata on compiled indicators (see examples in chap. IV). Finally, statistical agencies are entitled to comment on the erroneous interpretation and misuse of statistics (Principle 4), which is fundamental for the realization of the right to information. Sources: Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics, adopted by the United Nations Statistical Commission, available from http://unstats.un.org/unsd/dnss/gp/fundprinciples.aspx; Declaration on Professional Ethics, adopted by the International Statistical Institute, available from http://isi-web.org/about/ethics-intro; and United Nations Development Programme, Practical Guidance Note on the Right to Information (2004). Human Rights Indicators 47