The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) has announced a series of initiatives aimed at strengthening access to information and promoting information integrity across Africa, particularly in the face of disinformation, algorithmic amplification, and online hate speech.
The Commission announced the initiatives in a statement issued in Banjul, The Gambia, on September 28, 2026, on its behalf by Commissioner Ourveena Geereesha Topsy-Sonoo, the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information in Africa, to commemorate this year’s International Day for Universal Access to Information (IDUAI), which is observed annually on September 28.
This year’s commemoration is being held under the theme, “Upholding Information Integrity in the Digital Age: The role of access to Information in addressing Information Disorder.”
The Commission said the theme highlights the importance of access to reliable, transparent information in addressing the challenges created by information disorder in the digital environment.
According to the Commission, access to information enables citizens to obtain reliable information that can help counter false or misleading content and contributes to the accuracy, reliability, and trustworthiness of the wider information ecosystem.
The Special Rapporteur said the Commission had initiated three major measures relevant to information integrity and the digital environment, firstly with the implementation of its Resolution 630, which mandates the development of guidelines to assist African States in monitoring technology companies’ compliance with their responsibility to uphold information integrity.
Citing the Commission’s adoption of Resolution 631, which calls for the development of Guidelines to ensure that all platforms operating in Africa serve the public interest, as the second initiative, she said the Commission will thirdly be considering the African Guidelines on Access to Data, pursuant to its Resolution 620.
The Special Rapporteur stressed that together, the three initiatives will serve to promote the accuracy, reliability, and trustworthiness of the information ecosystem, adding that the instruments will also enable the monitoring of how digital platforms and artificial intelligence (AI) services are impacting information integrity, by promoting transparency about disinformation, algorithmic amplification, and online hate speech.
The Commission also disclosed that it would review its Model Law on Access to Information for Africa in 2027, with a view to incorporating issues arising from the digital age.
The Commission said the forthcoming review of the Model Law, which was adopted in 2013 to assist African States in developing national legislation guaranteeing the right of access to information, would seek to ensure that the model legislation reflects developments and challenges associated with the digital environment.
It noted that the right of access to information is guaranteed under Article 9(1) of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and that the right is also recognised in several other African instruments, including the African Charter on Democracy, Elections, and Good Governance; the African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption; the African Charter on the Values and Principles of Public Service and Administration; and the African Youth Charter.
According to the ACHPR, the recognition of access to information in these different instruments demonstrates both its importance and its cross-cutting nature.
It also noted that the International Day for Universal Access to Information emerged from cooperation between African civil society and African States at UNESCO and that the day has been recognised as an opportunity to promote and reinforce the fundamental right of everyone to seek, receive, and impart information.
