A/HRC/4/71 page 10 20. Sandra Coliver, Senior Legal Officer at the Open Society Justice Initiative (OSJI), stressed the importance of the right of access to information held by public authorities, and the need for the United Nations to further develop, codify, protect and promote this right. She noted the growing recognition of the value of access to information laws since out of 68 countries currently with such laws, 56 have adopted them since 1992 and 36 since 2000. Ms. Coliver cited the findings of OSJI’s recent survey of 14 countries. The analysis of over 1,900 requests for information revealed that all governments provide information erratically: in many cases the same request received a different answer when filed by a different requestor; 47 per cent of requests yielded no response at all; and requests from disadvantaged groups (e.g.: Roma, the disabled, etc.) were ignored at a rate twice that of other requestors. 21. Ms. Coliver cited several examples where access to information produced significant and concrete results in addressing corruption around the world. Following a 2003 Mexican law requiring that information be published automatically by certain institutions, the new director of a publicly-funded university made the payroll public, thus exposing rampant misappropriation, which resulted in dismissals and the recovery of 400 million pesos ($40 million). In Japan, private lawyers used local government access to information laws to secure the release of local officials’ expense accounts between 1995 and 1997; the disclosure resulted in cuts in the food and beverage budgets of Japan’s 47 prefectures by the equivalent of more than $100 million. In the Indian State of Rajasthan, where no access to information law existed, public pressure was used by an NGO to force local government officials to provide an account of all expenditures made in relation to development work. The revelations of fraud and diversion of monies led to the return of some misappropriated funds, one arrest, and a national campaign demanding an access to information law, which eventually was passed. Ms Coliver also cited examples where information was disclosed, despite objections on the grounds that the documents contained commercial secrets. In the light of those examples of how the right to information has enabled informed and meaningful public participation and exposed corruption and mismanagement, she recommended greater United Nations attention to this right and noted that the Human Rights Committee has never addressed the right to information and that few United Nations bodies have taken up its content. Besides no norm-creating body has affirmed its existence. She observed that although UNCAC affirmed the importance of access to information in promoting public participation and combating corruption, it does not refer to a “right of access”. 22. Anna Bossman, Acting Chair, Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice of Ghana, spoke about the Commission’s anti-corruption mandate. Established in 1993, the Commission combines three institutions under one umbrella: a human rights institution, the ombudsman and an anti-corruption agency. Its anti-corruption mandate consists of investigating an array of complaints that include alleged abuses of power, unfair treatment and misappropriation of public monies by public officials. Since it was established, the Commission has investigated over 125 corruption cases throughout the country, including very high profile cases. In 2005 the country was rocked by two such cases, one involving the President of the Republic and the other the Minister of Transport. The public outcry and debate that ensued were particularly strident as the Government had been elected on a platform of zero tolerance for corruption. The Commission took up the cases on its own initiative. By highlighting the principles of accountability and integrity in public service, and publicly affirming the principle