A/HRC/7/21 page 15 50. Articles 4 and 5 of the Convention obligates States parties to collect and publicly disseminate information, and to make such information available to the public in response to requests. Each party to the Convention is to publish a national report on the state of the environment every three to four years. In addition to the national report, the party is obliged to disseminate legislative and policy documents, treaties and other international instruments relating to the environment. Each party must ensure that public authorities, upon request, provide environmental information to a requesting person without the latter having to state an interest. Information should be made public within one month, or, in exceptional cases, in not more than two months (art. 4 (2)). In addition to providing information on request, each State party must be proactive, ensuring that public authorities collect and update environmental information relevant to their functions. This requires States parties to establish mandatory systems to obtain information on proposed and existing activities which could significantly affect the environment. (art. 5 (1)). The Convention does provide for a number of exceptions in article 4 (4) to the duty to inform, in the light of other political, economic and legal considerations, but they are to be interpreted in a restrictive way and take into account the public interest served by disclosure. 51. Public participation is guaranteed by articles 6 to 8 of the Convention. Public participation is required in regard to all decisions on whether to permit or renew permission for industrial, agricultural and construction activities listed in annex I to the Convention, as well as other activities which may have a significant impact on the environment (art. 6 (1) (a)-(b)). The public must be informed in detail about the proposed activity early in the decision-making process and be given time to prepare and participate in the decision-making (art. 6 (2)-(3)). In addition to providing for public participation in decisions on specific projects, the Convention calls for public participation in the preparation of environmental plans, programmes, policies, laws and regulations (arts. 7 and 8). Regional instruments (a) Africa 52. Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights stipulates that every individual has the right to receive information (art. 9 (1)) and to express and disseminate his opinions within the law (art. 9 (2)). 53. In 2002, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights adopted a declaration of principles, in which it stated that “public bodies hold information not for themselves but as custodians of the public good and everyone has a right to access this information” (principle IV). Principle IV (2) guarantees the right to information. Although the declaration is not legally binding, the Special Rapporteur notes that it reflects the thoughts of African people and has considerable moral force. (b) Arab States 54. The Arab Ministerial Conference on Environment and Development adopted in 1991 the Arab Declaration on Environment and Development and Future Perspectives (see A/46/632), in which the League of Arab States stressed the right of individuals and organizations to acquire information about environmental issues and to participate in the formulation and implementation of decisions that could affect their environment.