ISS Seminar, Pretoria: Democracy, Information and National Security

Date: 2010-07-15

Venue: Institute for Security Studies Institute for Security Studies, Block C Brooklyn Court, 361 Veale Street, Brooklyn

RSVP: Ms Mmakwena Rabele
Email: [email protected] Tel: (012) 346 9500
Fax: (012) 460 0998

Presented by the Security Sector Governance Programme.

Given the public interest in the Protection of Information Bill that is currently under consideration in the South African Parliament, the ISS and Freedom of Expression Institute are hosting a public seminar to exchange ideas about the protection of information within a democratic dispensation. The seminar aims to bring together interested civil society groups, media practitioners, parliamentarians and representatives from the state security apparatus to provide a platform for dialogue on what is an important piece of legislation for South Africa.

Legislation to regulate the classification and declassification of information has been expected in South Africa since the end of the apartheid regime. The current legislation – The Protection of Information Act – dates back to 1982 and the height of the centralised security state. The 1982 Act does not find resonance in a democratic society with constitutional imperatives of openness, transparency and accountability. In this regard, the new Protection of Information Bill is welcomed as a step towards improving access to information by creating restrictions on the types of information that can be classified and controlled and limits on the periods for which information can be classified. Civil society groups have, however, expressed significant concerns about the potential of the new Bill to restrict media freedom, limit access to information and curtail public accountability.

The purpose of the seminar is to explore the modalities for regulating the restriction of access to information in order to protect legitimate national security interests while safeguarding the constitutional rights of access to information, participatory governance and public accountability.

Speakers:

Raymond Louw Former editor of the Rand Daily Mail and International Press Institute World Press Freedom Hero

Patrick Craven, Spokesperson for the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU)

Lauren Hutton, Researcher, Security Sector Governance Programme, Institute for Security Studies

Melissa Moore, Freedom of Expression Institute

Please note that discussions occur under ISS Rules. Participants are free to use the information presented, but neither the identity nor the affiliation of the speaker(s), nor that of any other participant, may be revealed without his/her express permission.