SECTOR 1 1.7 Public information is easily accessible, guaranteed by law to all citizens Article 7 of the Communication Code11 and article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights establish the principle of access to information. However, no specific law on access to information is yet in force. The project is underway with the Committee for the Safeguarding of Integrity (CSI)12, but no progress has been made. This makes it difficult to access public information. Even data on media statistics are difficult to obtain. However, there is a charter for access to information and knowledge-sharing.13 The draft charter was launched by the National Integrity Observatory in partnership with the Governance and Institutional Development Project (PGDI) in December 2013. At the time, it aimed to launch a process for adopting and monitoring access to public information. About thirty entities with public information were invited to sign the charter including the Public Treasury, the Ministry of Trade, the Financial Intelligence Service (SAMIFIN), the Independent Anti-Corruption Bureau (BIANCO), the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Ministry of Mining, the National Environment Office (ONE), the National Archives, the Malagasy Academy and the Reformed Malagasy Church. This charter is not binding, but is simply a moral guarantee for the institutions that apply it. In addition, through the Communication Code, which sets out to define “... the conditions, modalities and procedures for access to the administrative documents of public bodies by regulatory means” (article 7), the state seeks to compel public institutions to limit citizens’ and people’s access to public information. Through an order,14 the High Constitutional Court (HCC) expressed the view that any restrictions on access to information should be expressly laid down by law on the basis of the requirements of “respect for the rights or reputation of others” and “the protection of national security, public order, health or public morals” provided for in article 19.3 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. In doing so, the court encourages reference to the Charter on Access to Information and Knowledge Sharing.15 However, this order was not taken into account in the amendment of the Communication Code. 13 http://www.csi.gov.mg/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Charte_acces-l-information_Version-finale.pdf (accessed on 7 November 2019) 14 Order No. 30-HCC/D3 of 12 August 2016 related to the law No. 2016-029 on Media Communication Code (http:// www.hcc.gov.mg/decisions/d3/decision-n-30-hccd3-du-12-aout-2016-relative-a-la-loi-n2016-029-portant-code-de-lacommunication-mediatisee/) (accessed on 8 November 2019) 15 http://www.csi.gov.mg/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Charte_acces-l-information_Version-finale.pdf (accessed on 7 November 2019) 17 AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER MADAGASCAR 2019