Transparent and accountable reconstruction of Ukraine depends on the open data availability  — Open statement RISE Ukraine - Coalition for Reconstruction

Transparent and accountable reconstruction of Ukraine depends on the open data availability  — Open statement RISE Ukraine - Coalition for Reconstruction.

As the RISE Ukraine Coalition member, UNIC aims to support the reconstruction and modernization of Ukraine after the war and to increase the number of funds allocated for reconstruction to ensure their transparent and effective use.

Achieving this goal is currently under threat because, after the martial law introduction, valuable sets of open data on which the infrastructure of transparency and anti-corruption in Ukraine was built for years disappeared from public access.

The information in open registers and databases is the primary basis for public participation in anti-corruption activities and allows for constant monitoring and analysis to prevent abuse and embezzlement of budget funds and misuse of state and communal resources, which is especially important now, during the Russian-Ukrainian war.

Access to open data for business is also no less important since business representatives, to one degree or another, participate in anti-corruption monitoring and government actions control - through participation in the associations' activities, involvement in the work of public and supervisory councils of authorities, cooperation with public organizations, engaged in anti-corruption investigations, etc. In addition, access to open registries and databases is critical for businesses to know their contractors, clients, partners, and potential employees.

A temporary access restriction to certain information during wartime may be justified but must be explained and meet clear criteria for determining security-sensitive information. Therefore, it is necessary to review the approach of chaotic access closure to open data.

We appeal on information administrators:

• Urgently restore access to priority data sets in an amount that does not pose a security threat;
• For information that poses a security threat and is withheld on this basis, to make public the reasons for such decisions.

The RISE Coalition has formulated specific proposals for restoring access to priority data sets.

Full text of the open statement https://bit.ly/3CF5IRc