Mauritania: RSF welcomes the bill on access to and use of public information, the fulfillment of a presidential commitment, and calls for stronger safeguards

The bill, which has been under discussion since April 2026, includes several important advances, among them: universal recognition of the right to access and use public information - meaning the right of any individual or legal entity to access information held by public bodies - an obligation for public bodies to proactively publish data, free access to information as a general principle, and a reduced 15-day response deadline for requests from journalists and researchers. These provisions are part of the media sector reform drive undertaken by Mauritanian authorities since 2019.

RSF's recommendations to deliver on these commitments

However, RSF believes that the law's real impact will depend on the procedural safeguards that accompany it. The organization is therefore proposing the following amendments to strengthen its effectiveness:

• more strictly limit exceptions to the right of access, by requiring authorities to demonstrate actual harm in cases of refusal;
• reduce the administrative silence period that constitutes an implicit refusal, currently set at four months, to bring it closer to international standards;
• strengthen the independence of the ombudsman responsible for reviewing appeals, through an appointment process requiring input from Parliament and civil society;
• introduce a public transparency requirement when authorities uphold a refusal, through explicit mention in the ombudsman's annual report.

RSF calls on Mauritanian authorities to incorporate these proposals during the upcoming parliamentary review, following consultation with professional organizations, in order to guarantee Mauritanian journalists a fully effective right to access information.

This text builds on regional commitments made by Mauritania, which has joined the International Partnership for Information and Democracy and publicly endorsed the Dakar Declaration on the right to information in the Sahel, initiated by RSF. This bill thus offers an opportunity to translate, at the national level, commitments already affirmed on the regional and international stage.

Mauritania ranks 61st out of 180 countries and territories in RSF's 2026 World Press Freedom Index.