Paris Declaration

4th Global Summit of the Open Government Partnership

Acknowledging that our democracies must evolve over time and continually renew to build a more stable, prosperous, and equal world,

Believing that open government delivers better outcomes to citizens and pushes our democracies to become more citizen-oriented and transparent so that citizens have the means to engage more actively in decision-making processes that affect their lives, and governments truly serve their citizens,

Convinced that openness is essential to make our democracies more inclusive, just, and sustainable and to promote economic, social, cultural, civil and political rights for all, and that transparency, government accountability and open societies provide the strongest alternative to authoritarianism and closing space for civil society,

Recognizing that digital technologies and the increased availability of data are transforming the way citizens and governments interact, and are creating new opportunities of participation, responsiveness and ongoing dialogue,

Resolved to uphold the highest standards of integrity in our governments and our administrations which must be corruption-free and serve the larger public interest,

Committed to the purposes and principles of the United Nations, as reflected in its Charter, as well as the principles enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the UN Convention against Corruption, and other applicable international instruments related to human rights and good governance.

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We renew our commitment to the principles and values of the Open Government Partnership, outlined in the Open Government Declaration and encourage their realization through implementation of commitments and actions undertaken by all members,

We will continue to raise the ambition of our open government reforms, to deepen the collaboration between government and civil society,

We recognize that over the next five years the success of OGP will be measured by its ability to foster open government reforms benefitting citizens, and by the implementation of National Action Plan commitments,

We pledge to push forward the frontiers of open government reforms beyond transparency, to advance meaningful participation, accountability and responsiveness, and to create innovative alliances between civil society and government leading to more collaborative public services and decision-making processes,

We will promote learning, peer exchange, concrete cooperation and collaborative actions that build open governments, supported by digital and new technologies where relevant,

We will engage on open government throughout our public institutions, working with a range of constituencies – including governments, parliaments, subnational entities, civil society, the media, academia, and private sector – to build momentum behind the role of open government to address the development, social, economic and environmental challenges of the coming decades,

We will support and diversify the network of open government champions around the world,

We will promote open government among the civil service, encouraging changes in organizational culture and fostering the highest standards of professionalization, integrity and transparency,

We will, in furtherance of the principles of the Open Government Declaration, protect and defend civil society’s space to operate, to support mechanisms to ensure civil society engagement, and to keep civil society participation and the practice of co-creation at the core of our work,

We will protect, consistent with international law, freedom of expression, including for the press and all media, defend the role of journalism as a crucial force for transparency and accountability, and stand up against attacks and detention of journalists,

We will support open government at the local level, which will deepen the positive impact of our efforts and promote participatory initiatives to bring public policies closer to citizens,

We will support non-participating countries, upon their request, with their open government reforms, to widely promote the values of open government, and to strategically expand OGP membership where interest exists in eligible countries,

We pledge to advance the values and principles of open government widely, including in other global initiatives such as the Sustainable Development Goals, anti-corruption efforts and the fight against climate change, so that OGP and the principles of open government help strategically advance implementation, in coordination with established monitoring and implementation mechanisms, including those implemented by the United Nations,

We will keep on challenging ourselves and each other in the spirit of OGP’s race to the top and promote collective open government actions as a means to advance open government and national reform in ways that inspire the wider open government community,

We make these commitments on a non-binding voluntary basis, knowing that we all joined OGP because we can do better and that the true mandate of governments is to serve its people.

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COLLECTIVE ACTIONS TO ACCELERATE OPEN GOVERNMENT

The collective actions proposed in support of this Declaration offer concrete ways to push the frontiers of open government and advance reform at the global, national and subnational levels in: transparency, integrity and anti-corruption; sustainable development and climate change; and common digital tools and capacity. Through joining a particular collective action on a non-binding voluntary basis and to the extent permitted under its laws, each government member or civil society organization will share tools, expertise and experiences, or mobilize technical or financial resources where possible and appropriate. Where OGP government members participate in new collective actions, they will work with civil society to ensure these actions are reflected as commitments in their current or future National Action Plans. OGP governments and civil society organizations are only endorsing the collective actions that they choose to join.

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Collective Actions

Declaration – English | French