Mexico, INAI, 9 March 2022, RRA 359/22
Case overview
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Link to the full text of the decision
General Summary
The INAI resolves a review appeal against the decision of the Ministry of health to deny information related to the vaccines received as a donation and those acquired by Mexico. The Ministry alleged that making part of that information known would lead to affecting the agreed obligations with the vaccine providers.
According to INAI, the information requested does not imply revealing standards, procedures, methods, sources, technical specifications, technologies or equipment useful for generating intelligence for that purpose and its publicity does not represent a threat, since it only requires, mainly, numerical data.
Thus, the INAI instructed the Ministry of Health to disclose information regarding the countries that have requested donated vaccines from Mexico and the total donations made, the nations to which the country required donated vaccines and the number of donations received, as well as the number of vaccines that were purchased.
Facts of the case
One person asked the Ministry of Health for information on the countries that have asked Mexico for donated vaccines against COVID-19, the total number of vaccines that Mexico has donated to other countries, the number of donated vaccines that Mexico has received and the total number of vaccines that the country has purchased.
Regarding the number of donated vaccines that Mexico has received and the total number of vaccines that have been purchased, the Ministry specified that the information was publicly available and provided the respective access links to the individual.
With respect to the rest of the information requested, the Ministry of Health refused to provide it, arguing that making it known would lead to affecting the agreed obligations, which in turn would give rise to a public health problem, because it would be hindering or blocking actions aimed at preventing or combating epidemics or exotic diseases in the country, and the destruction, disqualification or sabotage of any infrastructure of a strategic nature and essential for the provision of public goods and services.
Given this response, the applicant filed an appeal for review before the INAI.
Type of measure challenged
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Individual / collective enforcement
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Private individualDefendant(s)
Public
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Reasoning of the deciding body
In the analysis of the case, it was noted that information that puts the operation of the National Vaccination Campaign at risk could be protected to a certain extent as long as it made possible its destruction, its disqualification or sabotage of any infrastructure that was of a strategic or priority nature, as well as the essential provision of goods or services that could hinder or block actions aimed at preventing or combating epidemics or exotic diseases in the national territory.
The Institute stressed that the Inter-American Court of Human Rights hae enumerated the main standards in terms of the right to health, applicable to the pandemic, a situation that continued to concern , among which the guarantee of the right of every person to enjoy the highest level of physical, mental and social well-being stood out, through healthcare that was timely and appropriate, and guaranteed, consequently, the right of access to information.
According to the institute, the information requested does not represent any risk for the state, the national security, nor the confidentiality of the contracts. In fact, the Mexican government itself has released information on donations, through different conferences, among which it stands out that the United States Embassy announced the arrival, in donation, of three million 402 thousand 900 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine and that, with a fifth delivery, the American Union provided 10,980,900 doses of vaccines to Mexico. Also at another time, the donation by the Mexican Government of one million doses of Astra Zeneca vaccines to the Republic of Ecuador was announced; 480,800 vaccines to Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras, as well as 10,000 vaccines to Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; and 2,000 to the Dominican Republic.
Therefore, it was concluded that the requested information does not represent a risk to national security, since it is not about specific data on the processing of vaccines, their security protocols or data, the dissemination of which could eventually be a potential threat.
For the Institute providing comprehensive information on the actions and means available to the authorities to deal with the effects of the pandemic was a priority, fundamental and vital issue. The information on the work of the institutions to obtain vaccines guarantees the citizens the provision of a complete scheme of the state action to deal with the pandemic. It cannot, for any reason, be considered a risk issue, but on the contrary, an essential and necessary element to provide all people with the information tool that helped demand the guarantee of the right to health, obviously through the services that the Mexican state was obliged to provide, with the consequent purpose of mitigating the effects of the pandemic.
Conclusions of the deciding body
The INAI considered that the information requested does not represent any threat in terms of national security or confidentiality. It ordered the Ministry of Health disclose information regarding the countries that have requested donated vaccines from Mexico and the total donations made, the nations to which the country required donated vaccines and the number of donations received, as well as the number of vaccines that were purchased.
Fundamental Right(s) involved
Fundamental Right(s) instruments (constitutional provisions, international conventions and treaties)
- Right to free access to plural and timely information, Art. 19, ICCPR; Art. 13 American Convention on Human Rights
- Right to free access to information, Art. 6, Mexican Constitution; 110, Section I of the Federal Transparency Law
Rights and freedoms specifically identified as (possibly) conflicting with the right to health
Other notes
INAI stand for "Instituto Nacional de Transparencia, Acceso a la Información y Protección de Datos Personales" (National Institute of Transparency, Access to Information and Protection of Personal Data). It is an autonomous constitutional body of Mexico, specialized, independent, impartial, and collegiate, with legal personality and its own assets, with full technical and managerial autonomy, responsible for guaranteeing of the federal scope, the exercise of the rights of access to information and the protection of personal data (Art. 17, Federal Law of Transparency and Access to Public Government Information).
On "instance": the resolutions of the Plenary of the Institute are binding, definitive and unassailable for the obligated subjects. The compliance with the resolutions is mandatory and that they are not contestable or combatable by administrative or jurisdictional means with the only exception of the amparo appeal by individuals (Art. 6, Federal Constitution).
On "type of measure challenged": The decision of the Ministry of health to deny information related to the vaccines received as a donation and those acquired by Mexico.
On "individual collective enforcement": action brought by an individual in the interest of a specific group of claimants for the purpose of injunctive measures or other remedies, including the annulment of administrative decisions, for the protection of a more general collective interest (e.g., the suspension or annulment of a public decision harming elderly, workers, or students at large).
