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It begins as soon as we are born. We are given a national insurance number. A sample of blood is taken and stored for posterity. We are measured, examined, given a name and registered on a database. The information recorded there controls our lives forever. It affects our status, our credit worthiness, our relationships, and our employment. It is available to statutory authorities, law enforcement agencies and commercial enterprise, yet the information is not freely available to us.

The information on the various databases concerns us directly, and it is imperative that we know what they are saying about us. We are given the right to know by act of parliament and international decree. If it is not our fundamental human right, it makes us less than human beings. We might as well be branded cattle.

We need to know what our medical records say about us, and have systems in place so that we can see them. If there is anything we don't understand, we should have our doctor explain it to us. We do not want to have an insurance claim refused because we did not declare a condition that we did not understand.
Our medical records are also scrutinised by potential employers, so it is essential to fill in an application form truthfully. If we have a copy of our medical records, we are less likely to miss anything.

At some time in our lives we will apply for a mortgage or some type of loan, and the lender will check our credit record. If this record is wrong or incorrect, it will affect our financial status. If we are refused, it could mean that we have a twin. This is not in any sense a wonderful family revelation. Someone has stolen our identity and there are two of us using the same details.
Of course it could also mean that someone has made a mistake and given us a history that does not belong to us. It could just be a clerical error, but with disastrous consequences. We should get a copy of our credit record from credit referencing companies for our own peace of mind. It is our right to know what they have got on us.

Our banks hold sensitive information about us, but how many of us ask to see it? They too could have wrong information about us, including incorrect details about the state of our finances. They could have made a mistake, which could impact on any transaction we might want to make.

We need to know what our politicians and other representatives are proposing on our behalf. Proper and detailed information will allow us to make an educated decision about our future. Our democratic statute gives us the right to be involved in the processes, and is a safeguard against tyranny such as is widespread in some third world countries where they have no such rights.

The only area where we do not have the right to know what is currently happening is where it affects national and global security. It would be unwise to seek out details of security operations just to uphold our right to know and in so doing alert potential terrorists. Having said that, we should be able to access the information when the danger has passed. We have the right to know that citizens are being treated fairly.

Every step we take in our life is documented and stored and someone will always have access to the details. It is our life; our details, and we should have the fundamental right as a human being to access it.

Learn more about this author, Dorothy Skinner.
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Know something about As we celebrate International Right to Know Day on Sept. 28, should access to information be considered a fundamental human right??
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