ESSENTIAL ROLE OF DPI IN PROJECTING IMAGE OF NEW, STRENGTHENED UN, NEED FOR ADEQUATE RESOURCES EMPHASIZED IN INFORMATION COMMITTEE

7 May 1996

Press Release
PI/943

ESSENTIAL ROLE OF DPI IN PROJECTING IMAGE OF NEW, STRENGTHENED UN, NEED FOR ADEQUATE RESOURCES EMPHASIZED IN INFORMATION COMMITTEE

19960507 Importance of Press Releases, Guided Tours among Activities Highlighted by Speakers, along with Need to Harness New Information Technology

The Department of Public Information (DPI) had an essential role to play in promoting the image of a new, strengthened United Nations, the representative of Costa Rica told the Committee on Information this morning. Speaking on behalf of the "Group of 77" developing countries and China, she said nothing would be gained by reform and restructuring of the United Nations if its new reality was not adequately projected to world public opinion.

Addressing the Committee as it began its general exchange of views, she said the DPI must remain in tune with the information and communications revolution, which was the driving force behind today's accelerated economic liberalization, globalization and interdependence. Neither the United Nations nor the Committee could escape from that complex and fascinating reality.

Speaking for the Group of Western and Other States, the representative of the Netherlands commended DPI for its excellent work on the United Nations fiftieth anniversary. He stressed the importance of continued issuance of United Nations press releases, in both working languages, and expressed gratification that DPI was now involved at an earlier stage of peace-keeping operations. Speaking for the European Union and supported by a number of other States, the representative of Italy stressed that DPI's efforts deserved adequate financial means. With fewer resources available, the DPI should turn to the new technologies of electronic communication. He praised the fast production and very high quality of the daily press releases and underlined the necessity of continuing to provide them in both working languages. Along with the Western Group, he supported the guided tours, which should be conducted in the widest range of languages; called for evaluation of the operations and staffing of the Dag Hammarskjöld Library; and stressed that all publications should fill an identifiable need and be cost-effective. They also agreed that, given the rapid changes in communications technology, the time had come to evaluate carefully the objectives, mandate and results of the information centres.

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The representative of Ghana said DPI's work was even more important, given the United Nations expanding role and people's increased interest in it. The DPI had carried out its responsibilities credibly, despite serious financial constraints and the dwindling resources allocated to it. The problem of resources must be addressed urgently if the Department was to continue to carry out its functions efficiently.

The DPI should be a leader in harnessing new technological developments, particularly through its information centres in developing countries, he added. However, as hard copy and radio and television remained the primary media in those countries, "the traditional means of information dissemination should not be minimized until we are all able to cruise along the information superhighway".

The Committee will meet again at 10 a.m. tomorrow, to continue its general exchange of views.

Committee Work Programme

The Committee on Information met this morning to begin its general exchange of views. It was expected to continue its examination of United Nations public information policies and activities and follow up on progress made by the United Nations system in the field of information and communications. It was also to continue its consideration of the establishment of a more just and effective world information and communication order, aimed at strengthening peace and international understanding and based on the free and balanced dissemination of information. (For additional background on the session, see Press Release PI/939 of 3 May.)

Statements

PIM R.J. DUMORE (Netherlands), addressed the Committee on behalf of the Group of Western and Other States (Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Malta, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Turkey, United Kingdom and United States). Citing World Press Freedom Day, he said that, although the number of journalists killed because of their work had dropped slightly, the number of those imprisoned had risen to a record high of 182 in 1995. Journalists must be able to pursue their work without fear of violence, intimidation or harassment.

He said the Western Group had always supported the need for the United Nations information efforts and wished to encourage the Department of Public Information (DPI). He commended the DPI for its excellent work in connection with the United Nations fiftieth anniversary. In view of the reality of budget cuts, the DPI should work further on restructuring, increasing efficiency and redirecting resources. It should give priority to the increased use of modern technology, including the Internet and CD-ROMs, and should provide the Committee with a list of its mandates, indicating those which had outlived their usefulness.

The Western Group attached high priority to the guided tour programme, he said. Visitors should be offered the widest possible range of facilities for viewing in the widest possible range of languages. It was a matter of concern that the Dag Hammarskjöld Library was not yet operating at the highest standards. The use of new technologies should be further explored, and a full evaluation made of the Library's operations and staffing.

He stressed the usefulness of DPI's publications which, he said, should be cost-effective and address real needs. Recurrent publications should be regularly reviewed to assess their necessity. The Group also stressed the importance of continued issuance of United Nations press releases. It underlined the necessity to continue their publication in both working languages, and to ensure their dissemination, in particular through the use of modern technology.

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He cited the important role played by the information centres in disseminating information about the Organization. However, as a result of new technologies, he said, distance now placed fewer restrictions on the dissemination of information. At the same time, the number of United Nations depository libraries had grown and the activities of non-governmental organizations increased. The DPI should conduct and make available a thorough evaluation of the centres' objectives, mandates and results.

The Western Group welcomed the Assistant Secretary-General's remarks on DPI's involvement in peace-keeping operations, he said. It was gratifying that the Department was now involved at an earlier stage of those operations. The Group was also pleased by the Extended Bureau, whose intersessional work increased transparency and had improved working relations between the Committee and the DPI.

SEBASTIANO CARDI (Italy) spoke on behalf of the European Union and Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Cyprus, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Romania and Slovak Republic. He said that DPI's efforts to build media partnerships to reach public opinion in every strata of global society and its objective of increasing public awareness of United Nations issues, mobilizing greater support and resources for action, deserved every attention and adequate financial means. In order for the United Nations to achieve its goals in a global information age, the tasks of disseminating information would become more and more central. With fewer resources available, the DPI should turn to the new technologies of electronic communication. Despite disparities between countries, it should keep pace with such channels of information as the Internet and CD-ROMs.

The guided tour programme was a useful way to foster direct public contact with United Nations work, and it should continue in the widest possible number of languages, he said. The Dag Hammarskjöld Library was a powerful tool for contributing to increased knowledge of the Organization's activities. The Library's technological innovation efforts and automation should be further implemented to improve efficiency and effectiveness. He strongly supported previous calls for a full evaluation of the Library's operations and staffing. The UN Yearbook and the Blue Book series were important. Nevertheless, all publications should fill an identifiable need and be cost-effective and should be reviewed periodically to determine if they achieved those objectives.

Journalists were one of the main targets of the work of disseminating information and they demanded it be done in real time, he said. He praised the fast production and very high quality of the daily press releases and underlined the necessity of continuing to provide them in both working languages. He noted that the daily highlights, the press releases and the daily briefings of the Secretary-General's Spokesman were now available on the World Wide Web. However, He had checked the service personally and found

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there was still a 24-hour delay. A "same day" publication would make an excellent service almost perfect, which meant in all official working languages, he added.

As the Secretary-General had reported, the United Nations Information Centres could not merely be confined to the dissemination of relevant information, he said. They must develop innovative ways to reach out to the public. United Nations activities should be promoted as a whole and in an integrated way whenever possible. But the very fast pace of information indicated the time had come to evaluate carefully the objectives, mandate and results of the Centres. Particular attention should be paid to coverage of peace-keeping activities, and he strongly supported DPI's early involvement in peace-keeping and other field operations. He recalled the Security Council's repeated calls for the establishment of two radio stations and noted that that important objective had not yet been achieved.

GRETHEL OBANDO-BERROCAL (Costa Rica), speaking on behalf of the "Group of 77" developing countries and China, congratulated the Assistant Secretary- General for Public Information for his statement on the work of the DPI and on United Nations public information policies. She also congratulated the DPI for the publication of the "World Media Handbook". In commemoration of World Press Freedom Day, she paid tribute to those journalists who had died in the line of duty. Freedom of the press was a fundamental right; it must be protected and defended.

The current session of the Committee was taking place at a decisive moment for the United Nations, in which new demands required deep transformation and reform, she said. The DPI was an integral part of that process, for nothing would be gained by strengthening the Organization if the new United Nations was not adequately projected to world public opinion.

The ending of the cold war had given way to an accelerated process of economic liberalization, globalization and interdependence, she said. Underlying all those changes was the information and communications revolution. "It is this revolution, more than any other factor at the global level, that is transforming the world and the meaning of international relations between peoples and continents, bringing men and women of all cultures and ethnicities closer together, bringing down barriers and myths of the past, giving rise to a new and authentic universal sense of justice, equality and liberty."

While remaining conscious of efforts to reform the United Nations, the Committee must also take due account of the information and communications revolution, she said. That revolution compelled the DPI to be more in tune with events in the real world, the world of television and mass media, and the world of advanced computer and information systems. Through free and practically unrestricted access to the Internet and information superhighway

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that revolution reached into homes and the workplace at every moment of every day. Neither the United Nations nor the Committee could escape from that complex and fascinating reality.

JACK B. WILMOT (Ghana) said that more than ever, DPI's importance was crucial, in view of the United Nations expanding role and people's increased interest in its activities. The Organization could not successfully pursue its laudable objectives unless the world was fully informed of its aims and activities. The DPI had carried out its responsibilities credibly despite serious financial constraints and the dwindling resources allocated to it. The problem of resources needed to be addressed urgently if the Department was to continue to carry out its functions efficiently. The Committee should study the report of the Office of Internal Oversight Services, which contained useful information on the efforts of the Department and the multitude problems confronting it.

He encouraged the DPI to continue its information services in the area of sustainable development, which, he said, held the key to peace. The Departments's efforts to harness new technological developments in pursuit of its mandate was appreciated. He expected the DPI to be a leader in that field, particularly through the Information Centres in developing countries. Only when developing countries were assisted to move into the information age could the DPI rely on their local resources to disseminate information worldwide. However, while it was laudable to keep up with developments in information technology, hard copy and radio and television would remain the primary media for several developing countries. "The traditional means of information dissemination should by no means be minimized until we are all able to cruise along the information superhighway." Care should be taken that the developing countries were not left too far behind, otherwise there was a risk of perpetuating, in the communication fields, the enormous inequities which already existed between countries of the North and the South.

DPI's efforts to reach a wider audience were commendable and he hoped it would continue to succeed in correcting misconceptions that had been sown about the United Nations in the media of certain countries. He regretted the fact that, quite often, highly placed personalities in some Member States made utterances which tended to paint a negative picture of the Organization. The United Nations was only as good as its Member States made it. Those entrusted with the affairs of the most powerful decision-making organs of the United Nations had a special responsibility to ensure that their political pronouncements and actions in their countries did not undermine the Organization.

He commended DPI for its Fact Sheet Update of May 1996 titled "Setting the Record Straight! Some Facts About the United Nations". He said it gave interesting statistics about the United Nations and also told some home truths about the Member States which derive enormous benefits from the United Nations

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through procurement contracts, recruitment of their nationals and revenues from diverse services, but which owe huge sums of money in unpaid assessments. He regretted the lack of an operation mechanism linking the DPI to other United Nations departments for facilitating the Department's work. That problem needed to be addressed in the context of the growing restructuring of the Organization. The Information Centres should maintain their operational autonomy in countries where it was found necessary to integrate them with other United Nations field offices. He also noted the crucial role of the Dag Hammarskjöld Library for many delegations, particularly for those not blessed with the latest information technology. He hoped the Library would be rehabilitated in a manner commensurate with its important responsibilities.

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