SUPPORT FOR WORKING GROUP ON INFORMATICS, REJECTION OF VANUATU'S GRADUATION

11 November 1997

Press Release
GA/EF/2793

SUPPORT FOR WORKING GROUP ON INFORMATICS, REJECTION OF VANUATU'S GRADUATION

19971111 Consideration of Economic and Social Council Report Concludes

Several speakers this afternoon expressed support for the ad hoc working group on informatics, which was designing an overall information management strategy for the Organization, as the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) concluded its consideration of the report of the Economic and Social Council.

The Committee heard calls for the United Nations and the international community to devote more time, effort and resources to the management of the full-scale adoption of information technology capabilities and potentials. The development of human resources, education and training should also be stressed to harness the information technology potential.

The representative of Venezuela said one of the major concerns of the informatics revolution was the risk of marginalization. While the working group had performed important work in expanding the benefits of the revolution throughout the United Nations community, the limits of existing possibilities were still unknown. Developing countries also needed to be fully incorporated in information technology advancements.

The Permanent Representative of Pakistan and Chairman of the working group on informatics, Ahmad Kamal, informatics was not just a question of transmitting e-mail messages or accessing United Nations documents. The objective was to enable Member States to have access to information and knowledge, to place that tool at the service of development. For the first time that could be done. History would judge the value of the "informatics revolution" by the yardsticks of its contribution towards human welfare and the degree of equity in the distribution of its benefits.

Addressing the financing of development operations, the representative of China said that topic should be taken up as a matter of priority by the Council, which should present viable solutions to that problem. Adequate resources were urgently needed in international development cooperation, and all methods of resource mobilization should be explored. The purpose of exploring new sources of funding was to better assist developing countries in their development and not to impose extra burdens on them, he stressed.

Second Committee - 1a - Press Release GA/EF/2793 27th Meeting (PM) 11 November 1997

Also this afternoon, several speakers addressed the issue of Vanuatu's graduation from the list of least developed countries, stating that it was premature and should be deferred until the year 2000.

The representative of the Solomon Islands said the criteria for graduation must not be made on economic basis alone, and the vulnerability of small island States must be considered. Those States were threatened by environmental degradation and natural disasters, by economic insecurity, marginalization from globalization and trade liberalization, and were heavily dependent on foreign resource flows. The graduation of least developed countries would throw them out of the lending windows of international financial institutions, he added.

The premature de-listing of Vanuatu as a least developed country might jeopardize ongoing economic reforms in that country, the representative of Australia said. Small island States faced social, economic and ecological constraints that impeded sustainable development. There should be an equitable assessment for the small island States that took into account their prevailing circumstances. Vanuatu's status should be deferred until work on the vulnerability index would have advanced and its impact on development prospects would have been better understood.

Statements were also made by the representatives of Norway, Ukraine, Mozambique, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Belarus, Philippines, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, Samoa, Japan, Jamaica, Israel, Czech Republic, Vanuatu, Singapore, Canada and Fiji.

The Committee will meet again at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, 12 November, to discuss poverty eradication.

Committee Work Programme

The Second Committee (Economic and Financial) met this afternoon to continue consideration of the report of the Economic and Social Council (document A/52/3). (For background information see Press Release GA/EF/2792 issued today.)

Statements

AHMAD KAMAL (Pakistan), Chairman of the working group on informatics, said the working group was asked to ensure, within existing resources, easy, economical, uncomplicated and unhindered access for Member States through their permanent missions to the computerized databases and information systems of the United Nations. During the initial phase, the working group and its technical subgroup had focused on three areas requiring immediate attention: connectivity between the permanent missions and the Organization; training; and removing impediments to access to United Nations databases.

The working group had reason to take pride in its accomplishments, he said. The shared commitment among all permanent missions, officials of the Secretariat and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) had made it possible to move swiftly on the road towards the ultimate objective. Accomplishments in the areas of connectivity and training had created opportunities for enhancing efficiency; cutting waste, duplication and unnecessary documentation; and reducing expenditure. They had also enabled the missions to have access to the knowledge flowing through the Internet.

Informatics was not just a question of transmitting e-mail messages or accessing United Nations documents, he said. The objective was to enable Member States to have access to information and knowledge, to use informatics to cut out waste and duplication, to place that tool at the service of development, and to have it act as a force multiplier by enabling the developing countries to focus on the target of development. For the first time that could be done. History would judge the value of the "informatics revolution" by the yardsticks of its contribution towards human welfare and the degree of equity in the distribution of its benefits.