ASSISTANT SECRETARY-GENERAL FOR PUBLIC INFORMATION STRESSES CRUCIAL IMPORTANCE OF HIGH-QUALITY PUBLIC OUTREACH

Press Release
GA/SPD/122

ASSISTANT SECRETARY-GENERAL FOR PUBLIC INFORMATION STRESSES CRUCIAL IMPORTANCE OF HIGH-QUALITY PUBLIC OUTREACH

Cites Need to Keep Public Well-Informed of United Nations Efforts to 'Make a Difference in Their Lives', To Ensure Support

In the increasingly crowded information field, the public information message of the United Nations must be of high quality, Assistant Secretary- General for Public Information Samir Sanbar told the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) this morning, as it began its consideration of questions relating to information.

Public information was a crucial part of the Organization's life-support system, and the Department of Public Information (DPI) was taking steps to ensure that its efforts would have a tangible impact on public perceptions, he said. Without such an effective public outreach to keep peoples well-informed of what the United Nations was doing to make a difference in their lives, support for the Organization would erode.

To ensure the high quality of United Nations information efforts, every information programme and activity must be thoroughly and regularly evaluated, he told the Committee. Stressing the key importance of cost-effectiveness, he said that conscious efforts had been made to strengthen the DPI's professional credibility, sharpen its focus on selected issues, forge strong media partnerships, develop wider key audiences, optimize programme delivery and streamline the Department's management structure.

Also this morning, a representative of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) drew attention to the obstacles to the free exchange of ideas and knowledge posed by the lack of modern equipment, distribution channels and professional experience in developing countries. Through its International Programme for the Development of Communication, UNESCO had over the years implemented 650 projects in more than 100 countries to address that problem.

He stressed the need for both Governments and journalists to respect and make best use of increased press freedom throughout the world and expressed

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UNESCO's concern about violence against journalists, which often went unpunished. The agency was also taking a leading role in the debate on the legal, ethical and socio-cultural challenges of cyberspace, he said.

Statements were also made by the representatives of Luxembourg (for the European Union and associated States), Thailand and Lebanon. The representative of Belarus, as Rapporteur of the Committee on Information, introduced that body's report.

The Fourth Committee will meet again at 10 a.m. tomorrow, 18 November, to continue its consideration of questions relating to information.

Committee Work Programme

The Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) met this morning to begin its consideration of questions relating to information. It had before it the report of the Committee on Information on its 1997 session (document A/52/21) and a report of the Secretary-General on questions relating to information (document A/52/455). The Information Committee's report contains a two-part draft resolution on information questions.

By draft resolution A, on information in service of humanity, the General Assembly would urge all countries, organizations of the United Nations system as a whole and all others concerned to cooperate with a view to reducing existing disparities in information flows at all levels by increasing assistance for the development of communication infrastructures and capabilities in developing countries and ensuring a free flow of information at all levels.

The Assembly would urge them to ensure for journalists the free and effective performance of their professional tasks; to strengthen training programmes for broadcasters and journalists from developing countries; and to enhance regional efforts and cooperation among developing countries as well as between developed and developing countries, and to improve the latter's media infrastructure and communications technology.

In addition, the Assembly would urge them to aim at providing all possible support and assistance to the developing countries and their media through such measures as support for the strengthening of training programmes; the creation of conditions to enable them to have communication material suited to their national needs, including the necessary programme material for radio and television; assistance in establishing and promoting telecommunication links at the subregional, regional and interregional levels; facilitating their access, as appropriate, to advance communications technology available in the open market; and fully supporting the International Programme for the Development of Communication of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

By draft resolution B, on United Nations public information policies and activities, the Assembly would strongly reaffirm its primary role in elaborating, coordinating and harmonizing United Nations policies and activities in the field of information. It would take note of the report of the Committee on Information as well as its failure to complete the task of its 1997 session. It would also take note of the Secretary-General's report on information questions (document A/52/455), as well as of the Task Force on the Reorientation of United Nations Public Information activities.

By other terms of the draft, the Assembly would ask the Secretary- General to continue to implement already mandated activities. He would also be asked to report to the Committee and to the Assembly at their 1998 sessions

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on United Nations public information activities, and on the implementation of the measures regarding information and communications approved by the General Assembly.

The Committee whose work this year was directly affected by the process of United Nations reform, had decided to split its annual session so it might receive and consider the Secretary-General's proposals on reform of United Nations public information activities. Although the Committee engaged in extensive consultations on the matter, it was unable to provide a detailed response in time for consideration of the issue by the Fourth Committee.

The Secretary-General's report on questions relating to information (document A/52/455) addresses such matters on electronic communication and use of the Internet, ongoing public information activities, implementation of specific programmes, United Nations Information Centres, and library services. It also reviews the activities of the Publications Board and the marketing of publications, and includes an annex detailing major activities undertaken by the Department of Public Information (DPI).

The Secretary-General states that since his report last year, the DPI had continued to enhance its outreach efforts by strengthening its partnerships with influential media organizations, leaders of civil society and intellectual and educational groups, and by utilizing information technology to its fullest capacity, while continuing to make gains in outreach through the traditional media -- press, radio and television. He draws attention to a 17 March letter to the President of the General Assembly, in which he identified as a principal challenge the need for a strengthened communications and information operation that would help to increase global support for the Organization. "In pursuit of that goal I convened the Task Force on the Reorientation of United Nations Public Information Activities, composed of communications experts from both within and outside the United Nations system."

The report of the Task Force, entitled "Global Vision, local voice: a strategic communications programme for the United Nations", has been issued, he states. The Secretary-General concurs with the conceptual approach of the Task Force and the thrust of its recommendations, which include placing the communications function at the heart of the strategic management of the Organization, strengthening the Organization's capacity to communicate at the country level, and completing the process of integrating United Nations information centres into the offices of the United Nations Resident Coordinators.

The Secretary-General has also received recommendations from the Executive Coordinator for Reform and the Under-Secretary-General for Administration and Management, and has also taken into account the views of the Assistant Secretary-General for Public Information, he states. Accordingly, his report on "United Nations reform: measures and proposals

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(document A/52/303), includes a request for the post for the communications and information function to be at the level of Under-Secretary-General.

That reflects the importance the Secretary-General attaches to the role of communications, not as a support function but as an integral part of the substantive programme of the United Nations, he states. It would function through a new entity to be known as the Office for Communications and Public Information. Those proposed changes would ensure that a communications dimension was effectively integrated into the work of all departments of the organization. Meeting the communications needs of those departments would be a central priority for the new Office.

The Secretary-General states that in view of his direct and continuous contact with the Office of his Spokesman, the Office of the Assistant Secretary-General for External Relations and the Speechwriter's Unit, those units should remain a part of his office. Given the need for a consolidated communications operation, the new Under-Secretary-General will establish both strategic and close day-to-day working relations with those units.

The report states that the Department has continued to take full advantage of new information technologies, including the use of the Internet and electronic publishing capacities, for the efficient production and more extensive and timely dissemination of information products. Every section of the Department has incorporated this technology into its day-to-day work. Such increased use of the Internet has led to savings. In February, for example, print-runs of press releases were cut by 25 percent, as all press releases are now available on the United Nations home page before being made available in print. The Department is also using new technologies to promote and distribute its products.

The Office for the Spokesman for the Secretary-General is the main contact point with the world press covering the United Nations, the report states. Through the daily briefings given by the Spokesman and the increasing number of one-on-one contacts with journalists, the Office provides authoritative and timely information on the daily activities of the Secretary- General, as well as on peacekeeping operations, peacemaking, humanitarian assistance and a wide range of economic and social issues.

The Media Division continues to provide press releases, photographic, television and radio coverage and programmes, video feature productions and technical services to the media, the report states. Despite budgetary constraints and the post-reduction exercise, the production of press releases in the two working languages (English and French) continues.

The report states that one of the Department's most effective means of communicating information on United Nation's activities to global audiences is through non-governmental organizations and other groups in civil society. All 1,514 organizations associated with the Department have proven public

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information programmes, which can provide information on United Nations activities on health, women, human rights, the environment and other issues.

The Department's many mandates in the area of social and economic development have often created competing voices for its resources, the Secretary-General states. Great effort has been made to ensure the development of communications programmes and services that will meet the demands for the promotion of follow-up on a variety of issues, such as the recent cycle of major international conferences.

The Promotion and Public Services Division of the Department continues to follow closely the priority issues of the General Assembly and of the Economic and Social Council as well as its subsidiary bodies, the report states. It does this in order to ensure that information materials produced by the Department advocate and promote the most current aspects of the United Nations development and human rights agendas.

In early 1997, consultations were initiated with the Centre for Human Rights, international non-governmental organizations and the media on the thematic messages and public information programme for the forthcoming year- long observance of the fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, to be launched on Human Rights Day, 10 December 1997.

The activities of the DPI continue to reflect the important role that public information can play in building support for and complementing the Organization's efforts to promote and maintain international peace and security, the Secretary-General states. In operational terms, progress continues to be made towards improving the planning, coordination and support of information components in peacekeeping and other field missions.

The report states that the network of United Nations information centres gives a global dimension to the Organization's information programmes. During the past year, the centres have complemented efforts at Headquarters aimed at increasing public understanding of the United Nations in local communities. They also publicized the findings of major reports of the United Nations system and organized briefings, exhibits, film screenings, press conferences, round-table meetings and workshops to promote greater awareness of the United Nations work on a variety of issues.

The information centres represent some 40 per cent of the Department's human resources, the report states. However, they have experienced a 40 per cent cut in the number of Professional-level posts since 1992. Thirty-nine posts in the Professional category and 254 local-level posts were allocated to the information centres during the 1996-1997 biennium. In order to maintain programme delivery in the face of limited resources, the Department has endeavoured to enhance the role of national information officers. As the importance of this category of staff increases, training opportunities and prospects for career development will need to be enhanced.

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The report states that new technology, with its ability to eliminate geographic and physical boundaries and facilitate cost-effective information dissemination, continues to have a strong impact on the role and programme delivery of the Dag Hammarskjold Library. Electronic subscriptions to online news services and magazines have proven more timely and proportionately less expensive than their print counterparts. They also require less processing time. Efforts are therefore being pursued to replace print with electronic subscriptions wherever possible.

The Library has launched an electronic "UN in the News" service which offers daily desktop delivery of major news stories concerning the Organization to nearly 1,200 staff members throughout the world, the report states. The Library has also strengthened and expanded its training programme in electronic information retrieval for all delegates and staff affiliated with the United Nations to include basic, advanced and highly specialized courses. Between June 1996 and June 1997, over 1,400 individuals took part in the programme.

The United Nations Publications Board, under the Chairmanship of the Assistant Secretary-General for Public Information, met in December 1996 and June 1997 to consider a number of publications policy matters, the report states. It approved revised administrative instructions relating to the work of the United Nations libraries and procedures for the issuance of newsletters and maps. The Board also considered the proposal for a peer review of technical publications. Through the monthly meetings of its working committee, the Board continued to coordinate and monitor the 1996-1997 publications programme of the United Nation.

One of the Department's most acclaimed activities is the CyberSchoolBus, the report states. This interactive educational service, funded through the Global Teach-in educational trust fund, has won a number of international awards and established a wide following. It offers a curriculum on key world issues in a visually stimulating, content-rich environment of the United Nations Web server.

Attractive, relevant and timely publications remain at the core of the Department's efforts to communicate to a widening audience the work and achievements of the United Nations system as a whole, the report states. The effectiveness of a revitalized publications strategy, based on well-targeted products and utilizing advanced publishing technology, is already apparent. The Department's publications include, Development Business, UN Chronicle, Image & Reality and Africa Recovery.

Statements

ALYAKSEI SKRYPKO (Belarus), Rapporteur of the Committee on Information, introduced that body's annual report.

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SAMIR SANBAR, Assistant Secretary-General for Public Information, said it was generally agreed today that information constituted an essential element in decision making. That was true in all Member States. It was therefore necessary to work together in partnership. The United Nations wanted to reach all potential audiences through the use of many languages, not just the six official languages.

As the Secretary-General was leading an unprecedented reform process, the United Nations was going through a period of profound change, he said. It was reflecting on its 51 years of experience and examining its role in the next century. As the challenges of today were being faced and the future role of the Department of Public Information (DPI) was being considered, the pivotal role of information could not be overemphasized.

Public information was a crucial part of the United Nations life-support system, he said. Without an effective public outreach effort to keep peoples well-informed of what the Organization was doing to make a difference in their lives, support for the United Nations would erode. The DPI's work must have a tangible impact on public perceptions of the United Nations.

In the increasingly crowded information field, it was absolutely essential that the public information message of the United Nations be of high quality, he said. It should be well-focused and presented in such a way that its relevance to peoples' lives was loud and clear. It was necessary to work with the media as potential allies. It was also necessary to be dynamic and swift in responding to critical media reporting. At the same time, accuracy should not suffer in the fast-paced, heated environment where a multitude of messages vied for attention and an unprecedented volume of sounds and images threatened to overwhelm, or even desensitize, the public to the critical issues at hand. The value of information was not in what was said, but in what was understood.

The DPI had been mindful of emerging changes and influential actors in today's world, he said. Since many of those forces were nationally and regionally oriented, the DPI continued to examine ways to strengthen the capacity of United Nations information in the field in forging and strengthening the vital information links between local communities and the Organization. Its message needed to focus on the relevance, transparency and responsiveness of the United Nations to the political, economic and social currents of the time and to human rights and human dignity.

Every information programme and activity must be thoroughly and regularly evaluated to ensure adequate programme delivery, he said. In all of them, cost-effectiveness was the key. Conscious efforts had been made over the past few years to strengthen DPI's professional credibility, sharpen the focus on selected issues, forge strong media partnerships, develop wider key audiences, optimize programme delivery and streamline the Department's management structure. In doing so, the DPI had fully mobilized its staff of

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dedicated information professionals, taken full advantage of advanced communications technology, and deepened its partnerships with the mass media and with non-governmental organizations around the world.

The Department was also acutely aware of the need to strengthen its partnerships at home, within the United Nations system, he said. This was why it was working on closer arrangements regarding programmatic activities with the other United Nations departments, as well as United Nations programmes and funds.

An information operation was a multifaceted, dynamic, living organism and required more than a core of dedicated staff, he said. A team effort involving all those who worked for the aims and objectives of the United Nations was needed. This was a reference to the active role of Member States as DPI's partners in taking the message of the United Nations to wider, diverse audiences around the world. Never had the ability to inform the public been more important or urgent. Never had the need to generate informed public opinion in support of the United Nations been greater than it was today.

In addition to DPI's regular coverage services and thematic programmes, it now had a greater outreach capacity than ever before, he said. The Department had launched a number of initiatives designed to inform the widest possible public about the achievements of the Organization. For example, for the first time since its creation, the number of accesses to the United Nations Home Page -- managed and coordinated by DPI -- had crossed the one million per-week mark, and it continued to grow. The Department had also begun a successful series of international live radio broadcasts from Headquarters, initiated by the Secretary-General. A memorandum of understanding with China to expand DPI's outreach had just been signed. In addition, a weekly three-minute telecast, broadcast through CNN and others, now reached an audience of some 200 million people in 106 countries.

As a means of enhancing the growing partnership between the United Nations and television broadcasters, more than 200 leading international television executives were expected to participate in the 1997 United Nations World TV Forum at Headquarters this week. Delegates were invited to attend. It was important to add that while DPI did its best to harness new information technology, it was well aware of the need to maintain its efforts in traditional media.

With everyone's participation, the DPI could improve, not only in terms of numbers, but could also enhance the content and consolidate the message, he said. At the same time, it could contribute to creating a dynamic profile of the United Nations, particularly in the development field.

In the ongoing process of reform, the role of public information had gained a recognition that was long overdue, he said. The Task Force on the

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Reorientation of United Nations Public Information Activities, an advisory group appointed by the Secretary-General, had hit the mark when it said: "The communications functions should be placed at the heart of the strategic management of the Organization; its image -- indeed its long-term survival -- depended upon effectively communicating its message and its activities to an increasingly cost-resistant world."

He said that the DPI had appreciated the opportunity, which the Task Force report had given it, to take a long hard look once again at where it needed to readjust, strengthen, coordinate or reorient in order to serve the Organization more effectively. As had been indicated by the Secretary-General in his report -- specifically, in paragraphs 7 to 11 -- the Department's task would be to elaborate on those proposals agreed to by the Secretary-General and to implement them professionally. The next step, following action on the Assembly, would be to proceed with an operational framework. Delegates could be assured that, with the active participation of its staff and in close collaboration with the Committee on Information, the DPI was well on its way to formulating a dynamic and focused plan of action for information that would meet the ever-evolving needs of the international community.

Within the Secretariat, there were positive signs of recognition being given to the central role of information and communication, he said. That effort was spearheaded by the Secretary-General himself, who, in his report, reaffirmed the need to create a culture of communications throughout the Organization, with responsibility for public diplomacy being borne by all senior officials, ambassadors and the large United Nations family. Having himself served the United Nations in various capacities, the Secretary-General points out in his report the importance he attaches to the role of communications, not as a support function but as an integral part of the substantive programme of the United Nations. The Secretary-General notes the need to strengthen the United Nations capacity to communicate effectively and meaningfully at the country level, through local partnership.

Now was a critical period in the history of the United Nations, he said. It was also an exciting time to be serving the United Nations. The Department of Public Information welcomed the opportunity that had been given it to make a difference.

HENRIKAS YUSHKIAVITSHUS, Assistant Director-General for Communication, Information and Informatics of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), said that six years ago the agency had launched a series of regional seminars on a free and pluralistic press. The declarations of those seminars had been endorsed by the General Conference of UNESCO, which had underlined the role played by free media as an integral part of freedom of expression as the cornerstone of democracy.

The founding members of UNESCO had enshrined in its constitution not only "the free flow of ideas by word and image", but also "the free exchange

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of ideas and knowledge", he said. Obstacles to the achievement of those objectives include the lack of modern equipment, channels of distribution and professional experience. The agency's International Programme for the Development of Communication aimed at narrowing that gap between developing and developed countries. Over the years, UNESCO, through that Programme, had implemented 650 projects in more than 100 countries at a cost of $77 million.

During the cold war, UNESCO learned a serious lesson when it was proposed to redress imbalances in information flows, not by stimulating them but by limiting them. "This was the so-called new world information and communication order". The sterile political debate had prevented UNESCO from carrying out practical programmes, activities and projects that would actually have helped to redress the imbalance of information flows. More important, UNESCO had been intellectually intimidated.

"This must never happen again," he said. "Neither UNESCO nor the United Nations system can afford to ignore the emerging information society". The UNESCO had overcome that crisis in 1989, when its General Conference had unanimously adopted a new communication strategy aimed at encouraging the free flow of information and its wider and better balanced dissemination, without any obstacle to freedom of expression.

He said that the recent General Conference of UNESCO had expressed great concern that violence against journalists was widespread and frequently went unpunished. The profession had become one of the most dangerous in the world, on all continents. "Hunting down journalists has become a risk-free activity, since crimes against them go unpunished in many countries". In the past 10 years, more than 600 journalists were killed in the exercise of their professional duties.

In its resolution 120, the General Conference stated that the assassination of journalists went beyond the fact of depriving people of their lives, in that it involved curtailment of the freedom of expression, with all its implications for the freedom and rights of society as a whole. It asked the relevant authorities to discharge their duty of preventing, investigating and punishing such crimes and to remedy their consequences.

At the end of the twentieth century, there was more press freedom than there had ever been and it was important to learn how to handle it, he said. Many political groups had loudly preached press freedom while they were in opposition. When they came to power, they must learn to work with the media and respect its independence. That was not always easy. Journalists, for their part, had to learn how to strengthen their newly gained independence. They also needed to learn how to use public and private sources of information with accuracy and fairness. The ethics of journalism had therefore become an important issue.

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At the 1995 General Conference, a number of reservations were expressed, especially from the developing countries, about whether the agency should have anything to do with the information highway. In a significant shift last week, all Member States from North, South, East and West fully endorsed UNESCO's leading role in the debate on the legal, ethical and socio-cultural challenges of cyberspace. The Director-General was invited to reinforce the agency's work in all those areas.

Addressing the ongoing reform of the United Nations system, he said the General Conference had stressed the importance of inter-agency cooperation with a view to maximizing the use of human and technical resources. It was hoped that UNESCO would be able, as in the past, to count on the support of the Fourth Committee.

YURIKO BACKES (Luxembourg) spoke on behalf of the European Union, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Slovakia, Cyprus and Norway. She stressed the need for preserving the irreplaceable role of the United Nations as the only international organization of universal character that undertook global action for peace, development, equality and justice, and for understanding between peoples.

The Union agreed with the theoretical approach and principal orientation of the recommendations formulated by the Task Force, including the need to place questions relating to information at the heart of the United Nations management strategy, she said. More specifically, it supported the Secretary- General's proposals on measures to be taken to reorient the Organization's information activities. The Union intended to participate fully and actively in the discussions which the Committee on Information would hold in 1998.

CHARIVAT SANTAPUTRA (Thailand) said that with its international character, worldwide presence and agenda, the United Nations would certainly benefit from enhanced communications and public information. That, in turn, would benefit the public at large. Creating public awareness of the United Nations mission was no less important than the United Nations other tasks.

He said that Thailand supported the Secretary-General's proposal on integration of the United Nations Information Centres with the United Nations country team, which should be carried out on a case-by-case basis, taking account of the unique character and the views of its Government.

He said the information centres remained the main means of promoting awareness of the United Nations to people at the country level. It was regrettable that somehow the United Nations work had not been sufficiently publicized and recognized. A remedy could lie in the recruitment of more national staff to work in the centres. Such recruits would be able to present the image and work of the United Nations more effectively to the local populations.

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SAMIR MOUBARAK (Lebanon) said that many permanent missions no longer needed to resort to mail or faxes to send important documents. That had made great savings possible. Further training in new information technology for small missions was necessary so that they could take advantage of all modern techniques. Research, archival work and anything which would help propagate information was important. Increased cooperation with libraries was also suggested.

Information played an important role with respect to peacekeeping activities, he said. In addition to computer-related technology, radio broadcasting should be emphasized, to help people learn about the activities of peacekeeping forces. The United Nations information centres should also be involved in that process.

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