SPEAKERS CALL FOR CLOSING OF 'INFORMATION GAP' BETWEEN NORTH AND SOUTH AS COMMITTEE ON INFORMATION CONTINUES GENERAL DEBATE

5 May 1998

Press Release
PI/1064

SPEAKERS CALL FOR CLOSING OF 'INFORMATION GAP' BETWEEN NORTH AND SOUTH AS COMMITTEE ON INFORMATION CONTINUES GENERAL DEBATE

19980505 Divergent Views Expressed on Developing United Nations International Direct Radio Broadcasting Capacity

The reorientation of the Department of Public Information (DPI) must endeavour to close the creeping "information gap" between North and South, the representative of the Philippines said this morning as the Committee on Information continued its general exchange of views.

Given the explosive development in information and communications technology, innovations must serve to bridge and not widen the gap between North and South, he said. In the post-industrial age of information, ideas and knowledge, not factories and mills were the main currency of human progress. However, since the fruits of the information revolution were mainly enjoyed by those States able to afford the costly infrastructures of the new technologies, the developing world was in danger of further marginalization.

The representative of Jamaica, speaking on behalf of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), also stressed the importance of reducing the information gap between developing and developed States by broadening access to the new technology. As the pre-eminent global institution, the United Nations could not lag behind on the so-called "information superhighway". Rather, it must harness the information tools to advance its mandate. Everyone benefited when its ambitious agenda in the areas of peace, security, development and human rights was understood by the public and its relevance made clear.

It was vital that breaking news reached beyond the building, the representative of the United Kingdom, speaking on behalf of the European Union and associated States, told the Committee. That goal required the United Nations to develop public support in an atmosphere of increasing competition for the public's attention. The United Nations therefore should focus on disseminating its message by using existing media, rather than competing with them. While the Union supported an enhanced radio broadcast capacity, for example, it doubted whether international direct radio broadcasting by the United Nations was warranted.

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The representative of Pakistan agreed completely with the view that the broadcasting capacity of the United Nations should be further reinforced and the Department should make effective efforts to develop an international radio broadcasting capacity for the Organization. He fully supported the role of the United Nations Information Centres (UNICs) and urged the Secretary-General to accord high priority to requests by Member States to open such centres in their capitals.

Addressing the Committee's work overall, the representative of the Russian Federation said that contradictions arising within the Committee between various groups of States should in no way prevent a solution to the important issues in the information and communication field. While he understood the dissatisfaction of the developing countries with the imbalance in the development of an information community, consensus in the Committee could be restored through dialogue.

Statements were also made by the representatives of Uruguay, United Republic of Tanzania, Netherlands and Japan.

The Committee will meet again at 10 a.m. tomorrow, 6 May, to continue its general debate.

Committee Work Programme

The Committee on Information met this morning to continue its general debate and consideration of substantive questions. (For background on the Committee's session, see Press Release PI/1060 of 1 May.)

Statements

AHMAD KAMAL (Pakistan) associated himself with the statement of the "Group of 77" developing countries and China. His delegation was making concerted efforts to ensure that Member States benefited from the advantages offered by information technology. While moving forward on that preferred option, Pakistan did not want in any way to undermine the vital importance, usefulness and relevance of traditional mass media channels in disseminating information on the United Nations. He therefore agreed completely with the view that the broadcasting capacity of the United Nations should be further reinforced and the Department of Public Information (DPI) should make effective efforts to develop an international radio broadcasting capacity for the Organization. He fully supported the role of the United Nations Information Centres (UNICs) and urged the Secretary-General to accord high priority to requests by Member States to open such centres in their capitals.

He said that in supporting the strengthening of the traditional capacities of the United Nations information systems, Pakistan was making efforts in the Working Group on Informatics to fully upgrade the Organization's information capacity, gradually and in tandem with the capacity of the Member States to fully benefit from the United Nations move towards cyberspace. It was important that the Committee should complement the efforts of the Working Group and ensure that joint efforts would enable the utilization as well as accessibility by all States at the earliest possible time.

He said that Member States appreciated DPI efforts to update information on the United Nations Home Page regularly. However, not much change was evident in that Home Page since it was originally launched. He also noted the absence of a coordinated policy. That important vehicle for the dissemination of information depended solely on the personal capacity and interest of different individuals in DPI and in various other departments. he added. Member States were fully aware of and appreciated the performance of those departments that updated their information regularly and of those as well which, regrettably, did not update their pages in spite of the frequent complaints by Member States.

The policy regarding the content of some of the pages also needed to be reviewed, he said. It was necessary specifically to distinguish between the posting of the mandates and agreed texts by the Member States and the views/studies/suggestions of Secretariat officials. The pages must contain disclaimers to indicate the origin and status of the document. In short,

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while Pakistan appreciated the voluntary efforts of DPI in regard to the Home Page, it could not but hope that greater focus and attention and reallocated resources would be devoted to that vitally important aspect of its work.

The Working Group was responding to a widely felt need for employing modern technology for the benefit of the United Nations and its Member States, he said. The Working Group had given the greatest importance to the Organization's relationship with the permanent missions, who were the primary users of its information products. The Group had been able to connect all 185 missions to the United Nations databases. Training programmes for the personnel of the missions and the Secretariat had now become a regular feature at the United Nations. Similarly, the Optical Disk System (ODS) was now connected to and accessible to the Member States through the Internet. As indicated in the report of the Secretary-General, the Dag Hammarskjold Library was now providing electronic access to the Member States to news sources that covered diverse areas of international affairs.

JORGE PEREZ-OTERMIN (Uruguay) said that freedom of information must be defended now more than ever. The trend towards mass dissemination meant that information now travelled along major electronic highways. That could lead to a decline of traditional media and the eventual disappearance of newspapers and other print media, while radio had assumed heightened importance as the major source of information for rural people who otherwise had limited access to information.

He said that the Secretary-General had concurred with the approach taken by the Task Force on the Reorientation of United Nations Public Information Activities, whose report entitled Global Vision, Local Voice was an interesting set of initiatives aimed at helping to modernize the United Nations. But to be successful in that goal, the Organization would have to provide Information Centres with the means to uphold the world dimension for which they were created. Uruguay would like to see the Organization's Spanish-language publications given wider coverage.

Among the best communicators were the people who visited the United Nations to see the Organization at work, he said. The guides who took them around the premises were also important disseminators of information on its activities. It was hoped that the restrictions on visitors to the United Nations would be reviewed.

He deplored violence against journalists, saying that freedom of the press and of expression could not be allowed to slip backwards. Violence against journalists could not be allowed to continue as there could be no democracy without the freedom of independent media.

PATRICIA DURRANT (Jamaica), speaking on behalf of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), associated herself with the statement made by the representative of Indonesia on behalf of the Group of 77 and China. Rapid

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advances in the communications field had had a profound impact on the lives of people worldwide. The explosion in new media and the improvement and expansion of traditional media had transformed the way in which relations between nations and peoples were conducted.

While rapid communication and greater access to information sources held tremendous promises, they also required great responsibility, she said. CARICOM urged full commitment to free expression, without censorship, balanced with a clear commitment to fairness and truth on the part of information and communication professionals. It further supported the Secretary-General's emphasis on the communications function as an integral part of the substantive programme of the United Nations, and not just a support function.

The United Nations must lead by example, she said. As the pre-eminent global institution, it could not, in the information age, lag behind on the so-called "information superhighway". Rather, it must harness the information tools to advance its mandate. The DPI should be commended for the bold steps it had undertaken thus far, which included effective programmes utilizing the best information technology. That process could only be effective if the policy-making process was geared to complement it. In that context, she welcomed the Secretary-General's proposal to infuse a new culture of communication throughout the Organization.

The United Nations must make its constituency aware of its missions and its accomplishments, she went on. Everyone benefited when its ambitious agenda in the areas of peace, security, development and human rights was understood by the public and its relevance made clear. The United Nations must speak with one voice. CARICOM strongly supported the Secretary-General's priority in the areas of coordination and cooperation in that regard. Ensuring the success of that new thrust also required close and effective cooperation between the United Nations and its agencies, funds and programmes.

CARICOM welcomed the far-reaching utilization of the Internet, and looked forward to further developments aimed at making it a more extensively- used tool, she said. For example, it might be used as a medium for consultations and negotiations with the appropriate systems in place. The CyberSchoolBus, which brought the United Nations into schools, provided an important educational service. The online services provided to missions had become invaluable, and the proposal to make the Dag Hammarskjold Library one without walls was welcome. She underscored the importance of the ODS and appreciated the timely supply of many important documents through that mechanism and other means of electronic dissemination.

She said that the Secretary-General's special attention to traditional media, in particular, radio, was gratifying, for radio remained by far one of the most important media in developing countries. The DPI was called upon to report specifically on the implementation of the long-standing mandate of full programming in French and Creole to serve the needs of the Haitian people.

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The feasibility study on the implications of developing an international radio broadcasting capacity could have a strong and positive effect on the outreach of the United Nations. However, it should be noted that people in developing countries did not have access to short wave and therefore AM/FM transmission must continue.

Also pleasing was the Secretary-General's emphasis on print media, she said. At the same time, however, efforts to ensure that publications were reduced wherever new technologies offered cost-effective alternatives should continue. The television medium seemed overlooked in the Secretary-General's report, yet it had an important role to play in bringing information to the public in a forceful and influential way. More attention should therefore be paid to its role in the future work of the Organization, which had an exciting story to tell through a uniquely visual medium.

Another very important part of the renewed vision of the Organization, and DPI in particular, were efforts to broaden its relationship with civil society and information disseminators, she said. CARICOM strongly supported measures to bring the United Nations closer to the proverbial "person on the street". Measures aimed at facilitating greater interaction between the United Nations and the media should be compatible with the interests of member delegations. It was also important that the United Nations media outreach was broad-based and focused on all Member States.

In that connection, she said that UNIC's played an important role in the Organization's outreach to Member States by providing a vital link to the nations and peoples it served. Noting the concerns expressed about the integration of some information centres with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), CARICOM looked forward to the new proposals on that matter and reiterated its view that a decision on whether to merge should be based on a clear assessment of the most effective way of meeting the Organization's objectives. She reiterated CARICOM's call for an information officer for the multi-island UNDP office in Jamaica, which served the northern Caribbean.

VITALI MAKAROV (Russian Federation) said that owing to fundamental changes in recent years in the Russian economic and political structures, the need to establish an information society in the Russian Federation was particularly acute. Developing equitable cooperation in the field of information with all countries was a priority for Russia, particularly with members of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

There was a steadily growing interest in Russia in the United Nations and its activities, he said. The time might therefore be right to consider addressing information questions, while taking into account the experience gained by the United Nations, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Organisation for Security and Cooperation in

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Europe (OSCE) and others, and to attain a certain measure of coordination in that area. The Committee might become a major international forum for addressing that task.

Two proposals contained in the Secretary-General's report deserved to be implemented, he said. All reorientation measures should be effected without detriment to the already approved mandates, and all changes should take place through the flexible reallocation of existing resources. Also welcome were measures aimed at greater transparency of the Organization and expanded partnership with non-governmental organizations, business circles, mass media and educational institutions.

He stressed the importance of DPI's activities to enhance information components of peacekeeping operations. Furthermore, increasing United Nations radio broadcasting in Russian would meet an increasing demand of the Russian- speaking audience worldwide, thereby contributing to the Organization's positive image. That issue was all the more pressing in view of the proposals to develop an international radio broadcasting capacity for direct communication with United Nations constituencies.

He said the Russian Federation welcomed the Secretary-General's intention to preserve the key information dissemination role played by the United Nations Information Centres. In light of the Secretary-General's reiteration of the expediency of employing traditional means of information dissemination, the publishing operation of UNIC Moscow should be expanded. In addition, contacts between the UNIC and the Moscow authorities should be furthered.

Despite the fact that in 1996 Committee consensus had almost become history, the contradictions arising within the Committee between various groups of States should in no way prevent the solution of important issues in the communications and information field, he said. Russia understood the dissatisfaction of the developing countries with the development of an information community. However, dialogue would likely produce the key to the solution to those complex problems.

He said that the consequences of the disaster at the Chernobyl nuclear plant, which occurred more than 10 years ago, were still being felt by millions of people in Ukraine, Belarus and Russia. The Chernobyl-related activities should therefore remain among DPI's output.

CHRISTINE KAPALATA (United Republic of Tanzania), associating herself with the statement of the Group of 77 and China, said her country attached great importance to the role of the UNICs. Tanzania had always seen the United Nations as a major source of objective information. It was therefore with a sense of frustration that her delegation noted that little attention had been paid to the idea of promoting the establishment of a new, more just and more effective world information and communication order. If the

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objective of projecting the United Nations as an open, transparent and public institution with the capacity to attain peace, development and human rights was to be met, a more balanced flow of information between North and South was needed.

She said that while appreciating the recommendations of the Task Force established by the Secretary-General to reorient the activities of DPI, the Department's activities should not be streamlined at the expense of its other key functions. The fact that substantial problems had been encountered in integrating UNICs with field offices of the UNDP dictated flexibility, which should take into account the views of host countries as much as possible, for in the final analysis, it was the host country that the UNICs sought to serve.

Noting that the Department had acknowledged the imperative to take full advantage of the training programmes available to enhance the skills of its staff, she said she believed equal importance should be placed on the need to train national information officers in the field to enable them to face the challenges posed by rapid advances in technology. Information technology, with all its rapid advances, had yet to attain universality, especially in developing countries. It was, therefore, quite important to equip those countries with the necessary skills to handle those advances competently by providing training opportunities to them. It was hoped that despite the cost- cutting measures currently being undertaken system-wide, the UNICs would be provided with adequate resources to meet their capacity-building requirements in the field.

FELIPE MABILANGAN (Philippines) said that he subscribed to the statement made by the representative of Indonesia. He commended the Secretary-General on his view that information programmes should remain an integral part of United Nations activities, and that such programmes constituted the heart of the Organization's strategic management. Also welcome was the Under- Secretary-General's appreciation of the vital role that established United Nations information activities played in the socio-economic progress of the developing world.

Given the explosive development in information and communications technology in the past several years, it was vital that innovations served to bridge and not widen the gap between North and South, he said. Indeed, it had been said that the post-industrial age of information had arrived, where ideas and knowledge, not factories and mills were the main currency of human progress.

However, since the fruits of the information revolution were mainly enjoyed by those States able to afford the costly infrastructures needed to support the new technologies, the developing world was in danger of further marginalization, he said. The content of mass media conveyed by the global information community should not be determined solely by profit motive, but also by the needs of humanity as a whole. The reorientation of DPI should

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therefore not diminish its activities in the areas of interest to the developing world, and must endeavour to close the creeping "information gap" between North and South.

He said that the issues raised by the Secretary-General concerning a new information and communications strategy and its implementation raised a number of issues which were best approached in a frank and transparent manner. While many innovations had dramatically improved the capacity to share and obtain information and to communicate globally, much of the world could not yet enjoy the fruits of advanced technology. Rather, it continued to rely on traditional print and radio media. The United Nations programmes in the developing world should continue to employ those media, but at the same time, it should help such governments introduce the benefits of the new technologies.

The UNICs played a vital role in the development of countries in the South, and should continue to be the focal point of the Organization's information activities, he said. Reorganization should only be undertaken on a case-by-case basis, taking care to ensure that the programmes did not suffer qualitatively or quantitatively. States as well as regional organizations should be consulted on the development of "regional hubs".

He expressed his delegation's concern about the projected reduction of resources allocated to information in the 1998-1999 budget. Such reductions would undoubtedly have negative consequences for the implementation of the General Assembly's mandated information activities. In the course of the Committee's deliberations, the vital role of information as a factor in both development and world peace should be underscored.

ANDREW LLOYD (United Kingdom) spoke on behalf of the European Union and the associated countries of Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Latvia, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Cyprus and Norway. The Union's commitment to the key role of effective communication and information in the work of the United Nations, and the part which DPI could and did play in that regard, was undimmed. Member States needed to demonstrate the necessary vision and commitment to ensure that the United Nations met the challenges of developing public support in an increasingly competitive climate for the public's attention.

The United Nations had to present itself more effectively if it was to continue to mobilize public support, he said. That did not require "root and branch" change. It did require an approach that was relevant to today's global information market, and which reflected the linguistic diversity of its members. The Committee should help the United Nations in that task. The Union had consistently supported the Secretary-General's goal to ensure that the tale of the Organization's work was told with more vigour and purpose, and to greater effect, including by fully supporting the Secretary-General's reform efforts.

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Moreover, he said the Union agreed that the Organization should prioritize informing the public about those themes which were likely to dominate the image of the United Nations in any given year. For 1998, the fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the proposed international criminal court, the fiftieth year of United Nations peacekeeping, and the special session of the General Assembly on the drug problem were clear priorities. The Union welcomed the Secretary-General's report on implementation of information and communications measures and agreed with the proposed conceptual framework, he said. It fully accepted the need for flexibility in carrying out the Department's multiple mandates. It also concurred with the new orientation of the Department and the proposed structural changes. Indeed, in order to remain relevant, the Organization should continue to embrace new mediums, including the important technology of the Internet. Equally, the use of existing technology -- print, television, radio -- should be geared towards optimizing their capacity. The Union also agreed that the Organization's capacity to broadcast radio internationally should be enhanced, he said. It was vital that breaking news here reached beyond the building. An effective public information capacity should be an integral part of all peacekeeping operations. United Nations radio and other public information components should be deployed as early as possible and be incorporated in the prior planning process of those operations. The same would apply to humanitarian activities. Without pre-empting the findings and recommendations of the feasibility study on the implications of international radio broadcasting by the United Nations, he doubted whether direct radio broadcasting by the Organization on a global level was warranted. The United Nations should focus on getting out its message through the media, not competing with it. In that context, the Union supported the Secretary-General's intention to build partnerships with information redisseminators and educational institutions. Concerning the Dag Hammarskjold Library, further technical innovation should be encouraged, and the initiatives already undertaken were welcome, he said. The Department should continue to revitalize published material which was demand-driven and demonstrated the relevance of the Organization to people's everyday lives. Moreover, a single "United Nations House" should be established in each country. Indeed a major theme of the report was the integration of the communication and public information function into the heart of the Organization's work. Likewise, United Nations information at the field level should be integrated with other in-country components of the United Nations.

ROBERT ZAAGMAN (Netherlands) spoke on behalf of the Western Group (Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Malta, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Turkey, United Kingdom and the United States) and of Australia, Austria, Canada, Luxembourg, New Zealand and Sweden.

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He said that information, including the freedom to receive and disseminate, was vital to all people. Sunday, 3 May, was World Press Freedom Day, which served to emphasize the fundamental importance of the freedom of the press and of the freedom of information and expression in general. The Windhoek Declaration of 1991, reaffirmed many times since, had placed that importance in a wider perspective: "The worldwide trend towards democracy and freedom of information and expression is a fundamental contribution to the fulfilment of human aspirations. The establishment, maintenance and fostering of an independent, pluriform and free press is essential to the development and maintenance of democracy in a nation, and for economic development."

Against that background, it was appalling that dozens of journalists had been killed over the past 12 months and that many others were in prison just for doing their job, he said. The use of violence to silence journalists or otherwise influence their work and, more generally, attempts to control or influence the media with the aim of distorting or suppressing information and opinions, must be strongly condemned.

The objective of reform should be to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of information activities; it was not primarily about cutting costs, he said. The general task of DPI should be to inform the public at large about the United Nations and its activities in order to marshal support. In doing so, the linguistic diversity of the Organization must be adequately reflected. Information should be an integral, supporting part of all United Nations activities; a peacekeeping operation, for instance, could not be fully effective without the capacity to inform the local public about its mission and to counter disinformation.

The use of the opportunities offered by modern information software and technology should continue to be promoted, he said. In that connection, the development of the United Nations website, which was presented in English, French and Spanish, was welcome.

YUKIO TAKASU (Japan) said that the role played by the media today in conveying and shaping information and consequently policy-making could not be overestimated. The DPI, as the communications centre of the United Nations, was more important than ever before in arousing global public support for its activities, without which the Organization would cease to function.

Japan supported the idea of devising a stronger communications strategy, he said. In order to gain the support and understanding of the world's public, it was essential to disseminate information in an effective, coordinated and timely manner, according to clearly defined strategic goals. The communications strategy should provide guidelines for all United Nations programmes, and thus be an integral component of all mandated programmes. The existing policy coordinating group in the Secretariat should be fully utilized for that purpose, and DPI should play an active leadership role throughout the process.

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In that connection, the Secretariat should avoid fragmentation of the United Nations information activities, he went on. For the sake of consistency, cost-effectiveness, and professional competence, DPI should remain as the central department responsible for the information and communications activities of the Organization. In view of the rapid changes on the international scene, DPI should act flexibly to adjust its orientation and emphasis according to emerging situations, and deploy its resources in order to maximize its impact in that regard. It also must be able to respond promptly to feedback from its audience.

He said that the role of information centres in developed countries should not be judged simply on the basis of comparative operation costs. The vital role played by the UNIC in Tokyo in enhancing public understanding of the Organization's activities was essential to assuring the strong support it currently enjoyed in Japan. It should be remembered that it was the personnel of those centres who controlled the communications technology by choosing the content and determining the timing and mode of dissemination.

Concerning information activities in developing countries, the various problems arising from the integration of UNICs with UNDP field offices required careful attention, he said. The public information activities of those centres were important, particularly in those areas where the new information technologies were not widely available among the public. In those circumstances, the continued usefulness of traditional radio should not be overlooked. Indeed, radio remained a direct, far-reaching, and cost-effective information delivery mechanism in many parts of the world.

Public information activities could also be pursued through cooperation between developed and developing countries, he added. Japan, for example, had been providing ODA for the creation of communications infrastructures and local electronic communications networks in developing countries. Those kinds of projects could play an important role in enhancing understanding among countries, which was a fundamental goal of communication.

Finally, DPI staff should foster a culture of communication, he said. The two-way flow of information would provide people with a better grasp of the goals and activities of the United Nations. As the advent of the Internet had opened a new and dramatic avenue of communication, every effort should be made to use it effectively. In that connection, the target audience of the United Nations Home Page should not be limited to scholars or researchers, but should be expanded to include students at all educational levels, and be visually interesting, rather than exclusively text-oriented. Given the unique nature and purposes of DPI, Japan did not share an arbitrary percentage reduction of it budget.

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