'COMMUNICATIONS CULTURE' NEEDED IN UNITED NATIONS SYSTEM TO PROMOTE RELEVANCE OF WORLD ORGANIZATION, FOURTH COMMITTEE TOLD

13 November 1998

Press Release
GA/SPD/149*

'COMMUNICATIONS CULTURE' NEEDED IN UNITED NATIONS SYSTEM TO PROMOTE RELEVANCE OF WORLD ORGANIZATION, FOURTH COMMITTEE TOLD

19981113 Under-Secretary-General Reviews Initiatives to Ensure Challenge is Met; Cites Importance of Harnessing Available Technologies

A communications culture in the United Nations system must underscore to people everywhere the relevance of its work to their everyday concerns, the Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information told the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) this afternoon as it began its consideration of questions relating to information.

Under-Secretary-General KENSAKU HOGEN said the Organization's messages should find a receptive ear in all parts of the world. The United Nations must appear as a transparent institution that responded to major challenges of global significance in all fields. The essential foundations of all steps towards reorientation of the Department of Public Information (DPI) were inspired by the Secretary-General's clear and emphatic recognition of the need for creative responses by the Organization to the growing challenges inherent in the advent of the "age of information". To meet those challenges, information was to be seen as an integral part of all substantive programmes of the Organization.

He said the Department needed to harness the latest information technology within the limited resources available. A realistic approach necessitated a capacity for the flexible use of those resources to meet the priorities established by the General Assembly. At the same time, the Department must strengthen its capacity to work together with other parts of the Organization to ensure that the substantive themes established by the Assembly were pursued as effectively as possible.

Also this afternoon, a representative of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) said that although it did not appear in the agency's acronym (the "c" stood for culture), communication was one of UNESCO's four main mandate areas. It was the lead United Nations

* Press Release GA/SPD/149 of 11 November should have been GA/SPD/148.

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agency for matters dealing with the free flow of information and with the development of communication capacities of Member States. The agency's mandate had extended beyond the traditional print and broadcast media to include issues dealing with the use of computer technology and the information highway, called "infomatics".

She said that communications, particularly independent, pluralistic and free media, contributed both to democracy and to development. Specialized agencies should seek innovative ways to communicate ideas for reinforcing democratic processes and spurring development initiatives. They should also enhance participation at the grass roots level where poverty struck hardest.

The representative of Ukraine said that the age of high computer technologies not only created benefits, but sometimes it also caused headaches, such as the "Y2K" or "Millennium Bug" issue. Ukraine was deeply concerned with that problem, and had taken the necessary measures to avoid its consequences, not only in its own territory, but also in the framework of information links within the world economic system.

Statements were also made by the representatives of Indonesia (on behalf of the Group of 77 and China), Bangladesh, Panama (on behalf of the Rio Group) and the United Arab Emirates. The representative of Belarus, as Rapporteur of the Committee on Information, introduced that body's report.

The Fourth Committee will meet again at 3 p.m. on Monday, 16 November to continue its consideration of questions relating to information.

Committee Work Programme

The Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) met this afternoon to begin consideration of questions relating to information. It had before it the report of the Committee on Information (document A/53/21) and was expected to approve two draft resolutions contained in that report. The Committee also had the Secretary-General's report on questions relating to information (document A/53/509).

Drafts from Committee's Report

By draft resolution A, on information in the service of humanity, the Assembly would urge all countries, United Nations bodies and all others concerned, to cooperate in reducing existing disparities between developed and developing countries in information flows by increasing assistance for the development of communication infrastructures and capabilities in developing countries. Such efforts should aim at enabling those countries and their public, private and other media to develop their own information and communication policies freely and independently; to increase participation by the media and individuals in the communication process; and to ensure the free flow of information at all levels.

Further, the Assembly would urge countries, organizations of the United Nations system and all others concerned to ensure for journalists the free and effective performance of their professional tasks and to condemn resolutely all attacks against them; to support the continuation and strengthening of practical training programmes for broadcasters and journalists from public, private and other media in developing countries; to enhance regional efforts and cooperation among developing countries, as well as between developed and developing countries, and to strengthen communication capacities and improve the media infrastructure and communication technology in developing countries, especially in training and the dissemination of information.

The Assembly would also urge the provision of all possible support and assistance to the developing countries and their media, including:

-- the development of human and technical resources necessary for the improvement of their information and communication systems; the creation of conditions to enable those countries and their media to have, by using their national and regional resources, the communications technology suited to their national needs, and the necessary programme material, especially for radio and television; assistance in establishing and promoting telecommunication links at the subregional, regional and interregional levels among developing countries; and the facilitation of their access to advanced communication technology available on the open market.

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Also by that draft, the Assembly would urge the provision of full support for 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 General Assembly would emphasize that through its reorientation, the Department of Information (DPI), should maintain and improve its activities in the areas of special interest to the developing countries and others with special needs, including countries in transition. Such reorientation should contribute to bridging the gap between the developing and developed countries in the crucial field of information and communications.

Also by that draft, the Assembly would reaffirm the importance of United Nations information centres (UNICs), particularly in developing countries and those in transition where there is a need for greater understanding about United Nations activities.

The Assembly would express its concern over the trend to reduce the resources allocated to the DPI and reiterate that all changes or reductions must be in accordance with the existing budgetary rules consistent with Article 17 of the United Nations Charter. The Secretary-General would be urged to exert all efforts to ensure that DPI's public information products contain comprehensive, objective and equitable information about the issues before the Organization and that they maintain editorial independence, impartiality, accuracy and full consistency with the Assembly's resolutions and decisions. Furthermore, the Assembly would emphasize that those publications should fulfil an identifiable need, not duplicate other publications inside the United Nations system, and be produced in a cost- effective manner.

In relation to radio, the draft notes that radio is one of the most cost-effective and far-reaching media available to the DPI, and an important instrument in United Nations activities, such as development and peacekeeping. Taking note of the Secretary-General's report on the development of United Nations international radio broadcasting capacity, the Assembly would ask the Secretary-General on the design and scope of a pilot project in that regard, to be considered by the Committee on Information in 1999. In that context, it is noted that the DPI intends to contact Member States to ascertain their preparedness to provide technical facilities for the pilot project, and to include information in the Secretary-General's report to the Committee.

By other terms of the draft, the Assembly would underline the continued importance of traditional and mass media channels in disseminating United Nations information. It would encourage the DPI to take full advantage of recent developments in information technology, such as the Internet, in order

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to improve the dissemination of information in a cost-effective manner, taking into account the Organization's linguistic diversity. It would welcome the steps being taken by the DPI to strengthen its capacity to maintain and coordinate the United Nations "homepage" and for providing its public information content.

The Assembly would express its full support for the wide, accurate, equal and prompt coverage of United Nations activities through the continuation of United Nations press releases in both working languages of the Secretariat -- namely English and French -- and in other languages as required. It would stress the importance of the continued speedy issuance and high quality of those press releases, in both working languages, as well as the dissemination of all DPI's major publications in all United Nations languages.

Also by the draft, the Assembly would encourage the DPI to continue ensuring the greatest possible access for United Nations guided tours, and to ensure that displays in public areas are kept informative, up to date, relevant and technologically innovative.

Addressing the trial integration of United Nations information centres with field offices of the United Nations system, the Assembly would ask the Secretary-General to take into account the Task Force's observation regarding substantial problems that some integrated information centres have encountered in performing their information and communication functions.

It would acknowledge the important work carried out by UNESCO, and its collaboration with news agencies and broadcasting organizations in developing nations to disseminate information on priority issues. Moreover, the Assembly would call for further expansion of the ongoing programme of the DPI for developing country broadcasters and journalists, to include a larger number of trainees from developing countries as well as from countries in transition.

The Secretary-General would also be encouraged to further strengthen consultative arrangements, as appropriate, between DPI and other substantive departments of the Secretariat, particularly those dealing with development issues. The Assembly would note, with appreciation, his efforts to strengthen DPI's public information capacity for the formation and day-to-day functioning of the information components of United Nations peacekeeping and other field operations. It would also ask the Secretariat to continue to ensure the involvement of DPI at the planning stage of future operations through interdepartmental consultation and coordination.

The DPI would be urged to take the necessary measures, through the provision of relevant and objective information, towards achievement of the major objectives in the Secretary-General's report on the causes of conflict and the promotion of durable peace and sustainable development in Africa

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(document A/52/871-S/1998/318). The Department would be encouraged to continue taking appropriate measures to enhance world public awareness of the consequences of the 1986 disaster at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.

Report of Committee Proceedings

In addition to the texts of the two draft resolutions, the report of the Committee on Information includes a summary of the debate at its 1998 session, and of a statement by the Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information, Kensaku Hogen.

He said issues related to the United Nations reform process are uppermost in the minds of the Committee members. Moreover, the report of the Secretary-General's Task Force on the Reorientation of United Nations Public Information Activities had provided a clear analysis and recommendation that will assist the Committee. The basic mandate of the DPI called for "an informed understanding" of the work of the Organization, he said, and the effort required to have the media disseminate a sufficient quantum of accurate information about the work of the United Nations is greater than ever before.

The DPI must strive to keep in step with the latest trends in the field of communications, and more importantly, acquire the latest technologies that played such a crucial role in producing the dramatic changes in the world of information, he said.

The advent of new technologies in the information age was often taken to mean the advent of the Internet, he said, but the new technologies also had a very significant impact on the growth of the traditional media, including radio and television. That was especially important for countries where the Internet is still in its initial stages and is too expensive for widespread use.

A recent worldwide survey had revealed the continuing demand for print products. Even in the most developed countries, there was a clear, strong assertion from groups that work actively to redisseminate information about the United Nations that print publications remained vital to their work. He said the Dag Hammarskjold Library of the future would be a library without walls whose foundation would be technical innovation. The increased demand for remote access to full-text information called for a virtual library where users would be able to identify material in any collection and download it electronically.

Reviewing various developments in the DPI, and the challenges it faced, he said they happened to converge with a period of budgetary contraction, which had hit especially hard in field activities.

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Mr. Hogen said he intended to establish an interdivisional task force responsible for analyzing media reports and for providing advice on appropriate responses. The DPI had continued to develop partnerships and strengthen the channels of communication with a broad range of information redisseminators, including media, educational institutions, United Nations depository libraries, non-governmental organizations (NGO) and other elements of civil society.

He said the Department's press releases, issued on a daily basis in both working languages of the Organization, continued to provide the only immediately available written account of proceedings of intergovernmental meetings held at Headquarters, as well as a wide range of information on the activities of the Secretary-General, the Deputy-Secretary-General and the substantive offices of the Secretariat, both at Headquarters and in the field, he said.

Secretary-General's Report

Also before the Committee was the report of the Secretary-General on questions relating to information (document A/53/509) which deals with electronic communication and the use of the Internet, public information programme activities, implementation of specific international programmes, library services, United Nations Publications Board and marketing of United Nations publications, publishing activities and United Nations Information Centres, among other subjects.

Regarding the Internet, the Secretary-General says that the United Nations must take full advantage of the new "fourth" medium alongside the three traditional media -- print, radio and television. The (DPI) had been in the forefront in this context and would continue to strengthen its role in managing and coordinating the United Nations website, especially its public information content. A new "media" segment of the website will provide information materials created expressly for the Internet and presented in a manner that the media can readily utilize. The DPI plans to increase significantly the volume of its multimedia material, including regular radio news and updates, and would also introduce and host online chats with United Nations experts on various issues. The Department was also continuing work towards the expansion of the United Nations website to include all official languages of the Organization.

The Office of the Spokesman for the Secretary-General had broadened the scope of the daily briefing for correspondents to include the work of all organizations of the United Nations system. An effort had also been made to include information on the humanitarian, human rights and development work of the Organization, in addition to the political, while respecting the need to focus on the newsworthy.

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As part of its new orientation, the report continued, the DPI was putting hard news at the core of its operations in radio, television and print, the Secretary-General says. Daily radio news bulletins in English, French, Spanish and Portuguese were relayed via telephone lines to hundreds of broadcasters in Africa and Latin America. The Daily Highlights bulletin is being modified with a news service format, using the Internet for instantaneous dissemination. Before the end of the year, the DPI would introduce a direct radio broadcasting pilot project in selected regions of the world, initially in English and French, to test market interest and production capacity. A feasibility study on an international broadcasting capacity was being conducted by the Committee on Information.

The print medium remained one of the principal means of influencing public opinion around the world, according to the report. Promoting the centrality of the United Nations system was the purpose of The United Nations in our Daily Lives, a publication that the DPI helped to produce and disseminate in early 1998. A new section in the latest edition of Basic Facts about the United Nations provided essential information on all United Nations offices, programmes and specialized agencies. UN Chronicle was increasingly becoming a news and feature-oriented publications which appealed as much to the lay reader as to scholars and specialists. Intense efforts by the United Nations system to assist Africa in its economic and social objectives had been a particular focus of Africa Recovery. The Department's publications continued to be adapted in light of the results of the 1997 readership survey on its recurrent publications. New editions of Image & Reality and UN in Brief emphasized the reform measures, while providing an increased profile to system-wide priorities.

The report said human rights was the theme of the second in the UN Briefing Papers series, "Human rights today: a United Nations priority". The special General Assembly session on the world drug problem was the focus of a well-received issue of UN Chronicle. The DPI and the World Bank had signed a new agreement concerning Development Business, the DPI's international procurement publication. The agreement included the joint development of an Internet version of the publication, to be called Development Business Online. Effective use of modern technology would also be instrumental in facilitating the production of the Yearbook of the United Nations. Plans to produce a CD- ROM covering all 50 volumes of the Yearbook (1946 to 1996) were also under way.

On United Nations information centres, the report said that during the past year, they took strategic steps to enhance their effectiveness in communicating information about the Organization's work and presenting a unified message to constituents at the local level.

The Secretary-General says his report to the Security Council on the causes of conflict and the promotion of durable peace and sustainable

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development in Africa sparked a variety of activities by information centres, which cooperated with local partners to organize briefings and press conferences and to translate and widely disseminate the report. An op-ed article, "The Africa that Africa Deserves", written by the Secretary-General, was translated, disseminated and placed in major newspapers by a number of centres.

Statements

When the Committee met this afternoon, the Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information, KENSAKU HOGEN, recalled that last May he had provided the Committee with the conceptual framework that would guide measures for the reorientation of DPI. The essential foundations of all steps towards that reorientation were inspired by the Secretary-General's clear recognition of the need for creative responses by the United Nations to the growing challenges inherent in the advent of the "age of information". To meet those challenges, he had called for the fostering of a communications culture throughout the United Nations system. Information was to be seen as an integral part of all substantive programmes of the Organization, a view strongly endorsed by the special Task Force on the Reorientation of United Nations Public Information Activities.

He said that a communications culture in the United Nations system must underscore to people everywhere the relevance of its work to their everyday concerns. The United Nations must appear as a transparent institution that responded to major challenges of global significance in all fields. The messages generated should find a receptive ear in all parts of the world. The Department needed to harness the latest information technology within the resources available. Those resources were limited and a realistic approach necessitated a capacity for their flexible use to meet the priorities established by the General Assembly. At the same time, the Department must strengthen its capacity to work together with other parts of the Organization to ensure that the substantive themes established by the Assembly were pursued as effectively as possible.

It was within those broad parameters that the Department's information policies and activities were being reoriented, Mr. Hogen said. It came as no surprise that the latest advances and trends in information technology should become the focus of that new orientation. However, those advances were not necessarily synonymous with the Internet. Technological advances were also enhancing the effectiveness and efficiency of the three traditional media -- print, radio and television. As a firm step in that context, the Information Technology Section had been placed in the Office of the Under-Secretary- General and every effort was being made to provide it with technical staff resources so that it could fulfil its task of coordinating and managing the United Nations website.

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He said that this year, the number of "accesses" to that website had already exceeded 77 million as of 6 November. The corresponding figure for last year was 42 million. At that rate, the figure should be close to 100 million by the end of the year 2005. An analysis of the users of the United Nations website revealed that about 90 per cent of them were in the developed world. The Arabic and Chinese United Nations websites would be inaugurated, after the meeting, making the service available in all official languages.

He said the use of the audio and video capacity of the Internet had already been initiated and United Nations radio and television broadcasts could now be accessed through the Organization's website. Beyond that, the Department, together with the Committee on Information at its resumed session, had reviewed the recommendations of a feasibility study on the revival of the direct broadcasting service of United Nations Radio which used to be provided over the airwaves of the Voice of America until 1985, when it had been discontinued due to a sharp rise in charges for the use of shortwave facilities. The Committee on Information had asked the Department to develop a redesigned pilot project and it was expected that a report responding to that request would be submitted at the twenty-first session of the Committee on Information next May. Developments regarding the recommendations of the Committee on Information would take some time to mature, not least because they depended on the availability of extra-budgetary resources.

He said that in addition to using the Internet's multimedia capacity for conventional television broadcasts, every effort was being made to develop synergies and partnerships with major television broadcasters. The Department had continued the series of world television forums initiated in 1996 with the support of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Radiotelevisione Italiana and Mediaset. Last November's Television Forum had been on the theme "Television in the new multimedia environment". Next week, the Department was convening the third United Nations World Television Forum, whose theme would be "The Future of Audiovisual Memory". The Forum would review the heritage and legacy of the past five decades or more of television, and preview the developments that the new millennium would bring, with the accelerating pace of technological innovations.

Rapid changes in technology were also making an impact on the print medium, he said. The explosive growth of the Internet had not meant there had been no changes in the print medium. In the developing countries, print remained as vital as ever. The impact of desktop publishing alone had enabled the Department to speed up the publication process. New computer design technologies had transformed enormously the capacity of DPI staff to design and produce attractive and well-illustrated publications aimed at the general reader. Moreover, the Department's publications and information materials geared to support mandated United Nations themes now appeared in hard copy, as well as on the United Nations website simultaneously.

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He said that in order to give greater effect to the new orientation, a number of structural measures had been initiated within the Department. A Strategic Communications Planning Group had been established whose task was to review all aspects of the Department's policies and activities. In the context of a continuous exchange of ideas at both the strategic and tactical levels, the Secretary-General had appointed a Director of Communications in his own Executive Office, greatly enhancing the extent and depth of policy discussions between the Office of the Secretary-General and the DPI. Through a weekly Communications Group meeting, in which all concerned with the subject were represented, including the Spokesman for the Secretary-General and his speech-writing unit and the Assistant Secretary-General for External Relations, all aspects of communications policies and activities were discussed, enabling the Department to stay in close touch with the Secretary- General's priority concerns and to respond in a well-coordinated fashion. In addition, a small Media Response Group had started, in cooperation with the Office of the Spokesman, to carry out a weekly or more frequent review of all media reports concerning the United Nations and, where appropriate, to advise the Under-Secretary-General on possible responses.

In the area of peace and security issues, he said, the complexity of the post-cold war world posed a major communications challenge for the Organization: how to reach multiple, diverse audiences with accurate, timely information about the United Nations role in the midst of such complexity. Part of the answer was coverage. Not all media organizations were able -- or were willing -- to devote the resources necessary to covering United Nations peace-making, peacekeeping and other missions in the field or at Headquarters. The best possible use must be made of the available resources and distribution networks to provide the media and opinion leaders with timely material about United Nations efforts to bolster international peace and security.

He said that in the case of peacekeeping, the communications challenge was doubly important: public information could contribute to the operational effectiveness of United Nations peacekeeping operations, as well as to understanding and appreciation of their role by the broader international audience. Public perception may well prove critical to ensuring that United Nations peacekeeping remained available to the international community as an instrument for controlling and resolving conflict. In operational terms, the understanding and cooperation of the mission-area audience was essential to peacekeeping efforts. However, despite widespread recognition by experienced peacekeepers themselves that public information was a key component of peacekeeping, that component was still rarely -- if ever -- adequately resourced and integrated into a mission's overall concept of operations.

Regarding development and human rights issues, he said special emphasis had been placed this year on preparations for the fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, and its observance on Human Rights Day, 10 December. He noted also the special General Assembly session on the world

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drug problem held in June; the Rome Conference of Plenipotentiaries on the Establishment of an International Criminal Court held in June/July; and the World Forum for Young People and the Conference of Ministers concerned with Youth, both held in Portugal last August. In addition, the launch on 1 October of the International Year of Older Persons 1999 -- organized by the Department in cooperation with the Department of Economic and Social Affairs under the leadership of the New York non-governmental organization (NGO) Committee on Ageing -- had already created worldwide attention, especially from leading NGOs and grassroot activists.

He said that the focus on development issues had led to increased media outreach by the Department and to press coverage of United Nations activities related to economic and poverty issues. The Department had been successful in garnering global coverage of the high-level special meetings of the Economic and Social Council and the General Assembly, as well as panel discussions on economic development. The increased recognition of the right to development had clearly taken its proper place in the United Nations human rights programme. Mainstreaming the issues of gender equality and advancement of women continued to be an integral part of the Department's multimedia strategies. Whether its activities dealt with crime prevention and criminal justice, drug abuse, youth, disabled persons, human rights, indigenous people, eradication of poverty, environment and development, or peace and security, the gender issues were always factored in.

One of the most significant aspects of the new orientation, he said, was the need for partnerships with elements of civil society to carry the message of the United Nations. Foremost was the imperative to continuously strengthen the Department's close working relations with media representatives, particularly the resident corps of permanent correspondents in the United Nations. Through discussions with many correspondents, the importance of press coverage of meetings of the Organization's intergovernmental bodies provided by the DPI had been realized. The activities going on simultaneously in the Secretariat building could not be followed adequately without the help of the Department's press releases. The DPI would endeavour to keep that service at a high level of efficiency in the future.

He noted the "overwhelming number of visitors" who had been taking the guided tours (at Headquarters), adding that security restrictions which limited the number of visitors per guide seriously undermined the Departments's attempts to make this revenue-generating activity self- sustaining. He said the "tools provided by the exhibits and gifts on the tour route are inadequate, out of date and in need of repair."

He said the forward march of technology had also had a dramatic effect on the services provided by the Department's Dag Hammarskjold Library. In response to calls from Member States for uploading of older documents into the Optical Disk System and the United Nations website, a programme had been

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initiated to "digitize" documents retrospectively from its United Nations microfiche collection.

An important objective of the reorientation of public information activities was to strengthen the Organization's capacity to communicate at the country level, he said. The United Nations information centres were an indispensable means of delivery in that regard. Their physical presence and familiarity with local conditions allowed them not only to deliver the United Nations message, but also to adapt it to a local context, making them not just disseminators but true communicators.

NINA SIBAL, speaking as a representative of United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), said though it did not appear in the acronym for the organization (the "c" of UNESCO standard for culture), communication was one of the four main mandate areas of the agency. UNESCO was the lead United Nations agency for matters dealing with the free flow of information with the development of communication capacities in the Member States. The agency's mandate had extended beyond the traditional media of print and broadcast to include issues dealing with the use of computer technology and the information highway, called "informatics".

The agency was concerned with the dissemination of information, including information about the activities of the Organization and the United Nations system, and worked in close partnership with the United Nations DPI. It was also concerned with developing cooperation with and among the Member States in the communication field. In practical terms, she said, UNESCO was now managing more than 300 communication projects with a cumulated budget of over $40 million. Those projects were financed mainly from contributions by donor nations, partner agencies and funds in the United Nations system or from the International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC). One of the principal criteria for evaluating project proposals in that Programme was the support which the project gave to independent and pluralistic media. That decision had led to the strengthening of funds for development of communication projects. New projects were now being approved in the field of media and communications for good government and human rights, representing more than $7 million.

She said UNESCO believed that communication, and particularly independent, pluralistic and free media, contributed to both democracy and development. The agency's strategy sought "to encourage the free flow of information, at international as well as national levels, to promote the wider and better balanced dissemination of information, without any obstacle to freedom of expression; and to strengthen communication capacities in the developing countries in order to increase their participation in the communication process". Specialized agencies should seek innovative ways to communicate ideas for reinforcing democratic processes and spurring development initiatives, and to use communication, and especially community

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radio and electronic data networks, to increase public access to information and facilitate free and fair participation in decision-making. They should also enhance participation at the grass roots level where poverty struck hardest.

She said the agency welcomed the ongoing discussion by Member States on the feasibility of establishing a United Nations Radio network. UNESCO looked forward to being a source of such programming, and was committed to the promotion of cultural diversity through communication and linguistic diversity. It hoped to work with Member States to accomplish that goal through the development of endogenous media capacities, particularly the development of radio at the community, national, regional and international levels.

Steps to establish multilingualism in the information society must also be taken to ensure that the individual could benefit to the fullest from the possibilities offered by the new technology. "InfoEthics 1998", which took place last month in Monaco, brought together governmental, university and private-sector specialists from some 65 countries to debate the ethical, legal and societal challenges of cyberspace. UNESCO had played a unique leadership role there. At the beginning of the coming year, UNESCO would also convene a conference of key NGOs, personalities, institutions and specialists in the fight against paedophilia, child pornography and child prostitution in the media and on the Internet, with the goal to formulate a common and global plan of action against those crimes.

MAKARIM WIBISONO (Indonesia), speaking on behalf of the Group of 77 developing countries and China, said that technological advances, notably those in the field of information and communications, were linking nations together as never before in history. The building of a new web of information and communication held untold potential for solving some of the critical problems facing mankind, such as promoting the development of nations as well as the establishment of a new global order based on peace, security and social justice for all peoples.

Furthermore, he went on, the post-cold war era presented unprecedented opportunities as well as challenges for strengthening multilateral cooperation in that vital and crucial field. Humankind had enormous resources now available to improve the living conditions of all. Unfortunately, present-day realities continued to reflect disparities between the developed and developing nations that adversely affected, the capabilities of the developing nations to fully utilize information and communications technologies.

It was in that overriding context that the Group of 77 and China were of the view that the mandate of the Committee on Information remained as relevant today as when it had been conceived in 1979. The need for ensuring impartiality and balance in the information flow, improving the information

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and communications infrastructure and capacity of the developing countries through the transfer of advanced information technology, and the expansion of their access to information was more imperative than ever before.

The Group of 77 and China affirmed the importance of South-South cooperation in the field of information and communication based on the principle of collective self-reliance, he said. Such cooperation could be further enhanced through the sharing of development experiences, the transfer of technology and the harnessing of latent synergies and complementarities between the developing countries. Likewise, North-South cooperation needed to be developed on the basis of genuine partnership in order for the developing countries to overcome the technical, financial and other difficulties and become equal partners in the age of information and communications.

The international scene was undeniably overwhelmed by an information revolution. The media therefore had an important role to play in disseminating objective and impartial information, while taking into account the unique social and cultural traditions of each specific region.

The United Nations "homepage" and all its sites were, in essence, a publication, he said. Therefore the Group of 77 and China requested that the Secretary-General regard it on the same basis as other United Nations publications, and ensure that those websites contained comprehensive, objective and balanced information on all issues before the Organization.

Regarding the United Nations information centres, the Group of 77 and China were concerned at the problems posed by some instances of integration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). He said a reappraisal was called for. There was a need to preserve the independence of the information centres, maintain their effectiveness and strengthen their work. It was important, moreover, that the necessary resources continue to be allocated to the information centres for their effective functioning, particularly in developing countries.

MUSTAFIZUR RAHMAN (Bangladesh) said his country aligned itself with the statement made by the representative of Indonesia on behalf of the Group of 77 and China. The ongoing reform in the United Nations initiatives had been taken to recast the set up of the Organization and to redefine the objectives of the DPI. That had been done with the view of making the global audience fully aware of the work done by the Organization in a number of fields, ranging from peace and security down to child immunization and disaster management. Bangladesh had supported the initiative of the Secretary-General with the understanding that public information activities would be treated as an integral part of the substantive programmes of the United Nations. Public information activities would be a cross-cutting issue and should be integrated into all activities of the Organization. His country expected that such an initiative would help spread the objectives and activities of the Organization

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to the broad global audience on such vital issues as peace, development and justice.

Bangladesh was pleased that under the leadership of Kensaku Hogen, Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information, the DPI had started to perform its responsibilities, he said. He believed that the DPI would be able to initiate the process of establishment of a just and effective global information system. To achieve that objective, the Department should not only be devoted to promoting the regular activities of the United Nations, but should also act as a forerunner of an information system where all Member States would have an opportunity to contribute and benefit from the services of DPI. Bangladesh hoped that DPI would focus its attention on publicizing the activities undertaken by the United Nations in the areas that touched and transformed the lives of the common people around the globe. It was also important that the press releases issued by the Department should objectively reflect the deliberations, particularly on development issues. His country was disappointed by some recent coverage of those items which were of great importance to the developing countries. He therefore asked that the concerned section of DPI be more alert and sensitive in that regard.

He said Bangladesh expressed its appreciation for the good work done by the DPI section that maintained the United Nations web page and encouraged them to continue their work, which was to the benefit of Member States and the wider audience outside the Organization. His country also supported the expansion and upgrading of the Optical Disk System (ODS) and would be favourably disposed to the idea of charging a fee for its use by outside users. Moreover, the United Nations information centres scattered around the globe were the real interface of the Organization with the global community. Therefore, the independence and effectiveness of those centres should be maintained, and wherever required should be strengthened.

However, he said, the reverse trend had been the reality during the last years. A number of United Nations information centres, including the one in Bangladesh, had been integrated into the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) office in the name of efficiency and integrated management. Unfortunately, that had not happened in most cases. That process had not only reduced the efficiency of the centre in Dhaka, like many others in developing countries, but had also effectively isolated the centre from the target audience, thereby negatively affecting the purpose it was meant to serve. Bangladesh had brought that issue to the concerned authorities quite a number of times, and had requested the Secretary-General to review the entire process of integration, including the previous cases, with a view to making an objective assessment about the need and capacity of any centre to deliver mandated programmes and activities.

OKSANA BOYKO (Ukraine) said her country commended DPI's work in creating such an excellent electronic source as the United Nations web site. One of

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the most positive trends was the active involvement of Member States in the United Nations information policy. Ukraine supported the Working Group on Informatics for its efforts to upgrade, gradually and in tandem with Member States, the Organization's information capacity. Unfortunately, however, the age of advanced computer technologies not only created benefits, but sometimes also caused headaches, such as the "Y2K" or "Millennium Bug" issue. Her country was deeply concerned by that problem, and had acted to take the necessary measures to avoid its consequences, not only in its own territory, but also in the framework of information links within the world economic system.

The United Nations international radio broadcasting capacity should be enhanced, and breaking news should reach the people outside the United Nations building, she said. The proposed pilot projects of daily broadcasts to selected regions in Africa and Europe were interesting and promising. Their results should become a test not only to determine technical feasibility and programming capacity, but also to determine the interest of listeners in the United Nations broadcasting system. Moreover, in the field of peacekeeping, effective public information capacity, especially United Nations radio, should be a part of the planning process.

Ukraine welcomed the strengthening of links between the DPI and NGOs, which had played a more important role in the decision-making process on the local and international level, she said. The fifty-first Annual Conference of DPI and non-governmental organizations, held at Headquarters last September, had vividly demonstrated the effectiveness of such cooperation, and was a positive contribution to the commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Furthermore, Ukraine commended the DPI for its work in coordinating special events and programmes. The observance of the World Press Freedom Day held in May, had been organized by the DPI in cooperation with UNESCO, the United Nations Correspondents Association (UNCA) and the World Press Freedom Committee. Such facts proved that the United Nations was working hard to reorient its public information activities aimed at mobilizing public support and creating a new positive image of the Organization.

JUAN ANTONIO STAGG (Panama), speaking on behalf of the Rio Group, said the last session of the Committee on Information had taken the Committee beyond a period of stagnation that had lasted for more than half of its lifetime. The establishment of the open-ended working group would boost a more transparent working method.

He said the initiative to revive a United Nations Radio direct broadcasting capacity was praiseworthy, but its implementation should not impinge upon the resources allocated for existing services. The Latin American region enjoyed broadcasts in Spanish and Portuguese which were of high quality. They were short, unpretentious broadcasts which did not

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editorialize, but simply lived up to the objectives of the DPI by informing its audiences in the region about United Nations activities in New York.

Any new initiatives should reflect the Organization's linguistic diversity through programmes broadcast throughout the Latin American and Caribbean region.

JUMA RASHID AL ROMAITHI (United Arab Emirates) said the fact that the Committee on Information tackled questions relating to information each year emphasized clearly that the DPI was important in fostering understanding among people worldwide and that it had a role in the development of economic and human resources. However, the benefits of new information and communication technologies had not reached the developing countries, particularly the Least Developed Countries.

He said the United Arab Emirates rejected all forms of discrimination and attempts to launch disinformation campaigns against Islamic States and others in the Third World. There was a need to elaborate a code of conduct to safeguard transparency and to preserve respect for the cultures of all the world's peoples.

The United Arab Emirates was intent on facilitating a means of obtaining innovative information technologies based on respect for freedom of the press, he said. The United Arab Emirates supported all proposals aimed at reforming, rechannelling and enhancing the services of the DPI. There should be a policy to promote education and knowledge among the world's different peoples.

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