ASSEMBLY ASKED TO SEEK REPORT ON POTENTIAL EXTENSION OF UNITED NATIONS GLOBAL BROADCASTING CAPACITY

17 November 1998

Press Release
GA/SPD/151

ASSEMBLY ASKED TO SEEK REPORT ON POTENTIAL EXTENSION OF UNITED NATIONS GLOBAL BROADCASTING CAPACITY

19981117 Fourth Committee Text on Information Questions Notes Proposed DPI Radio Pilot Project, with Possible Technical Input from Member States

The General Assembly would urge all countries and United Nations bodies to cooperate in reducing disparities between developed and developing countries in information flows by increasing assistance for the development of communication infrastructures and capabilities, by the terms of one of two draft resolutions approved without a vote this afternoon by the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization), as it met to conclude its consideration of questions relating to information.

By draft resolution A, on information in the service of humanity, 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.

Also by that text, 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; and to support the continuation and strengthening of practical training programmes for broadcasters and journalists from public, private and other media in developing countries.

By the terms of draft resolution B, on United Nations public information policies and activities, the General Assembly would emphasize that through its reorientation the Department of Public 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.

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Also by that draft, the Assembly would reaffirm the importance of United Nations information centres, particularly in developing countries and those in transition, where there was 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 Assembly would request the Secretary-General to submit a report on the design and scope of the pilot project regarding the United Nations international radio broadcasting capacity, which would be considered by the Committee on Information at its twenty-first session in 1999. The Assembly would note, in that context, that the DPI intended to contact Member States in order to ascertain their preparedness to provide technical facilities for the pilot project and to include that information in the Secretary-General's report.

Also without a vote, the Committee approved a draft decision by which the General Assembly would decide to increase the membership of the Committee on Information from 90 to 93 members, and to appoint Angola, the Republic of Moldova and the Solomon Islands as new members.

Statements on questions relating to information were made this afternoon by the representatives of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Austria (on behalf of the European Union and associated countries), Syria, Nepal, Algeria, Haiti, Lebanon, Kazakhstan, Nigeria, Libya, Russian Federation, Yemen, Republic of Korea, Uruguay and Benin.

Kensaku Hogen, Under-Secretary-General for Communication and Public Information, made a statement responding to concerns raised by various delegations.

The Fourth Committee will meet again at 10 a.m. tomorrow, 18 November, to begin considering the report of the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories.

Committee Work Programme

The Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) met this afternoon to conclude its consideration of questions relating to information. It was expected to take action on two draft resolutions and a draft decision contained in the report of the Committee on Information (document A/53/21/Rev.1).

(For background information on documents before the Committee, see Press Release GA/SPD/149 of 13 November.)

Statements

SIN SONG CHOL (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) said the developing countries had long made every effort to establish a new world information and communication order, based on the recognition of the important role of public information in democratizing international society and creating a favourable atmosphere for the maintenance of international peace and security. That notwithstanding, a big disparity still existed between the developed and developing countries in the field of information. The rapid development of information and communications technology was confined only to a few countries. Consequently, the developing countries remained marginalized.

In particular, he said there still persisted a mobilization of the sophisticated mass media for psychological warfare against developing countries, while their just voice for peace and development was ignored.

Unlike other international organizations, he said, the United Nations was a forum in which a number of politically delicate and complicated issues concerning peace, disarmament and development, among others, were seriously debated. Priority attention should therefore be given to ensuring that the views of Member States transmitted to the world through United Nations public information activities be correct and balanced. Those activities should be distinctive from those of the news agencies of individual countries and conform with the inherent universal character of the Organization.

He said his delegation fully supported the statement made by the representative of Indonesia on behalf of the "Group of 77" developing countries and China, in particular his request to the Secretary-General that the United Nations homepage and all its sites be regarded on the same basis as other publications, since they were, in essence, a publication. As for the training of information officials from developing countries, he said, that was an important way to enhance the information capacity of those countries. It was hoped that the training programme would continue on the basis of geographical rotation.

BERNHARD WRABETZ (Austria), speaking for the European Union and

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Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Cyprus and Iceland, said the dissemination of information by the media in a fair and open manner could play an important role in civil society, fostering mutual understanding and reconciliation while combating hatred, intolerance and discrimination. Attempts to control the press or use violence to intimidate journalists or publications must be condemned unreservedly. He said the European Union admired journalists around the globe who had fought for the right to express themselves, and was saddened by the number of journalists in the past year who had lost their lives for reporting the news truthfully and without bias.

The European Union was fully aware of the difficulties under which the Department of Public Information (DPI) must operate during the current financial climate, he said. The importance of the Department was highlighted by the need to project a positive image of the United Nations to the world. Moreover, the European Union welcomed the imminent launch of the Arabic and Chinese versions of the United Nations website, by which people from around the globe would have access to that tool of information in all official languages of the Organization.

FAYSSAL MEKDAD (Syria) said DPI had done excellent work, and spoke of its ongoing training sessions in the developing countries. It was necessary to support those activities by increasing financial resources.

He said Syria was concerned with the wide gap and imbalance that existed between developed and developing countries in the field of information with the coming technological advances. The role of development and information were interlinked. Syria aligned itself with the statement made by the representative of Indonesia on behalf of the Group of 77 and China. There was a need for the wide dissemination of information. The United Nations must contribute to that need, and give access to those who could not express themselves throughout the world.

He said information was a tool for resisting and exposing foreign occupation, as well as ensuring a just peace worldwide, especially in the Middle East. A reduction in DPI would have a negative effect in those goals.

HIRA B. THAPA (Nepal) said that the advent of the Internet, the role to be played by communication in the lives of people worldwide was going to be even greater. The main thrust of the continuing reform within the DPI should be the reorientation of the Organization's information and communication policies. Nepal supported efforts by the DPI to make greater use of electronic media to disseminate information quickly, but wished the United Nations had taken some measures to cooperate in reducing existing disparities between the developed and the developing countries in information flows, by increasing assistance for the development of communication infrastructures and capabilities in developing countries.

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He said public information was a key component of peacekeeping. As a troop-contributor to United Nations peacekeeping operations, Nepal attached great importance to the information component. It had also urged the United Nations to give due consideration to its proposal to include the Nepali language in United Nations radio programmes, which would better inform and educate the people of Nepal about the commendable job done by the United Nations peacekeepers.

NACERDINE SAI (Algeria) said he supported the statement by the representative of Indonesia, on behalf of the "Group of 77" and China, which had fully laid out the position and concerns of the third world. Among the main developments in the second half of the century had been inventions and innovations in the field of information and communications technology; that had resulted in a highly developed mass media, characterized by computers and the Internet which had helped disseminate knowledge and bring countries closer. The world had become a village.

He said those developments had given rise, however, to legitimate concerns originating in the desire of a large number of countries to safeguard their inherent national characteristics. Information was a constant vehicle with great potential to transmit the influence of foreign ideas.

He said the inauguration of the Arabic language on the United Nations homepage had proven that all the world's languages could follow technological developments and engage in the transfer of science and technology. What was necessary was the political will, as well as technical and financial support. The Arabic homepage should become as strong as the websites in other languages, especially English and French.

He said Algeria was not against the initiative to revive United Nations direct international broadcasting capacity, or the pilot project proposed for Africa and Europe. However, it was necessary to take into account, the principle of multilingualism and the need for United Nations public information to be available to all regions. Communications technology had become advanced, but it was still necessary to safeguard printed material because many people continued to rely on it. The United Nations should devote the necessary attention to that.

BERTRAND FILS-AIME (Haiti), supporting the statement of Jamaica on behalf of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), said it was deplorable that a large part of the world's population remained unaware of the crucial role of the United Nations, both in the maintenance of international peace and security and in the field of social and economic development. Haiti was in favour of a new international information and communication order which would reduce the technological gap between developed and developing countries.

He said that unless one lived in a dictatorial or totalitarian country, it was impossible to disregard the vital role played by information in any

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country which aspired to democracy. The time when Haitian journalists disappeared in the course of disseminating information was past. Haitians fully enjoyed the freedom of expression and did not want to relive the horrors of the past.

He said the United Nations radio programme New Contacts, regularly broadcast to Haiti and other French-speaking Caribbean countries, could have been more effective if it had not been an adaptation of a programme designed for an English-speaking audience. The Haitian delegation called for original programming which took into account the language, culture and specificities of each country. He said Haiti also reiterated its request for a United Nations information centre to be established in Port-au-Prince.

ADNAN MANSOUR (Lebanon) said the Organization should attach importance to bringing information to people worldwide, and in giving them the means of understanding one another and harmonizing the views of their future. Access to the computer could enrich United Nations policies. A growing gap remained between developing and developed countries. He said Lebanon appreciated the United Nations attempts to tackle the financial crisis by reducing its expenses, but that policy should not have a negative impact on DPI's information programmes. It was necessary to continue to fund the United Nations information centres so they could fully discharge their responsibilities, especially where media were less developed. The developing countries mostly relied on traditional media and it was therefore important to strengthen the United Nations radio programme to reach all people in their own languages.

MARAT TASMAGAMBETOV (Kazakhstan) said his country held a positive view of work undertaken by work of DPI in strengthening the Organization's mandate of peace and security. The Department had followed the genuine goal on disseminating and relaying information that was transparent. Its work should be expanded in partnership with the mass media, business circles and non- governmental organizations as well.

The strengthening of communication capacities must reflect national orientations, he said. The DPI drew attention to the humanitarian, economic and ecological troubles his country had inherited from the cold war era, such as nuclear testing in Kazakhstan. United Nations information centres should work to get the message out to as wide an audience as possible, including the use of the electronic means and the Internet. Nevertheless, the United Nations should not play down the role of traditional media of print, television and radio. He said Kazakhstan supported increasing radio broadcasting and the DPI pilot project in that area.

ABDULLAHI ABUBAKAR (Nigeria) said the vast majority of people around the world, especially those in the developing countries, needed to know and understand what the United Nations was doing to improve their situation, especially in the alleviation of poverty, which was one of the main causes of

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conflict and dissension as well as an impediment to sustainable development. This would give a sense of belonging and eventually full participation in the programmes and activities of the United Nations. The majority of the world's people could then relate more to the Organization.

He said that as the world stood on the threshold of the next millennium, the full impact of information and communication technologies should essentially be for the benefit of all countries and all humanity. Despite the technological breakthrough of the information superhighway, radio remained the easiest and cheapest principal medium of communication with the greatest impact on the majority of people around the world. It was expected that the United Nations international radio initiative would reach a worldwide audience and, at the same time, serve the interests of all regions.

He said the United Nations information centres constituted a key component of United Nations outreach, especially for developing countries. With regard to the integration of the centres with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Nigeria believed that process should be implemented on a case-by-case basis to better serve the overall interests of Member States and to ensure efficiency and effectiveness.

He said the Nigerian delegation shared the views expressed on behalf of the Group of 77 and China.

AHMED TURBI (Libya) said the revolution in mass media technology would be extremely dangerous if it were not used for the good of all humanity, and if it became the monopoly of certain countries. Technological advances had increased the gap between developed and developing countries, and the developing countries suffered the risk of becoming marginalized because of that monopoly.

Libya was a victim because a super-Power had tried to impose on it choices that its people rejected, he said. The United States had waged a campaign to distort facts about Libya and to do harm to the Libyan people. Information was a dangerous tool if not used in an appropriate way. A code of conduct should be established so that people could be aware of what was happening. The responsibility of the United Nations in that regard was even greater than it had been in the past.

KIRILL K. SPERANSKY (Russia Federation) said his country welcomed the efforts taken by the DPI aimed at bolstering the Organization's capabilities of using modern multimedia technologies, particularly the Internet. In that context, the Russian Federation expressed its interest in considering the possibilities for Russian educational institutions to join the DPI on-line CyberSchoolBus education project. His country also supported the Department's work to expand and increase the coverage of the United Nations website page to include all official languages of the Organization, particularly Russian.

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However, he added, the DPI should not stop using traditional ways and means of dissemination of information about the United Nations, which was the most accessible and, at times, simply indispensable communication channel for numerous users. The tasks the Organization faced called for delivering information to specific target audiences in various countries which were at different levels of development and had different capabilities to receive and process such information. Moreover, the Russian Federation was satisfied that the Russian language was an official language of the United Nations. His country wished that the DPI paid more attention to radio programmes in Russian. The issue of strengthening the Russian bloc of broadcasting, with only one professional staff member, had been pressing for a long time. He said the DPI should also expand the publishing activities of the Moscow Information Centre, both in terms of quantity and variety of publications. Taking into account the ever-increasing pace of the information centre reform, it would be appropriate to resolve that issue only by taking into account the host country's opinion. The reform of information centres should be implemented on a case-by-case basis since the Moscow centre's role was growing in terms of the dissemination of information, its maximum autonomy should be preserved.

MOHAMAD ABDOU AL-SINDY (Yemen) said his country supported the statement made by the representative of Indonesia on behalf of the Group of 77 and China. The issue of information was vital and essential to democracy. The free flow of information was characteristic of the age and a manifestation of globalization.

Developing countries should be able to receive and disseminate information through the mass media, he said. Yemen hoped the future dissemination of information could serve humanity and concretely embody the goals of the United Nations. His country also supported the work of the United Nations information centres in all their headquarters worldwide. Moreover, Yemen, on behalf of the Arab countries, thanked DPI for the launching of the United Nations homepage in Arabic on Friday 13 November. Yemen hoped that such advances would continue in the information field, but that the Organization would also continue to support and respect the traditional media -- print, television and radio.

CHUN HAE-JIN (Republic of Korea) said it was of paramount importance to strengthen relationships with various information disseminators and to increase the coordination and collaboration of media, civil society and educational institutions. His delegation supported the Secretariat's constant efforts to take full advantage of new information technologies, including the Internet and electronic publishing. However, DPI should maintain its outreach by such traditional means as the print media and radio-television broadcasting, since they still played a major role in the arena of public information.

On the development of a United Nations radio broadcasting capacity for

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direct communication with the public, he said his delegation looked forward to the Secretary-General's forthcoming report on the details of the pilot project. However, the cost-effectiveness of various options proposed in the Secretary-General's report (document A/AC.198/1998/4), and the availability of financial resources in developing the United Nations radio broadcasting capacity, should be taken into account.

He said that as a troop-contributing country, the Republic of Korea particularly welcomed the Department's activities on the fiftieth anniversary of United Nations peacekeeping operations. Public information was a key component of peacekeeping that would not only contribute to the operational effectiveness of peacekeeping operations, but also increase understanding and appreciation of their role by the broader international audience. It was hoped that information regarding mandates, safety and well-being of United Nations peacekeeping operations would be shared more widely, and in a more timely and well-coordinated manner, by the host country as well as by other Member States.

ALBERTO GUANI (Uruguay) said he supported the Secretary-General's proposals for the reorientation of DPI and in particular the need for more efficient dissemination of information on the United Nations. In the time of the Internet, when information was transmitted at amazing speed, the world was faced with the fact that radio and television were also affected by the technological advances that had given rise to the Internet.

He said it was necessary to maintain a balance when it came to strengthening the traditional methods of information dissemination. Uruguay supported the efforts to disseminate information through the use of shortwave radio, as well as the initiative to revive direct international broadcasts. However, Uruguay was not convinced that shortwave was the most appropriate way to disseminate information, given the means available. Regarding peacekeeping, he said it was regrettable that there were financial problems in ensuring continuous coverage of peacekeeping operations.

HOUSSOU P. HOUANSOU (Benin) said international peace and security "crowned" by development captured the spirit of the United Nations and DPI had a quintessential role to play in that matter. The Department reflected on all other departments, with its work and reporting on all the experiences of the Organization.

He said Benin encouraged DPI to continue its work with non-governmental organizations, mass media and educational institutions. New technologies should not contribute to incitement or xenophobia or any other behaviour bearing the seed of war. It was therefore important to maintain the traditional media in developing countries.

Benin applauded the United Nations radio service and its goal to promote linguistic diversity. However, DPI could envisage a more balanced approach,

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using both more working and official languages at the Organization.

He referred to the Chernobyl disaster, and said the role of DPI was crucial, to be able to communicate that catastrophe, particularly on the special day devoted to its commemoration.

Response by Under-Secretary-General

KENSAKU HOGEN, Under-Secretary-General for Communication and Public Information, responded to concerns raised by some delegations during the debate.

On the reference by the representative of Bangladesh to the General Assembly's request that the Secretary-General prepare a report on the integration of United Nations information centres with UNDP field offices, he said that matter had been brought to the attention of the Bureau of the Committee on Information. Members of the Bureau had sought the views of their regional and substantive groups and the Bureau had informed the Department of a consensus among the membership that such an important policy issue should first be carefully considered by the Committee on Information before its consideration by the General Assembly.

The Chairman of the Committee on Information had written to the Chairman of the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) communicating the consensus in the Information Committee on that matter. Accordingly, the report requested in General Assembly resolution 52/220 would be prepared for consideration by the Committee on Information at its twenty-first session in May 1999.

On the call by the representative of Jamaica for the assigning of an information officer to UNDP in Jamaica, Mr. Hogen said the Department was aware of the need to strengthen its representation in the Caribbean and was currently striving to complete the staffing table for the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) in Port of Spain, Trinidad, which covered 15 nations in the region. In the absence of staff resources, the Department would explore with UNDP Jamaica the possibility of designating one of its staff members as a focal point for information. That person would act as liaison between the UNIC Port of Spain and the target audience in the northern Caribbean. From UNIC Port of Spain, the Department would provide guidance, advice and relevant information material, and there may be opportunities for training and other support. The Department had positive experience from similar cooperation in UNDP Fiji and UNIC Sydney.

Referring to the support expressed by the representative of Jamaica, on behalf of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) delegations, for the United Nations direct radio broadcasting initiative, Mr. HOGEN said the Department had consistently maintained weekly programme production in French/Creole for

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dissemination in the region, a concern that had also been raised by the representative of Haiti.

The frequency and pattern of production and dissemination in Creole was consistent with those of other non-official languages of production in United Nations Radio. With current resources, original programmes were produced only in the official languages. For non-official languages, the programmes were adaptations of those in official languages.

He expressed gratitude to the Government of Romania for its contribution to the operations of UNIC Bucharest. That contribution went towards funding local-level staff costs. A national information officer was being recruited for that Centre.

The Department saw the establishment in Tokyo of an Academic Council for the United Nations as a very positive step, he said. The newly-appointed Director of UNIC Tokyo had been encouraged to work closely with that new partner and with the United Nations Association.

On the reference by the representative of Algeria to the need for a post for the Arabic-language homepage, he said that was a priority in the Department's reorientation and would be addressed when resources became available.

Regarding a reference by the representative of the Russian Federation to the need to expand the Moscow UNIC's publishing activities, he said the matter was receiving serious attention. The problem lay in resources. A general service staff member would be redeployed to work full time on the Centre's Russian programmes.

In response to a reference by the representative of Uruguay to the feasibility study on United Nations direct broadcasting and to the Department's shortwave radio services, he said the Department was looking into the design of the pilot project in light of the deliberations of the Committee on Information at its resumed twentieth session. A report would be submitted to that Committee's twenty-first session next May.

Action on Drafts

Acting without a vote, the Committee then jointly approved two draft resolutions and a draft decision contained in paragraph 48 of the report of the Committee on Information (document A/53/21/Rev.1).

By draft resolution A, information in the service of humanity, the General 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 in developing

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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.

By further terms of that text, 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. The Assembly would also urge the provision of all possible support and assistance to the developing countries and their media and 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.

By draft resolution B, on United Nations public information policies and activities, the General Assembly would emphasize that through its reorientation, 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, particularly in developing countries and those in transition. The Assembly would encourage the Secretary-General to explore ways and means of improving global access to airwaves of United Nations Radio and through partnerships with other media services, bearing in mind that radio is one of the most cost-effective and far-reaching media available to DPI, as well as an instrument in such United Nations activities as development and peacekeeping. It would also underline the continued importance of traditional and mass media channels in disseminating United Nations information.

The Secretary-General would be asked for a report on the design and scope of a pilot project on the development of the United Nations international radio broadcasting capacity.

The Assembly would encourage DPI to take full advantage of recent developments in information technology, such as the Internet, in order 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 DPI to strengthen its capacity to maintain and coordinate the United Nations homepage and for providing its public information content.

By the draft decision, the Assembly would decide to increase the membership on the Committee on Information from 90 to 93 members and to appoint Angola, the Republic of Moldova and the Solomon Islands as members of the Committee. * *** *