SECRETARY-GENERAL PRAISES EFFORTS OF INFORMATICS WORKING GROUP ON YEAR 2000 ISSUE
Press Release
PI/1108
SECRETARY-GENERAL PRAISES EFFORTS OF INFORMATICS WORKING GROUP ON YEAR 2000 ISSUE
19981211 In Remarks to Group's Session, Kofi Annan Says 'Let Us Spare No Effort in Meeting That Challenge Head-on'As the international community stood on the threshold of the new millennium, the efforts of the Open-Ended Working Group on Informatics were an example of how international cooperation was more indispensable than ever in managing the global issues of our time, Secretary-General Kofi Annan told this afternoon the meeting of the Group devoted to the Year 2000 Issue. "Let us spare no effort in meeting that challenge head-on", he stressed.
Ahmad Kamal (Pakistan), Chairman of the Working Group, introduced the Secretary-General.
The Secretary-General said that Y2K was a unique problem created by a very young industry. It was an issue which, if left unresolved, would impact everyone's daily life in more ways than are known. Information technology could now be found almost everywhere, and there was no precedent in history for such a fast deployment of new technology. That took the Y2K problem to every corner of the world. It had become increasingly clear that this simple problem did not have a simple solution. Tackling the Y2K bug might be the largest and most complex project in the history of computing.
If unresolved, the Y2K problem would be felt on two levels. On the national level, people would face disruption in their daily lives. Energy supplies, supplies on supermarket shelves, public transport and health care would all be affected. At the international level, the impact would be felt through the global interdependencies of trade, manufacturing, transport, energy generation and distribution, telecommunications and defence technology. International cooperation was crucial to minimize the impact on cross-border activities. (For the full text of the Secretary-General's statement, see Press Release SG/SM/6834-PI/1107 issued today.)
Mr. Kamal (Pakistan) said the Working Group would continue to focus its attention on the Y2K problem in the conviction that it was dealing with something of direct and deep interest to Member States. The discussion so far in the meeting had been trendsetting, and the Working Group would follow up on those discussions towards the end of the year. Continued efforts to address the problem would be needed -- it would not be possible to stop the clock at midnight of next year, he added.
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