SECRETARY-GENERAL CALLS ON INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY TO SPARE NO EFFORT TO MEET CHALLENGE OF YEAR 2000 ISSUE

11 December 1998

Press Release
SG/SM/6834
PI/1107

SECRETARY-GENERAL CALLS ON INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY TO SPARE NO EFFORT TO MEET CHALLENGE OF YEAR 2000 ISSUE

19981211 In Remarks to Informatics Working Group, Kofi Annan Calls Y2K Unique Problem Created by Very Young Industry

Following are remarks by Secretary-General Kofi Annan to the meeting of the Working Group on Informatics devoted to the Year 2000 Issue, in New York today:

Let me at the outset thank Ambassador Kamal for his invitation and for helping to draw attention to this important and pressing issue of our time.

Y2K is a unique problem created by a very young industry. It is an issue which, if left unresolved, will impact everyone's daily life in more ways than we know.

Information technology can now be found almost everywhere: 1 billion telephones; 400 million personal computers; 100 million computers connected to the Internet, to name but a few examples.

There is no precedent in history for such a fast deployment of new technology. This takes the Y2K problem to every corner of the world.

It has become increasingly clear that this simple problem does not have a simple solution. We are told, in fact, that tackling the Y2K bug is the largest and most complex project in the history of computing.

It is a problem which, if unresolved, will be felt on two levels.

On the national level, people face disruption in their daily lives. Energy supplies, supplies on supermarket shelves, public transport and health care will all be affected. This is in itself a major challenge.

At the international level, the impact will be felt through the global interdependencies of trade, manufacturing, transport, energy generation and

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distribution, telecommunications and defence technology. International cooperation is crucial to minimize the impact on cross-border activities.

And so, on behalf of the United Nations, I commend the initiative of the Informatics Working Group in organizing this event. As we stand on the threshold of the new millennium, your efforts are an example of how international cooperation is more indispensable than ever in managing the global issues of our time. Let us spare no effort in meeting that challenge head-on.

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