COMMITTEE ON INFORMATION SUSPENDS TWENTY-FIRST SESSION AT HEADQUARTERS

Press Release
PI/1140

COMMITTEE ON INFORMATION SUSPENDS TWENTY-FIRST SESSION AT HEADQUARTERS

The General Assembly would express its full support for wide and accurate, equal and prompt coverage of the Organization's activities through the continuation and improvement of United Nations press releases, and would stress the importance of having those press releases issued in all official languages, under a resolution approved this afternoon, as the Committee on Information suspended the work of its current session.

The text on United Nations public information policies and activities, by which the Assembly would set the course for the activities of the Department of Public Information (DPI) over the coming year, was approved without a vote. Also approved without a vote was a draft resolution on information in the service of humanity.

Among other provisions of the text on public information policies and activities, the Assembly would encourage the Secretary-General, through the DPI, to continue to take full advantage of recent developments in information technologies, including the Internet, to improve, in a cost-effective manner, the dissemination of information about the Organization, while taking into account the linguistic diversity of the United Nations.

Also by the text, the Assembly would request the Secretary-General to further elaborate on option C of his report on developing the United Nations Web site in all the official languages. Under that option, certain modules of the Web site would be made available in some languages, while addressing the issue of equality on an incremental basis over a period of several bienniums in accordance with the availability of appropriate resources.

Moreover, the Assembly would note with concern that the integration of the United Nations information centres with field offices of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has, in general, resulted in a lower level of programme delivery and narrower range of activities. The policy of integration has not in all cases achieved its stated objective of performing functions efficiently, effectively and in a cost-effective manner.

Also noting with concern that the request made to the Secretary-General to ensure full and direct access for the representatives of Member States to the briefings organized at Headquarters by the Office of the Spokesman for the Secretary-General, and to ensure a wider outreach of the outcome of such briefings, has not been implemented, the Assembly would reiterate that request. It would also request the Secretary-General to ensure that information presented to the media is made available to delegations fully and in a timely fashion.

By the text on information in the service of humanity, the Assembly would urge all countries, the United Nations and all others concerned to cooperate and interact to reduce existing disparities in information flows at all levels by increasing assistance for the development of communication infrastructures and capabilities in developing countries. Such efforts would enable those countries to develop their own information and communication policies freely and independently, increase the participation of media individuals in the communication process and ensure the free flow of information at all levels.

Also this morning, the Committee approved a draft decision by which the Assembly would appoint Mozambique to the Committee, thus expanding it from 93 to 94 members. In his closing statement, the Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information, Kensaku Hogen, said he had taken note of the new ideas proposed during the current session, adding that they would help the Department to move forward. He would also endeavour to strengthen the relations between Member States and the Department.

El Hassane Zahid (Morocco), Chairman of the Committee on Information, said he was pleased to see that a spirit of compromise, conciliation and constructiveness had reigned over "our work". The success achieved was the result of common endeavour. The results were, first and foremost, due to the work of Member States, the Secretariat, and the bureau as a whole.

The Committee on Information will hold a resumed session in the fall at a date to be announced, to discuss a report of the Secretary-General on the issue of developing the United Nations Web site in all the official languages.

Action by Committee

By the terms of resolution "A" -- Information in the service of humanity -- (document A/AC.198/1999/L.2), the Assembly would urge all countries, the United Nations and all others concerned to:

-- Disseminate information and communicate their views and their cultural and ethical values through endogenous cultural production;

-- To ensure the diversity of sources and their free access to information; and

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-- To recognize the call to what in the United Nations and various international forums has been termed "new world information and communication order seen as an evolving and continuous process";

The Assembly would further urge all countries, the United Nations and all others concerned to:

-- Cooperate and interact to reduce existing disparities in information flows at all levels by increasing assistance for the development of communication infrastructures and capabilities in developing countries; such efforts would take due regard of the needs and priorities attached to such areas by those countries to enable them and their media to develop their own information and communication policies freely and independently, increase the participation of media individuals in the communication process and ensure the free flow of information at all levels;

-- Ensure for journalists the free and effective performance of their professional tasks and resolutely condemn all attacks against them;

-- Enhance regional efforts and cooperation among developing countries, as well as cooperation between developed and developing countries;

-- Strengthen communication capacities and improve the media infrastructure and communication technologies in the developing countries, especially in the areas of training and dissemination of information; and

-- Aim, in addition to bilateral cooperation, at providing all possible support and assistance to the developing countries and their public, private or other media, with due regard to their interests and needs in the field of information and to action already developed within the United Nations including: the development of the human and technical resources that are indispensable for the improvement of information and communication systems in developing countries and support for the continuation and strengthening of practical training programmes, such as those already operating under public and private auspices throughout the developing world. Those actions already developed within the United Nations also include: the creation of conditions that will enable developing countries and their media to have, by using their national and regional resources, communication technology suited to their national needs, as well as the necessary programme material, especially for radio and television broadcasting; assistance in establishing and promoting telecommunication links at the sub-regional, regional and interregional levels, especially among developing countries; the facilitation, as appropriate, of access by the developing countries to advanced communication technology; and providing full support for the international programme for the development of communication of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), which should support both public and private media.

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By the terms of resolution "B" -- United Nations public information policies and activities -- the Assembly would call upon the Secretary-General, in respect of the public information policies and activities of the United Nations, to continue to fully implement the recommendations and other mandates as established by the Assembly. It would also encourage him to continue the reorientation exercise in the area of public information and communications, while stressing the need to take into account the views of Member States.

The 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 developing countries with special needs, including countries in transition, and that such reorientation should contribute to bridging the existing gap between the developing and developed countries in the field of public information and communication.

The Assembly would ask the Secretary-General to proceed with the submission of his report on the proposed medium-term plan for the period 2002-2005: programme 23, Public information, to the Committee on Programme and Coordination (CPC) for its consideration. It would also request the Secretary-General to give a particular focus to the educational institutions as key and indispensable partners of the United Nations in its efforts to fully inform the peoples of the world about its aims and activities. It would further request the Secretariat to continue to ensure the involvement of DPI from the planning stage of future peacekeeping and other field operations of the United Nations through interdepartmental consultations and coordination with other substantive departments of the Secretariat.

The Secretary-General would be encouraged to strengthen consultative arrangements between the DPI and other substantive departments in the Secretariat, in particular those dealing with development issues. It would also encourage him to strengthen the public information capacity of DPI with a view to disseminating information on, and drawing international attention to the Assembly designation of the year 2001 as the "United Nations Year of Dialogue among Civilizations" and the impact it could have on promoting mutual understanding, tolerance, peaceful coexistence and international cooperation. The Assembly would encourage the Secretary-General to formulate and implement an effective public information strategy for the Millennium Assembly, its fifty-fifth session, and the Millennium Summit, in order to ensure that the Summit will enjoy broad international support.

In addition, it would be emphasized that all publications of DPI should fulfil an identifiable need, should not duplicate other publications inside the United Nations and should be produced in a cost-effective manner. The Secretary-General would be requested to enrich the stock of books and journals in the library in order to ensure that it continues to be a broadly accessible resource for information.

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Moreover, he would be urged to exert all efforts to ensure that publications and other information services of the Secretariat, including the United Nations Web site, contain comprehensive, objective and equitable information about the issues before the Organization and maintain editorial independence, impartiality, accuracy and full consistency with resolutions and decisions of the Assembly.

Noting with concern that the request made to the Secretary-General to ensure full and direct access for the representatives of Member States to the briefings organized at Headquarters by the Office of the Spokesman for the Secretary-General, and to ensure a wider outreach of the outcome of such briefings, has not been implemented, the Assembly would reiterate that request. It would also request the Secretary-General to ensure that information presented to the media is made available to delegations fully and in a timely fashion.

The Assembly would reaffirm the importance attached by Member States to the role of the United Nations Information Centres in disseminating information globally, in particular in developing countries and countries in transition, and especially in those countries where there is a need for greater understanding about United Nations activities.

Also, it would note with concern that the integration of the United Nations Information Centres with field offices of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has, in general, resulted in a lower level of programme delivery and narrower range of activities, and in cases of relocation of information centres to common premises with the Programme, has frequently resulted in higher maintenance costs. The integration exercise has also been suffering from leadership and staff problems and to a large extent, has not achieved in all cases the objectives of performing functions efficiently and in a cost-effective manner.

The Secretary-General would be requested to carry out a case-by-case review of, and submit his proposals on the functioning of the integrated centres on a priority basis, in full consultation with the host governments, and to submit a report during the twenty-second session of the Committee. It would further note that DPI intends to draft jointly with the UNDP a set of guidelines indicating the operational framework for the integrated centres. He would be requested to report on the guidelines before its implementation to the Committee at its twenty-second session.

The Assembly would also call upon the Secretary-General to make such recommendations as he may judge necessary regarding the establishment and location of new United Nations Information Centres. It would also call upon him to continue to study ways and means of rationalizing and effecting equitable disbursement of available resources to all the centres and to report to the Committee on Information at its twenty-second session.

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The Assembly would invite the Secretary-General, through DPI, to consult Member States, where appropriate, on the possibility of providing United Nations Information Centres with additional voluntary support on a national basis, while bearing in mind that such support should not be a substitute for the full allocation of financial requirements for centres in the context of the Organization's programme budget.

The Assembly would express its full support for wide and accurate, equal and prompt coverage of the Organization's activities through the continuation and improvement of United Nations press releases, and would stress the importance of having those press releases issued in all official languages of the United Nations. It would request other relevant bodies of the Assembly to give the matter due consideration.

Further, the Assembly would stress that radio is one of the most cost- effective and far-reaching media available to DPI and an important instrument in the Organization's activities, such as development and peacekeeping. It would therefore encourage the further strengthening of the availability of programmes of United Nations Radio, in all available languages, on the Organization's Web site. The Secretary-General would be requested to implement fully the recommendations contained in Assembly resolution 38/82 (1983) on the introduction of full programming in French and Creole into the work programme of the Caribbean Unit of United Nations Radio.

The Assembly, taking note of the report of the Secretary-General on the design and scope of the pilot project for the development of an international radio broadcasting capacity for the United Nations, would request DPI to start as soon as possible, the implementation of the project. This should be done through contacts with interested Member States and other specialized institutions with a view to ensuring the assistance necessary for the success of the project, while taking into account the need to enhance the existing resources and services.

The Assembly would underline the continuing importance of using traditional and mass media channels to disseminate information about the United Nations. It would encourage the Secretary-General, through DPI, to continue to take full advantage of recent developments in information technologies, including the Internet, to improve, in a cost-effective manner, the dissemination of information about the Organization, while taking into account the linguistic diversity of the United Nations.

The Assembly would recommend that DPI encourage information centres to develop Web pages in the respective local languages of host countries. It would take note with appreciation of the efforts of the Secretary-General to develop the United Nations Web site in all the official languages, and in that regard, would also take note of his report on the continuous development, maintenance and enrichment of the sites. He would be requested to further

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develop his proposals pertaining to option C, discussed therein, for consideration by the Committee and other relevant bodies.

The Assembly would also call for the further expansion of the ongoing DPI programme for broadcasters and journalists from developing countries and countries in transition so as to include a larger number of trainees from developing countries. It would also urge the Department to take the necessary measures, through the provisions of relevant and objective information, with a view to achieving the major objectives set forth in the report of the Secretary-General on the causes of conflict and the promotion of durable peace and sustainable development in Africa.

Statements

A.P. VAN WALSUM (Netherlands), for the Western European and Other States Group, said it gave his delegation great pleasure that the Committee had been able to reach consensus. In that way, a constructive habit had been continued. It would be fitting if the Committee could enter the new millennium with consensus achieved. The fact that the Committee had been able to agree on the texts, however, should not be misinterpreted. His group was not fully satisfied with all provisions of the text. With regard to the integration of the United Nations Information Centres with UNDP field offices, for example, his delegation supported that exercise. An important benefit of the policy was that it made it possible for all information centres to be maintained. That did not mean that the group ignored the problems encountered in integration. However, his delegation was confident that the Secretariat would take concerted efforts to address those concerns.

HOSSAM ZAKI (Egypt), on the method of work of the Committee, said its session was currently divided into two parts -- the first was a general debate which was an expression of points and views and there was no true interaction among Committee members. Then the working group meets to concentrate on drafting questions. The bulk of the debate concentrated on the means of communicating information and not on creating an information strategy for the United Nations. His delegation would therefore like to propose that the Committee have a wider debate and greater exchange of views. The Committee should hold a free and open dialogue on the substance relating to information and not only on those questions relating to the means of communicating information.

IVAN NIMAC (Croatia), on behalf of the Eastern European Group, thanked the Chairman for his leadership during the session. He also complimented the flexibility of delegations in reaching a consensus on the texts.

ANDREW LLOYD (United Kingdom) said he supported the proposal by Egypt. It was important to get the message right and not just to concentrate on the means of communication. To ensure that the United Nations message was

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targeted in the right areas, the Committee should look at more than just process and means -- it should examine closer the message.

Y.K. SINHA (India) said the representative of Egypt had raised a very fundamental issue. He supported the idea of strengthening and improving the working methods of the Committee.

JUAN EDUARDO EGUIGUREN (Chile) said he also supported the proposal made by Egypt. The Committee could also consider ways in which United Nations information could reach populations in times of war and distress.

YUNIYA COX (Guyana), on behalf of the "Group of 77" developing countries and China, said the resolution on information in the service of humanity would renew the United Nations objective of enhancing the capacity of developing countries in the field of information. With the ongoing advances in information and communication technology, it was imperative that the resolution be implemented vigorously, because without such assistance, most developing countries would be unable to share in the benefits of the improved technology which was now an indispensable component of international affairs and activities.

Throughout the course of the year she hoped to address directly and purposefully many of the issues contained in the draft resolution on United Nations public information policies and activities. Among them were: the integration of United Nations Information Centres; the implementation of the pilot project for the development of an international radio broadcasting capacity for the United Nations; the creation of partnerships with media and educational institutions to carry the United Nations message; and the full and direct access of delegations of the Members States to all the briefings by the Spokesman for the Secretary-General.

She said the process of engaging in open-ended informal consultations involving the Committee as a whole, which was introduced during its last session, has proven once again to be a very valuable mechanism for advancing the Committee's work. Her delegation hoped that in the ensuing sessions, it would become an established practice in the Committee's operations. The practice would encourage transparency in negotiations and the full participation of all members of the Committee.

KENSAKU HOGEN, Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information, Kensaku Hogen, in his closing remarks, said that the Committee had, after fruitful discussions, arrived at consensus resolutions. He had taken note of the new ideas which would help the Department move forward and thanked delegations for their contributions. The communications were of immense value to both DPI and the Organization.

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He told delegations he would endeavour to strengthen the relations between Member States and the work of Department. In addition, the Department, with the continued cooperation and support of the Committee, would do its best to enable the public information activities of the United Nations to move forward and be given the importance which was recognized by all.

EL HASSANE ZAHID (Morocco), Chairman of the Committee, said the session would resume in the fall to study a report of the Secretary-General on the development of the United Nations Web site in all official languages of the Organization. He was pleased to see that the spirit of compromise, conciliation and constructiveness had reigned over "our work". The success achieved was the result of common endeavour. The results were first and foremost due to the work of Member States, the Secretariat and the bureau as a whole. Nothing could have been done without the participation of all. Regarding the direction which the open-ended working group could take in the future, he would consult delegations and officials from the Department on this matter. Any ideas received would be communicated to all involved. He then suspended the session.

Highlights of Session

Opening the twenty-first session of the Committee on Information on 3 May, Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information Kensaku Hogen said the imperatives of the information age required an adequate and imaginative response and necessitated the creation of a communications culture throughout the United Nations.

He added that the international community had long recognized the unique capacity of the United Nations to bring its members together to resolve issues with global impact. It was the responsibility of the DPI to work with the Organization's various thematic departments to promote a public understanding of that essential role.

Discussion during the two-week session focused on topics such as: the work of the United Nations Information Centres; the introduction of new technology to improve DPI's capacity in all media, including traditional media; language parity in the issuance of press releases and in the Organization's Web site; and United Nations radio broadcasting capacity. Following the general debate, the Under-Secretary-General responded to questions and comments made by delegates.

A number of them said the developing world was clearly disadvantaged by its lack of access to advanced technologies, and the United Nations must ensure that the developing countries were more equitably served. They stressed the importance of radio as a means of communication in the developing world, where Internet technology was in its early stages.

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He said DPI was committed to improving its international radio broadcasting capacity. The question of resources, however, was key. For the development of a short-wave radio broadcast capacity, the estimated cost would be at least $4 million a year for several years, to be provided from extrabudgetary sources. He added that so far no Member State has offered to contribute resources.

The integration of the United Nations Information Centres with field offices of the UNDP was also an important topic of discussion. Some representatives asked for a thorough case-by-case review of the performance of integrated centres where deficiencies were noted. Such a review should be conducted in full consultation with the host governments.

The Under-Secretary-General said that all information centres, including those that were integrated, were monitored closely and were subject to ongoing evaluation. The input of the host government was an important element in that evaluation.

Many also called for greater parity of the six official United Nations languages in all public information activities, particularly with regard to the United Nations Web site. They said that multilingualism was important in the information and communication activities of the Organization.

While he supported greater language parity, the Under-Secretary-General said that enhancement of the multilingual Web pages would require additional resources.

Officers, Membership

The officers of the Committee are: El Hassane Zahid (Morocco), Chairman; Holger Martinsen (Argentina), Ivan Nimac (Croatia) and Pieter Mollema (Netherlands), Vice-Chairmen; Sidharto Reza Suryo-Di-Puro (Indonesia), Rapporteur.

The 93 members of the Committee are: Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Chile, China, Colombia, Congo, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Gabon, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, Guinea, Guyana, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Lebanon, Malta, Mexico, Mongolia, Morocco, Nepal, Netherlands, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Russian Federation, Senegal, Singapore, Slovakia, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syria, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United Republic of Tanzania, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela, Viet Nam, Yemen, Yugoslavia and Zimbabwe.

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