FOURTH COMMITTEE, CONCLUDING WORK FOR CURRENT SESSION, APPROVES THREE TEXTS RELATED TO INFORMATION QUESTIONS

Press Release
GA/SPD/178

FOURTH COMMITTEE, CONCLUDING WORK FOR CURRENT SESSION, APPROVES THREE TEXTS RELATED TO INFORMATION QUESTIONS

The General Assembly would request the Secretary-General to pursue further his efforts towards multilingual development, maintenance and enrichment of United Nations Web sites, and to continue to develop proposals for achieving modular parity between official languages in a cost-effective manner and with a focus on textual content, by the terms of a draft resolution, on United Nations public information policies and activities, approved by the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) this afternoon.

By other terms of that draft, approved without a vote along with a second draft resolution and a draft decision, the Assembly would underline the continuing importance of traditional mass media channels and encourage the Secretary-General to take full advantage of recent developments in information technologies, including the Internet.

Further by that draft, the Assembly would emphasize that the Department of Public Information (DPI) should continue its reorientation to improve its activities in the areas of special interest to developing countries and other countries with special needs, including countries in transition. Such reorientation should contribute to bridging the existing gap between the developing and the developed countries in the crucial field of public information and communications.

By the terms of the other draft resolution, on information in the service of humanity, the General Assembly would urge the international community to cooperate in order to reduce disparities in information flows; increase assistance for the development of communication infrastructures and capabilities in the developing countries; ensure for journalists the free and effective performance of their professional tasks and condemn resolutely all attacks against them; provide support to practical training programmes for broadcasters and journalists from developing countries; and enhance regional efforts and cooperation among developing countries, as well as cooperation between developed and developing countries.

Also approved this afternoon was a draft decision by which the Assembly would decide to increase the membership of the Committee on Information from 93 to 95, and to appoint Liberia and Mozambique as members.

Fourth Committee - 1a - Press Release GA/SPD/178 24th Meeting (PM) 18 November 1999

Before the Committee took action, the representative of the United States spoke in explanation of position. The Secretary of the Committee informed the delegates about financial implications of the drafts.

As the Committee concluded its debate on information questions, the representatives of Brazil, United Republic of Tanzania, Republic of Korea, Romania, Ethiopia, Liberia, Syria, Cameroon, Russian Federation, Ukraine, Malaysia, United States and Indonesia took the floor.

The Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information, Kensaku Hogen, responded to specific questions raised during the general debate.

In his closing statement, the Chairman of the Fourth Committee, Sotirios Zackheos (Cyprus), summed up the activities of the current session, saying that the Committee had covered a wide range of agenda items this year. He said the Committee had heard a total of 223 speakers and approved 27 draft resolutions and three draft decisions. Thirteen draft resolutions and two draft decisions had been approved without a vote. A total of 24 meetings had been held during the current session.

The representatives of Algeria (on behalf of the African Group of States), Viet Nam (on behalf of the Asian Group), and Croatia (on behalf of the Eastern European Group) expressed their satisfaction with the Committee’s work.

The report of the Fourth Committee will be considered by the General Assembly at 3 p.m. on 6 December.

Committee Work Programme

The Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) was expected to take action this afternoon on two draft resolutions and a draft decision (contained in the report of the Committee on Information (documents A/54/21 and Add.1)), as it concluded its consideration of questions relating to information.

By the terms of draft resolution A, on information in the service of humanity, the General Assembly would urge all countries, the United Nations system and all others concerned to cooperate and interact with a view to reducing existing disparities in information flows at all levels, by increasing assistance for the development of communication infrastructures and capabilities in the developing countries; to ensure for journalists the free and effective performance of their professional tasks and condemn resolutely all attacks against them; to provide support for the strengthening of practical training programmes for broadcasters and journalists from all media in developing countries; and to enhance regional efforts and cooperation among developing countries, as well as cooperation between developed and developing countries.

The Assembly would, by other terms, urge all concerned to aim, in addition to bilateral cooperation, at providing all possible support and assistance to the developing countries and their media, with due regard to their interests and needs in the information field and to action already adopted within the United Nations system, including: the development of the human and technical resources that are indispensable for the improvement of information and communications systems in developing countries; the creation of conditions to enable the developing countries and all their media to have, by using their national and regional resources, the 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 subregional, regional and interregional levels, especially among developing countries; and the facilitation of access by developing countries to advanced communication technology available on the open market.

By draft resolution B, on United Nations public information policies and activities, the General Assembly would take note with appreciation -- with reference to the Secretary-General's reports on the continuous and multilingual development, maintenance and enrichment of United Nations Web sites -- of his efforts to develop and enhance the Organization's Web sites in all its official languages. He would be requested to pursue those efforts and to continue to develop proposals for achieving modular parity between official languages in a cost-effective manner and with a focus on textual content. The Assembly would also take note of efforts by some United Nations information centres to establish their own Web pages in local languages, and recommend that the Department of Public Information (DPI) encourage other information centres to develop Web pages in the respective local languages of host countries.

Also by that text, the Assembly would underline the continuing importance of traditional mass media channels in disseminating information about the United Nations, and encourage the Secretary-General 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, taking into account its linguistic diversity. The Assembly would emphasize that, through its reorientation, the DPI should continue and improve its activities in the areas of special interest to developing countries and other countries with special needs, including countries in transition. Such reorientation should contribute to bridging the existing gap between the developing and the developed countries in the crucial field of public information and communications.

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

Also by the draft, the Assembly would stress 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. It would request the Secretary-General to implement fully the recommendations contained in General Assembly resolution 38/82 B of 15 December 1983 with regard to the introduction of full programming in French and Creole in the work programme of the Caribbean Unit of United Nations Radio.

The draft calls for the Assembly to reaffirm the importance attached by Member States to the role of United Nations information centres in effectively and comprehensively disseminating information in all parts of the world, in particular, developing countries and countries in transition, and especially in those countries where there is a need for greater understanding about United Nations activities. The Assembly would also reaffirm the importance of all information centres meeting the primary objectives outlined by the Information Committee in its report on its ninth session.

It would note with concern that, while the co-location of United Nations information centres with field offices of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has, to some extent, been able to promote the image of the United Nations, and the integration has, in general, resulted in a lower level of programme delivery and a narrower range of activities. To a large extent, the integration policy has not achieved its stated objective of performing functions efficiently, effectively and in a cost-effective manner.

According to the text, the General Assembly would take note with appreciation of the Secretary-General's efforts to move the Dag Hammarskjöld Library in the direction of a virtual library, and request him to enrich its stock of books and journals, including on peace and security, as well as development-related issues, in order to ensure that it continues to be a broadly accessible resource for information about the United Nations and its activities.

Also by the text, the Assembly would note 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 wider outreach of the outcome of such briefings, has not been implemented, and it would, therefore, reiterate that request. The Assembly would request the DPI to continue to ensure the greatest possible access for United Nations guided tours, and to ensure that displays in public areas are kept as informative, up-to-date, relevant and technologically innovative as possible.

The Assembly would, by further terms, express its full support for wide, accurate, equal and prompt coverage of United Nations activities through the continuation and improvement of United Nations press releases, stress the importance of having those press releases issued in all the Organization's official languages, and request other relevant bodies of the General Assembly to give due consideration to that matter. It would encourage further strengthening of the availability of United Nations radio programmes, in all official languages, on the United Nations Web site, on the Internet.

Also contained in the report is a revised draft decision by which the General Assembly would decide to increase the membership of the Committee on Information from 93 to 95 and to appoint Liberia and Mozambique as members.

Statements

MARCOS PRADO TROYJO (Brazil) associated himself with the statements made previously by the representatives of Mexico (on behalf of the Rio Group) and Guyana (on behalf of the "Group of 77" developing countries and China), and said that the process of integration of the United Nations Information Centres with field offices of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) should be analysed on a case-by-case basis. That approach must reflect the opinions of the host countries, and information centres should have the necessary autonomy to carry out their functions.

His country attached marked importance to the traditional means of communications, he continued. Radio broadcasts were particularly useful in that regard. Brazil was particularly satisfied with the results of the agreement signed by the Brazilian Public Radio Network and the United Nations Radio, which allowed for information in Portuguese to reach a great number of listeners. Through an agreement with Portuguese distributors, information was also delivered to many countries in Europe.

It was necessary to introduce new technologies, and the Internet was an extraordinary tool for that purpose, he said. He congratulated the Department of Public Information (DPI) for its Web site, which was comprehensive, easy to access and rich in content. The impressive number of hits the site received every day demonstrated the keen interest of the general public in the work of the United Nations. Despite the fact that a large portion of visits to the United Nations Web site came from more developed nations, access to digital data in Brazil was an ever-increasing option, for the country had the fastest growing rate of users in the world.

As far as the content of the site was concerned, he suggested that work to make more information available in the field of treaties and other international agreements be accelerated. Also, if work were to be done towards building a more democratic and transparent organization, it was necessary to increase the availability of resolutions and statements on the Internet and to improve the user-friendliness of access to the Web site.

In closing, he added that many considerations on the issue of information dealt only with the means for improving the data flow that originated at the United Nations. Perhaps, in the next couple of years, the Committee on Information should turn its eyes to the very substance of information, especially at a time when the public image and the credibility of the Organization had been put at stake by current events.

ANDY MWANDEMBWA (United Republic of Tanzania) expressed support for the position of the Group of 77 and China and said that his delegation was impressed by what the DPI was doing to bring improvements in the field of information. As a developing country, the United Republic of Tanzania believed that the United Nations must take a leading role in helping those countries in the field of information.

He said that in the age of globalization it would look absurd if one part of the world were using state-of-the-art communications technology, while the partners in the other half were still “wallowing in the moribund, ancient and outmoded” communications technology. The gulf in information technology between the developed and developing countries needed urgently to be bridged. The United Nations could play an important role in performing that duty.

Like their developed colleagues, the developing countries should be able to conduct electronic commerce; schools should be able to use computers for education; and technology should be used to link rural areas, he said. Those countries could, for example, start with radio networks, then make a gradual ascension to higher technology. However, the need for advanced information should not preclude the maintenance of the traditional media.

On the process of integration of United Nations information centres with UNDP field offices, he favoured the option of selective integration. Material conditions varied from country to country. The Information Centre in his own country was currently operating under the direction of the UNDP Resident Representative without formal integration. In some cases, integration had not been uniformly productive. The process of integration without examining the prevailing material conditions could hamper the effectiveness of the centres. Full consultation should be conducted with host governments. With proper funding and staffing of unified offices, most of their problems would be solved.

MOON TAE-YOUNG (Republic of Korea) said that despite considerable financial and personnel constraints, the DPI had continuously sought to reinvent itself, with many tangible results. The Republic of Korea held in high regard the Department’s efforts to improve the United Nations Web site, to develop more effective news gathering and delivery systems, and to strengthen communication channels at the country and regional levels. The United Nations News Service empowered journalists all over the world to access developing stories from the United Nations as they unfolded and had already contributed handsomely to the rapid dissemination of critical information.

Yet, there were impediments to visiting the United Nations Web site, he said. Capacity to access electronic information varied considerably from country to country. The international community should spare no effort to narrow the technology gap between developed and developing countries. Concurrently, the DPI must continue its outreach activities through the traditional media –- print, radio and television -– all of which were indispensable for reaching vast segments of the international audience.

Regarding the development of a United Nations radio broadcasting capacity, he said the active participation of Member States was critical during the project’s implementation phase. The United Nations should make full use of next year’s Millennium Assembly and Summit to enliven its activities. The international media’s focused attention on the Organization in celebration of that milestone event would afford a unique opportunity to raise popular support for the United Nations and its vital role in world affairs.

ALEXANDRINA RUSU (Romania), associating herself with the statement made previously for the Western Group, said that her country actively encouraged the important information dissemination activities of the United Nations information centres, as well as the persistence of a partnership spirit in relations between those centres and governments, mass media, education institutions, non- governmental organizations (NGOs) and the business community.

Welcoming the creation of the information centres, particularly those in developing countries and countries in transition, she said that the allocation of resources for the establishment of new centres should take into consideration the needs of the existing ones. Increased access of the Romanian public to United Nations Web sites, television system and the Organization’s proposed international radio broadcasting capacity -– as the most cost-effective and far-reaching media available -- would better meet the primary objective of that particular dissemination exercise.

She said her country strongly supported the functional autonomy of all information centres. The process of full consultation with host governments in addressing the problems of programme implementation could definitely help to promote a better, more accurate, more transparent and consistent image of the United Nations. Romania looked forward to analysing the draft guidelines initiated by the DPI and the UNDP, containing the operational framework for the integrated centres.

MEHERET GETAHOUN (Ethiopia) associated himself with the statement by Guyana on behalf of the Group of 77 and China. He said that while the DPI was expected to strengthen its capacity to carry out its multiple mandates of spreading the message of peace, justice and development, it was faced with several constraints, which should be ameliorated in an effort to achieve maximum efficiency in the dissemination of information to a global audience.

With regard to the process of integration of United Nations information centres with the field offices of the UNDP, he hoped that the current setbacks identified in the Secretary-General’s report would not continuously jeopardize the information flow. Practical measures should be taken to balance the desire for cost-effectiveness with the need to maintain efficiency of the integration exercise. Information centres were key components of the United Nations outreach to the world community. They also played a crucial role in disseminating information to remote corners of the globe. In that connection, the Department needed to assist developing countries in improving their information-related capacity.

While his delegation welcomed the increased use of advanced technology by the United Nations, it also stressed that traditional means of communication should be given the necessary attention, he continued. United Nations radio was essential to developing countries, and he supported the implementation of the pilot broadcasting project.

In its efforts to combat marginalization in today’s global economy, Ethiopia had embarked on measures to strengthen its infrastructure to narrow the gap in the local, regional and international spheres of information, he said. Much remained to be done, and the lack of adequate financial resources constituted a major obstacle. The Government of Ethiopia would welcome the contribution by the United Nations, through collaboration with its specialized agencies, in devising a programme to provide training assistance to the developing countries in order to improve and strengthen their information capacity. He also called for the developed countries’ assistance through the transfer of information technologies and capacity-building.

NEH DUKULY-TOLBERT (Liberia) aligned herself with the statement by Guyana on behalf of the Group of 77 and China. She said that it was imperative that the developing countries’ information and communication infrastructures be on par with those of the developed countries. In that regard, the United Nations needed to be in the forefront of the efforts to bridge the technological gap between the North and the South.

The latest session of the Committee on Information had called upon all Member States to cooperate and interact to reduce disparities in information flows, she continued. It had also urged all countries to ensure for journalists the free performance of their tasks. It was against that backdrop that her delegation was requesting the Secretary-General to re-establish the Information Centre in Monrovia and to accelerate the training programmes for journalists from developing countries. The Centre would play a key role in disseminating the news among vital sectors of the Liberian society. In addition, it would immensely enhance the Government’s efforts to promote national reconciliation, economic reconstruction and reintegration of refugees.

MHD. WAEL DEIRKI (Syria) stressed the need for a new and more just world information order in which the interests of all people would be held in mutual respect. Syria felt disquiet over the wide gap and imbalance between the developed and developing countries in the field of information and communication technology. The Department of Public Information bore a responsibility to clarify United Nations goals and activities to all the countries of the world, especially the developing countries.

Associating himself with the statements of the Arab Group and the Group of 77 and China, he underlined that the United Nations should direct its activities and information efforts in such a way as to reinforce and promote its objectives in the interests of peace, disarmament, as well as economic and social development. The United Nations had an important role to play in promoting the rights of people languishing under occupation and in heightening humanity’s awareness of nuclear armament and environmental pollution, among other issues. The Organization must, of necessity, represent the conscience of humanity and reflect the interests of the majority of its Members vis-à-vis the problems confronting the world. It should not reflect positions that lacked neutrality or reflected narrow political interests in such a way as to damage its credibility and authority in the world.

There was an urgent need for full equality in the use of the six official languages on the United Nations Web site, he said. The reference in the Secretary-General’s report to equal use of official languages did not meet the needs of many countries. Syria urged the Department to allocate the necessary resources in the present budget to the development of the positions of all the official languages on the Web site, in order to avoid a further widening of the gap between one Web location and another. The Department’s publications also lacked parity in the use of the official languages, especially Arabic.

HENRI DJEUMO (Cameroon) said that the United Nations information centres had proven over the years to be irreplaceable instruments for the dissemination of information about the principles and objectives which formed the basis on which the Organization was founded. Cameroon was concerned that the integration of the information centres with UNDP field offices affected the centres’ implementation of programmes and level of activity.

He said that the activities of the United Nations Information Centre in Yaoundé had been languishing for the last five years owing to the absence of a director. The Centre, which also covered Gabon and the Central African Republic, was in fact dying a slow death. A director should be appointed to head the Centre so that it could respond to the often-expressed needs of the people it served.

KIRILL K. SPERANSKY (Russian Federation) said that, while intensifying United Nations efforts in the information sphere, it was necessary to give priority to the issues of safeguarding international security. In that regard, he highly appreciated last year’s adoption by consensus of Russia-initiated Assembly resolution 53/70 on the developments in the field of information in the context of international security.

He said that it was advisable to further consider international principles for strengthening international information security -- first in the form of a multilateral declaration, and later in the form of a multilateral treaty. Such a document should create conditions for a safe and equal international exchange of information in order to prevent the use of information technologies for terrorist and criminal purposes. It was necessary to prevent non-authorized transborder information influence and preclude the threat of information wars.

Continuing, he welcomed the efforts of the DPI to further improve the Organization’s capabilities as far as modern multimedia technologies were concerned. He supported activities of the Department to develop the United Nations Web site, as well as its enhancement in all the official languages, including Russian. The discussions at the latest session of the Committee on Information and the decisions submitted for consideration in the Fourth Committee contributed to the achievement of parity of all the official languages, at least with respect to the Web sites.

The recently established News Group was already making an effective contribution to the formation of a realistic image of the Organization in the eyes of the world public, he continued. He supported the re-orientation of the Department’s activities towards comprehensive application of the latest technological achievements and the efforts of the administration to open and improve new specialized Web sites. It was important to place up-to date information on the site, as well as reference materials on new peacemaking operations and missions.

It was also necessary to use traditional means of dissemination, because they were the most easily accessible, he said. His country was interested in the implementation of a direct international broadcasting project, in particular in Russian. He called on the Secretary-General and the DPI to continue to focus on the establishment of an international broadcasting service, and to inform the Committee on Information on the results of the DPI study to determine the interest of the Member States and broadcasting stations in the project. However, he drew the Secretariat’s attention to the fact that assurances given by the DPI regarding its readiness to enhance the Russian component in the United Nations radio service had not been implemented so far.

It was necessary to strengthen the system of the United Nations information centres and to continue to actively introduce technological achievements into everyday life of the information centres. The Centre in Moscow played an ever-increasing role in the dissemination of information about the United Nations activities in Russian, and it would be appropriate to consider strengthening its staff.

VICTOR SEMENENKO (Ukraine) noted the expansion of the DPI’s outreach and said that, along with the application of new technological developments for the purposes of dissemination of information, it was also important to maintain the Department’s outreach through the traditional media. His delegation had always been an enthusiastic supporter of the proposal to develop the United Nations broadcasting capacity, to make it comprehensive and result-oriented. Future success in that area would depend upon an effective involvement of interested Member States and on the provision of necessary resources. Ukraine was going to provide airtime for daily broadcasts of the United Nations radio.

It was necessary not to lose sight of the need to update the United Nations television and Internet technologies, he continued. His country supported the ongoing efforts to enrich the content of the United Nations Web sites. Progressive construction of a multilingual Web site and achievement of parity between the six official languages continued to grow in importance.

Turning to the question of integration of the United Nations information centres, he said that the information component serving under the direction of the UNDP in Ukraine was effective both in presenting a unified image of the United Nations and in enhancing information activities on major areas of work. However, action should not be limited to the integration process, and experiences could differ from region to region

As the aftermath of the Chernobyl disaster continued to affect millions of people in his country, the United Nations had a key role to play in setting a special long-term information programme on that issue. He added that possible measures to prevent attacks on or brutality towards journalists should remain on the Organization’s agenda.

RANI ISMAIL HADI ALI (Malaysia) said that news today travelled almost instantaneously, making the processing and sifting of news and information for public dissemination even more problematic. The process had become increasingly decentralized, moving out of the hands of governmental authorities to other organizations and institutions. From the international perspective, the information agenda clearly placed national aspirations at the centre of the global technology, trade and investment contexts. The real challenge was to ensure that information technology-related investments produced not only profits for the investors, but also resulted in transforming people from being mere consumers into producers and innovators of technology.

He said that while the Internet was undoubtedly one of the most efficacious instruments for unfettered direct communication between people, it could also be a medium for untruths and distortions of the truth and a variety of other unacceptable activities. The problem did not lie in the technology, but in the abandonment, by the purveyors of such information, of basic good ethics and moral values. The United Nations had an important role to play in promoting those universal values.

SIM FARAR (United States), while supporting the Information Committee’s recommendation that the DPI take more time to study ways to use the concept of modular parity in producing Web sites, noted that information technology moved at such a rapid pace that the current sites must be continued during the time that options of increasing materials on all language Web sites were being explored. The continuation of that modernization work could not be delayed until the Information Committee’s twenty-second session in May 2000. As the Department had clearly moved in the direction of modernizing its services, it would have been expected that a provision for Web site maintenance and development would have been included in any budget.

He said that the DPI faced the challenge of completing its tasks in an environment of tightly constrained resources. There was no easy solution to that dilemma, and members of the Information Committee must assist the Department in making the difficult decisions on where efficiencies could be obtained. The Department must accomplish its tasks within existing resources and find additional cost savings where it could. The development of Web sites would ultimately lead to greater efficiencies overall, and the costs for such sites could be defrayed through a redistribution of resources within the Department. The Department’s current budget accounted for more than 5 per cent of the entire United Nations budget. The United States could not support even a one-time request for additional funds when there were so many equally compelling needs throughout the entire United Nations system. HAZAIRIN POHAN (Indonesia) associated himself with the statement by the representative of Guyana on behalf of the Group of 77 and China, and said that the information age was inseparable from progress and could be utilized to foster trust and amity among nations, promote greater awareness of diverse cultures and enhance the development of all countries. Those goals should be reached through dialogue and cooperation. It was necessary to establish a just and balanced flow of information that was both credible and reliable.

His delegation supported the efforts of the Secretariat to continue to reorient its activities, he continued. It also acknowledged the importance of the media in those efforts. On the other hand, information emanating from the United Nations was not automatically transmitted by the media to the world public, because the media was constrained by its own agenda, circulation and sponsors. Therefore, the Secretariat should more effectively promote an informed understanding of the work and purposes of the United Nations among the peoples of the world.

He was pleased that by the terms of draft resolution B, the General Assembly would request the Secretary-General to give particular focus to educational institutions as indispensable partners of the United Nations, in its efforts to fully inform the peoples of the world of its aim and activities. He also supported the efforts of the Organization to provide the global media as speedily as possible with the news material generated by the Organization, as well as the work of the Spokesman for the Secretary-General. The most important aspect of the public information activities of the United Nations lay in their credibility and reliability.

Some lapses in the field of public information included instances surrounding the popular consultation in East Timor, he said. For example, the release from the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of 14 September had stated that “large numbers of the population continued to be systematically assassinated”. The FAO, at the time, was not even present on the ground and, in hindsight, the figures provided by that organization represented an extreme exaggeration. Also, the first spokesman of the United Nations Mission in East Timor (UNAMET) had questionable credentials as to his impartiality. Consequently, UNAMET’s public information had at times lacked credibility and reliability. Therefore, he stressed the importance of the DPI playing a central role in the selection of spokespersons for United Nations missions.

KENSAKU HOGEN, Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information, responding to questions raised during the general debate, said, in response to the representative of Jamaica, that, although data indicated that approximately 10 per cent of accesses to the United Nations Web site came from developing countries, it was difficult to garner reliable numbers because some countries did not require the use of two-letter country codes for domains hosted in their countries. However, the current figures were significantly higher than those registered two years ago, when accesses from developing countries accounted for only about 4 per cent.

Regarding the need to improve linguistic balance, he pointed out that the English and French language Web sites were the most developed primarily because they had been the first to be launched. It had been just a year since the launch of the Arabic and Chinese sites. While technology had provided capability for browsing Arabic Web pages, the tools for creating Web pages in Arabic were still not adequately developed. Providing equal treatment to all official languages meant that the non-English Web sites needed to be enhanced faster than the English site, which translated into the additional resource requirements.

Referring to the status of preparations for the launch of the pilot project for the development of an international radio broadcasting capacity, he said that broadcasters in the Caribbean region had been the first to be surveyed in connection with the launch. The Department was now in the process of surveying broadcasters in other geographical regions in order to establish the availability of broadcasting facilities. A report on the results would be submitted to the twenty-second session of the Committee on Information.

Responding to the representative of Ghana, he said that the Department was working closely with the Department of Disarmament Affairs with regard to a public information campaign leading up to the upcoming conference on small arms and light weapons. A modest budget for public information activities relating to issues to be discussed at the conference planned for the year 2001 had been proposed. The DPI was currently producing a film under the working title “Armed to the Teeth”, which was scheduled for completion next month. Promotional activities using that film would be the first stage of the campaign to build support for the conference.

On training, he said the DPI was looking into ways of expanding the annual training programme for broadcasters and journalists from developing countries in order to provide opportunities to additional participants from those countries and from other countries with special needs, including countries in transition. On an ongoing basis, the Department was continuing to invite journalists and broadcasters from those countries to take part in other media-related programmes on thematic issues, such as development and human rights.

He reassured the representative of Bangladesh that, while the Dag Hammarskjöld Library was committed to expansion of its electronic resources, it would continue to acquire materials in traditional formats to meet the continuing needs of its daily users. The Department continued to place particular emphasis on the acquisition of books, journals, daily newspapers, as well as online services carrying materials published in developing countries or containing news and information from or about those countries. A broad selection of those materials was currently available to users.

Addressing concerns raised with regard to the integration of United Nations information centres with UNDP field offices, he reiterated that any further steps in that process would only be taken after consultations with the host governments concerned. He was working closely with the new UNDP Administrator, who had expressed his full commitment to honour the relevant General Assembly resolutions. Jointly with the UNDP, the Department had circulated a questionnaire to the host governments of integrated centres, while a more detailed questionnaire on the functioning of those centres had been sent to their respective directors.

On requests by several delegations for additional resources for the information centres, he pointed out that the Department had substantially enhanced the technological capabilities of the network of United Nations information centres and had extended the training activities for their staff. Although that process would continue, given the drastic cuts in staff for field offices in the previous and current bienniums, decisions taken by the General Assembly would determine the extent to which the Department could meet those requests.

Action on Drafts before Committee

The representative of the United States, speaking in explanation of position, regretted that her delegation had been unable to join the consensus on draft resolution B due to the financial implications of the proposal regarding the development of United Nations Web sites that would meet the needs of various languages groups.

MOHAMMAD SATTAR, Secretary of the Fourth Committee, informed the Committee about budget implications of the drafts.

The Committee then approved, without a vote, the two draft resolutions and one draft decision contained in the report of the Committee on Information.

In his closing statement, SOTIRIOS ZACKHEOS (Cyprus), Chairman of the Committee, said that the Committee had covered a wide range of agenda items this year. Each and every issue had been given careful consideration as the Committee carried out the task mandated by the General Assembly.

Consideration of the report of the Special Committee on decolonization had revealed that speakers supported implementation of the Declaration on decolonization, he said. They had emphasized the importance of cooperation among the administering Powers, the Special Committee and the peoples of the Non-Self-Governing Territories. Many speakers had noted that the work of the Committee this year had been more active and pragmatic, with in-depth discussions of its future work and constructive ideas and proposals.

In the numerous interventions during the debate on peacekeeping operations, Member States had broadly expressed support for a change in working methods of the Fourth Committee, he continued. To that end, the Committee would adopt the report of the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations in the spring, shortly after its issuance, and would then receive an update from the Secretariat on the implementation of its recommendations in the fall.

On a more celestial level, he continued, during the debate on the peaceful uses of outer space, most speakers had stressed the importance of international cooperation in space science and technology. States had also supported the work of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space and noted the success of the Third United Nations Conference on the Exploration and Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UNISPACE III), convened in Vienna earlier this year.

During consideration of the effects of atomic radiation, most delegations had spoken about the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) as the major international body to review exposure to all sources of radiation. It had become the primary international scientific body to review and assess health risks of exposure to ionizing radiation. At its Vienna meeting in April, UNSCEAR had continued its deliberations, the results of which would be published in a detailed scientific report in the year 2000.

The issues of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and Israeli practices continued to engender great interest, he said. The UNRWA’s cash flow problems and the ongoing plight of Palestinian refugees were the subject of great concern as the Middle East peace process gathered momentum. To that end, the Committee had approved a total of 12 draft resolutions covering many aspects of those two issues.

Questions relating to information were of importance to all Member States, as illustrated by the number of delegations who had spoken in the debate of the Committee this week, he continued. The working methods of the DPI and the importance of United Nations information centres had been consistent themes throughout the debate.

The Committee had heard a total of 223 speakers and approved 27 draft resolutions and three draft decisions, he said. Thirteen draft resolutions and two draft decisions had been approved without a vote. A total of 24 meetings had been held during the current session.

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