Budgetary Constraints No Excuse for Lack of Complete Linguistic Parity in United Nations Activities, Speakers Tell Fourth Committee
Several Delegations Call for Expanded Use of Widely Spoken Non-Official Languages
Budgetary constraints could not be an excuse for the lack of complete linguistic parity in the work of the United Nations, speakers emphasized today as the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) continued its general debate on questions relating to information.
Many delegations stressed the need to distribute the existing resources of the Department of Public Information equitably among the six official United Nations languages. Others, however, emphasized the importance of going beyond English, French, Spanish, Chinese, Russian and Arabic to include other languages with large numbers of speakers around the world.
“We understand the importance of speaking to people in their own language,” said Argentina’s representative, underscoring the critical nature of multilingualism. The United Nations Spanish website was the second most consulted after English, with 18 per cent of total visits, he noted. While agreeing fully that the Department of Public Information needed more resources, if that was not possible, as had been the case so far, it should reorder its priorities to ensure linguistic parity.
Other speakers associating themselves with the Group of Friends of the Spanish Language included El Salvador’s representative, who reiterated the Secretariat’s responsibility to respect multilingualism in all its activities on the basis of an equitable approach. Expressing regret at the small scope of language-disaggregated data in the Secretary-General’s most recent report on information questions, he emphasized that multilingualism and the use of new communications platforms required “creative solutions” in order to do more with the same resources.
Additionally, some delegations called attention to languages other than the six official ones, encouraging greater use of them in order to expand the United Nations audience as much as possible. Indeed, the six official languages were spoken by only 40 per cent of the world’s population, said Brazil’s representative, warning that over-reliance on those languages would limit the Organization’s outreach to a significant number of people. In 2014, the world body had used 23 local languages in its information products, including Portuguese and Bengali, he recalled, encouraging the United Nations to expand the number of languages used in its activities.
In a similar vein, Portugal’s representative pointed out that Portuguese — the most widely used language in the Southern hemisphere — was spoken by some 250 million people across four continents. It also had one of the highest growth rates on social networks and in other new media. Expressing support for the work of the Portuguese Unit of United Nations Radio in particular, she called for expanded use of Portuguese across the Organization.
India’s representative noted that the Organization’s focus had been to expand its reach by using multiple media platforms in the six official languages. However, India joined others in urging the Department of Public Information to focus its attention on other major languages, he said, adding that South Asia, with its large and varied needs, should merit special attention in that regard.
Many speakers also praised the work of the 63 United Nations information centres around the world, describing their efforts in disseminating messages about the Organization’s work. In that connection, Japan’s representative pointed to the role of the United Nations Information Centre in Tokyo in spreading the relevant information throughout the country. Expressing support for all such information centres, he said the Government had made a voluntary contribution to ensure that the Tokyo Centre could continue its mission.
Iran’s representative expressed support for strengthening the capacity of the United Nations information centres, while emphasizing that the allocation of posts and the level of those posts should take into account the size of the country concerned and the number of clients that each centre served.
Meanwhile, Egypt’s representative paid special tribute to the information centre in Cairo, saying it had played an essential role in North Africa during a particularly difficult time.
Also speaking today were representatives of Myanmar, Russian Federation, Libya, Sri Lanka, Colombia, Tunisia, Ukraine, Costa Rica, Israel, Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Cuba and Algeria.
The Fourth Committee will reconvene at 10 a.m. tomorrow, 29 October, to continue its general debate on questions relating to information, and to take action on draft resolutions.
Background
Before the Committee were two draft resolutions, respectively titled “Information in the service of humanity” (draft resolution A) and “United Nations public information policies and activities” (draft resolution B). (See Press Release GA/SPD/591 of 27 October 2015 for more information.)
Statements
U KYAW MYO HTUT (Myanmar), endorsing the statement by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), said the relevance of the United Nations would be much enhanced if it could connect with the general public. The Department of Public Information played an indispensable role in raising awareness of the Organization — particularly among the younger generations — especially in the areas of peace and security, human rights and development. The abundance of new social media meant that messages could reach audiences much faster. Encouraging the Department to pay special attention to inter-religious and inter-cultural dialogue to combat extremism, he also called upon countries in possession of advanced technologies to reach out and help those without them to develop their own capacities. On multilingualism, he said that those who did not speak any of the official United Nations languages must rely on Governments for interpretation of the Organization’s messages. Myanmar therefore called upon the Department to step up efforts to provide information in native languages. The Department was the public voice of the United Nations and had a key role in disseminating the right messages to its stakeholders around the world, he added.
ALEXEY ZAYTSEV (Russian Federation) said the modern United Nations played a key role in world affairs and required the full implementation of multilingualism, including parity among all six official languages. Turning to recent media events, he said the work of journalists had been violated in past years, and more recently, several countries continued to find reasons to end the translation of Russian-language television channels and spread disinformation regarding the Russian Federation’s anti-terrorism campaign in Syria. He called upon the United Nations to ensure that journalists were informed and that proper messages reached the people.
FAIZ SHAMSI (Libya), associating himself with the “Group of 77” developing countries and China, applauded the Department’s efforts in building awareness and knowledge of United Nations principles and purposes. All types of media were becoming more important due to their ability to shape human awareness, he said, adding that they had a huge impact on human conduct. “Peace begins in people’s minds before it takes shape on Earth”, he said, calling for the peaceful settlement of conflicts, in line with international law. Noting that United Nations reform, peacebuilding, peacekeeping, protection of the environment and other major issues were also on the Department’s agenda, he said it should give more space to its Special Information Programme on the Question of Palestine, especially in view of the blockade against the Gaza Strip and the recent attacks against Palestinian civilians.
SONALI SAMARASINGHE (Sri Lanka), associating herself with the Group of 77 and China, said the Department had an important role to play due to the Organization’s integral role in peacekeeping, peacebuilding, disarmament, security, the promotion and protection of human rights, sustainable development, climate change and other international affairs. Commending the Department’s work, she said it was also facing a number of challenges. It must understand realities on the ground in each country, while considering the mobilization of resources to areas that needed it. It was also important that the Department increase its coverage and include more languages in the future. “There is a long-felt need for such expanded coverage in Asia,” she said in that regard. The United Nations should maintain the use of traditional media because there remained a digital divide between developed and developing countries. She stressed that multilingualism and language parity were essential for accountability, transparency, ownership and sustainability.
CARLOS ARTURO MORALES (Colombia), associating himself with the Community of Caribbean and Latin American States (CELAC) and the Group of 77, said the United Nations transformed peoples’ lives, and its work was spread through the Department’s messages. In that regard, Colombia called upon other actors — including private investors, civil society and Governments — to help the Organization adopt dynamic new technologies to reach more people. However, the world body could not overlook the limitations of Member States, and if the Department wished to reach marginalized countries, it must strengthen its radio, television and print outreach. “Traditional does not mean not conventional,” he pointed out. “Traditional can mean bringing new life into these current technologies.” He said that with the significant increase in the number of visits to United Nations websites it was easy to see the disparity among languages. It was essential that the Department not only adjust content, but also give statistics the same level of depth and scope in all official United Nations languages.
RIADH BEN SLIMAN (Tunisia) commended the Department for its engagement with citizens and welcomed its growing cooperation with civil society, schools and universities with the aim of fostering dialogue, better understanding, and increased awareness of human challenges such as conflict, terrorism, climate change, food security and pandemics. However, additional efforts were needed to improve the multilingual content of United Nations information so it could reach all people around the world. He singled out the Department’s Special Information Programme on the Question of Palestine for its efforts in highlighting the situation of the Palestinian people, but called for coverage to be strengthened in light of escalating tensions.
KAZUHIRO KUNO (Japan) noted the Department’s “significant role” in organizing activities for the commemoration of the seventieth anniversary of the United Nations, and also pointed to the role of the United Nations Information Centres in Tokyo in disseminating information about the Organization’s work throughout Japan. Expressing support for all such information centres, he said the Government had made a voluntary contribution to ensure that the Tokyo Centre could continue its mission. He said that his delegation was grateful to the Department for ensuring the return of the Peace Bell, donated by Japan to the Organization in 1954, to its original location following the restoration of the Japanese Garden under the Capital Master Plan. During a time of unprecedented challenges to international peace and stability, it was important for the Department to increase awareness of the Organization’s work, but that goal should be realized through improved efficiency and transparency, and in a cost-neutral manner, he emphasized.
SRINIVAS PRASAD (India) commended the Department’s efforts to highlight the launch of the Millennium Development Goal Report 2014, the success of which was a stepping stone to the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals, and expressed hope that it would also play a key role in achieving a successful outcome of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Paris later this year. India welcomed the creation and launch of the Victims of Terrorism Support Portal, in all six official United Nations languages, for the Counter Terrorism Implementation Task Force, as well as its other recent efforts. The Department’s contribution to the dramatic growth of the United Nations media presence across multiple platforms was also impressive. While noting that the Organization’s focus had been on expanding its reach by using multiple platforms in the six official languages, he urged the Department also to focus attention on major languages outside the official ones. South Asia, with its large and varied needs, should merit special attention in that regard, he said. Finally, he expressed support for the Department’s continuing engagement with peacekeeping in the form of field visits, and participation in planning the public information components of specific missions.
YEHOR PYVOVAROV (Ukraine), associating himself with the European Union, said that information was a prerequisite for overcoming global crises and would remain a key tool for disseminating information about the work of the United Nations. Thanking the Department for its exemplary work, he also noted the fruitful work of the Committee on Information, and voiced support for calls to improve multilingualism. However, many websites of committees, peacekeeping missions and other United Nations entities remained out of date and archaic, and should be updated as soon as possible. Recalling the aggression against Ukraine by “one specific neighbouring country”, he said that country had created a new nuclear weapon aimed not at strategic military objectives but at the brains and souls of citizens. It had invented a “hybrid war” whereby State-controlled brainwashing television channels, newspapers and thousands of hired “bots” constituted a serious threat to what the United Nations sought to defend. The Committee and other relevant United Nations bodies should duly and rapidly react to all attempts to falsify information and use it as a tool for fuelling regional conflicts, he emphasized. Ukraine called upon Member States to elaborate an international document on propaganda counteraction in order to protect societies from State-led information wars and other campaigns aimed at satisfying the geopolitical appetites of some unhealthy leaders.
ROLANDO CASTRO (Costa Rica), associating himself with the Group of 77, CELAC and the Friends of the Spanish Language, said that freedom of information relied on open and transparent flows and must fall under the rule of law for its protection. Developing countries needed to strengthen the role of traditional media while building upon the opportunities provided by information and communications technology, and facilitating access to them for all members of the public. Success in promoting and positioning the United Nations depended on good communications and improved coordination with other bodies of the Organization. Efforts in the area of multilingualism must never cease, he said, adding that more remained to be done, including daily updates from the United Nations in Spanish, which were increasingly popular.
BENJAMIN KRASNA (Israel) said the international community had experienced unprecedented levels of anti-Semitism over the past year, and the United Nations must take its rightful place in turning back the tide of hatred. Israel was encouraged by the joint statement issued by 50 countries calling for the eradication of anti-Semitism, and by the specific actions of the Department in that regard. However, it remained deeply concerned about the Department’s Special Information Programme on the Question of Palestine. Since its inception, the programme had offered a biased and misleading narrative of the Middle East region. Similarly, it was crucial to ensure that no United Nations platform was abused for the dissemination of anti-Israel messages. The Organization must remain diligent in ensuring that scarce resources were not devoted to acts that contradicted its values. Circulating prejudiced materials under the banner of the United Nations undermined the Organization’s integrity and impartiality. Offering Israel’s help to form future activities that would promote tolerance and the “prevention of incitement”, he said the United Nations could not “allow information and disinformation to turn into a weapon”.
GONZALO MAZZEO (Argentina), associating himself with CELAC, the Group of 77 and the Group of Friends of the Spanish Language, said the Department should continue to build on new social networks without neglecting traditional forms of media. Argentina supported United Nations information centres, which reached local populations in their own languages, he said, commending, in particular, the one in Buenos Aires. “We understand the importance of speaking to people in their own language,” he said, underscoring the importance of multilingualism. In that regard, Argentina was deeply concerned that the Secretary-General’s report did not include detailed information, including disaggregated data, on the Department’s various language services, which would help in pinpointing needs and responding to them.
He went on to welcome the growth of Spanish-language content on the Spanish website, pointing out that the language was the second most consulted after English, with 18 per cent of visits. However, Argentina was concerned about the content available on that website, which was inferior to that on the English site. While agreeing fully that the Department needed more resources, he said that if that was not possible, as had been the case so far, the Department should reorder its priorities to ensure linguistic parity. Indeed, the Department’s daily news bulletins should be disseminated in all six official languages, he emphasized, expressing concern at attempts to link that issue to the departmental budget. The General Assembly had decided unequivocally that the issue should be resolved within existing resources, and budgetary allocations could not be separated from the principle of linguistic parity, he stressed.
ALEX GIACONELLI DA SILVA (Brazil), associating himself with the Group of 77 and CELAC, said that while he welcomed support for the dissemination of information to millions of people via the Internet, only three billion people were connected, which meant that 60 per cent of the targeted people did not receive the messages from the United Nations. Radio, however, was heard in 75 per cent of households in developing countries, making it a medium of fundamental importance. Furthermore, the six official languages of the United Nations were spoken by only 40 per cent of the global population, limiting outreach to a significant number of people. In 2014 the United Nations had used 23 local languages in its information products, including Portuguese and Bengali, he recalled, encouraging the Organization to expand the number of languages used in its activities. Underlining the important role of the 63 United Nations information centres in mobilizing support for the Organization’s work among local populations, he welcomed the increasing involvement of civil society with the Organization while encouraging the Department to develop activities within the academic community and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
CRISTINA MARIA CERQUERA (Portugal), associating herself with the European Union, said the Department amplified the Organization’s visibility across peoples and languages, and Portugal therefore welcomed attempts to strengthen multilingualism as well as the continued use of traditional media. Stressing the importance of using Portuguese, especially in Africa, she expressed support for the work of the Portuguese Unit of United Nations Radio, in particular, and urged the Secretariat to continue to develop synergies between that Unit and the Portuguese-speaking world. She went on to welcome continuing efforts to provide the website of the United Nations Peacebuilding Support Office in Guinea-Bissau (UNOGBIS) in Portuguese, pointing out that the language was spoken by some 250 million people across four continents, and was the most widely spoken in the Southern hemisphere. It also had one of the highest growth rates on social networks and in other new media. Asking the United Nations to take that information into consideration, she strongly encouraged the Organization’s further use of Portuguese.
HOSSEIN MALEKI (Iran), associating himself with the Group of 77, said the Department should promote a positive image of the Organization by shedding more light on such issues as violent extremism and terrorism. Recalling two of Iran’s initiatives in that regard, he said one of them, “World against Violence and Violent Extremism (WAVE)”, had been adopted by consensus in General Assembly resolution A/RES/68/127. Another one from 2001 was on the promotion of dialogue among civilizations and was also worthy of being on the Department’s agenda. He went on to emphasize the importance of raising international awareness of the question of Palestine, applauding the Department’s special information programme on that question while stressing also the need for continued implementation of the Reham Al-Farra Memorial Journalists’ Fellowship Programme. Iran supported strengthening the capacity of United Nations information centres, he said, adding that the allocation of posts and the level of those posts should take into account the size of the country concerned and the number of clients that the Centre would serve.
AHMED ELSHANDAWILY (Egypt), associating himself with the Group of 77 and China, said it was vital to correct the current imbalance in the use of the six official United Nations languages in order to disseminate the Organization’s messages to as wide an audience as possible. Spotlighting the importance of information in combating radical ideologies and the scourge of terrorism, he paid special tribute to the United Nations Information Centre in Cairo, saying it had played an essential role in North Africa during a particularly difficult time. Finally, he expressed satisfaction with the work of the Department’s Special Programme on the Question of Palestine and encouraged its expansion in the coming years.
CLAUDE STANISLAUS BOUAH-KAMON (Côte d’Ivoire), associating himself with the Group of 77 and China, said the United Nations was a “hub of decisions” that influenced international relations. As the Organization’s mouthpiece, the Department worked to disseminate diverse and credible information that could bridge gaps among the world’s peoples. However, the use of new social networks could not reduce the Department’s interest in traditional forms of communication. He noted that the public information efforts of the United Nations Operation in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI) had been particularly important to his country, especially during the elections that had taken place just days ago, and the radio station “UNOCI FM” supported the mission and helped the population in various ways. Finally, he emphasized that bridging the digital divide between developed and developing countries required further attention on the part of Member States.
MAMADOU COULIBALY (Burkina Faso), associating himself with the Group of 77 and China, said the Secretary-General’s reports accurately translated the Department’s achievements. Indeed, the Department would play an important role in raising awareness of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. As such, the United Nations must adapt its means of communication to a more diversified public, he said, welcoming the use of social media in that regard. Expressing concern over the growing digital divide between the global North and South, he urged the United Nations to share new technologies and increase assistance to countries such as Burkina Faso, which itself was launching a digital terrestrial television system. Noting that the United Nations Information Centre in Ouagadougou was vital for spreading information in the West African subregion, he said Burkina Faso was working to entrench freedom of the press by decriminalizing press offences, strengthening the judicial framework and ensuring the right of access to administrative information. He urged the Department to promote multilingualism in both its internal and external communications, the latter of which should include non-official languages.
ANTHONY BOSAH (Nigeria) applauded the Department’s support in strategic communications planning for the Organization’s Ebola response and the cholera response in Haiti, as well as its outreach in support of members of the Caribbean Community and the African Union to honour the victims of slavery, as well as its support for efforts to honour victims of the Holocaust. Nigeria also welcomed the Department’s efforts to raise awareness of and support for the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) through publication of the Africa Renewal magazine and website. Urging the equitable use of all the official United Nations languages in the information flow, he also encouraged the use of local languages in United Nations information centres and offices. Noting that “whilst millions are connected by ‘digital bridges’, millions more are separated by ‘digital gaps’,” he called for a balance between the use of modern information systems and traditional means of communications, especially in developing countries, in order to create awareness of the Organization’s work.
HECTOR ENRIQUE JAIME CALDERÓN (El Salvador), associating himself with CELAC, the Group of 77 and the Group of Friends of the Spanish Language, expressed support for the Department’s efforts in disseminating information on issues such as development, youth, human rights, tackling cholera in Haiti, the Ebola epidemic and others. Public information initiatives must play an important role in the strategic management of the Organization, and the Department must work to provide the public with accurate, impartial, balanced, timely and multilingual information on the Organization’s the work. El Salvador recognized the need to adopt a regulatory framework that would ensure the use of information and communications technology in a reliable, safe and orderly fashion so that they did not divert from the principles of the United Nations. However, Member States should not use such technologies in contravention of international law, he emphasized. As a member of the Group of Friends of the Spanish Language, El Salvador reiterated the Secretariat’s responsibility to respect multilingualism in all its activities on the basis of an equitable approach, and encouraged the Department to continue to work with the coordinator on multilingualism. El Salvador regretted the lack of data, disaggregated by language, on trends in the number of hits on the websites of United Nations information centres as well as on the use of social network sites. More data would help in accurately identifying trends and taking specific action, he said. Multilingualism and the use of new communications platforms required “creative solutions” to do more with the same resources, and for those resources to be distributed equitably across the Department and across languages.
DAVID FLORÉS RODRIGUEZ (Cuba), associating himself with the Group of 77, CELAC and the Group of Friends of the Spanish Language, recognized the need to strengthen the Department’s work, since new information and communications technology was not available equally around the world. Some 781 million adults, of whom two thirds were women, and 126 million young people could not read or write, he noted, emphasizing that traditional media such as radio were irreplaceable tools for reaching as many people as possible. That made parity among the six official languages critical, he said, urging the Secretary-General to include in his report data disaggregated by language and hits on United Nations websites. Spanish was the second major language used on the Organization’s site, he noted. Describing nuclear weapons and climate change as major threats, he said global consumption and production patterns that led to environmental destruction must change. Recalling that Heads of State in Latin America and the Caribbean had proclaimed the region a zone of peace, he said their efforts in that regard were threatened by radio and television attacks against Cuba by the United States, in contravention of the United Nations Charter. The use of information to subvert the internal order of States violated their sovereignty, he said, expressing hope that the new phase between the countries would end such actions.
ASSIA JAZAIRY (Algeria), associating herself with the Group of 77 and China, emphasized the need for the Department to enhance its efforts in relation to campaigns of particular relevance to developing countries, including decolonization, the post-2015 development agenda, peacekeeping, the culture of peace and climate change. She also expressed her delegation’s support for the Department’s special information programme on the question of Palestine. Noting the continued existence of a digital divide between developed and developing States, she called for broader contacts with media outlets in developing countries. Finally, she voiced her delegation’s concern over the politicization of public information and its potential use to interfere in the sovereign affair of Member States.