| United Nations | A/50/21 |
General Assembly
Distr. GENERAL
[7 August 1995]
ORIGINAL:
ENGLISH
United Nations Report of the Committee on Information Official Records of the Fiftieth Session Supplement No.21 (A/50/21) A/50/21 Report of the Committee on Information Official Records T Fiftieth Session Supplement No.21 (A/50/21)
General Assembly
Official Records of the Fiftieth Session
Supplement No.21 (A/50/21)
United Nations T New York, 1995
NOTE
Symbols of United Nations documents are composed of capital letters
combined with figures. Mention of such a symbol indicates a reference to a
United Nations document.
ISSN 0255-190X
--[Original: English]
[7 August 1995]
CONTENTS
Chapter Paragraphs Page
I. INTRODUCTION .......................................... 1 - 101
II. ORGANIZATIONAL QUESTIONS .............................. 11 -204
A. Opening of the session ............................ 114
B. Election of officers .............................. 124
C. Adoption of the agenda and programme of work ...... 13 - 154
D. Observers ......................................... 16 - 175
E. Other matters ..................................... 18 - 205
III. GENERAL DEBATE AND CONSIDERATION OF SUBSTANTIVE
QUESTIONS ............................................. 21 - 516
IV. PREPARATION AND ADOPTION OF THE REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE
TO THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY AT ITS FIFTIETH SESSION ....... 52 - 5315
Annexes
I. Statement by the Chairman of the Committee on Information at the
opening of the seventeenth session .................................21
II. Statement by the Assistant Secretary-General for Public Information
at the opening of the seventeenth session of the Committee on
Information ........................................................23
III. Paper on media strategies for peace-keeping and other field
operations .........................................................41
-iii---I. INTRODUCTION
1. At its thirty-fourth session, the General Assembly decided to maintain
the Committee to Review United Nations Public Information Policies and
Activities, established under Assembly resolution 33/115 C of 18 December
1978, which would be known as the Committee on Information, and to increase
its membership from 41 to 66. In its resolution 34/182 of 18 December
1979, the Assembly requested the Committee on Information:
"(a) To continue to examine United Nations public information policies
and activities, in the light of the evolution of international relations,
particularly during the past two decades, and of the imperatives of the
establishment of the new international economic order and of a new world
information and communication order;
"(b) To evaluate and follow up the efforts made and the progress
achieved by the United Nations system in the field of information and
communications;
"(c) To promote the establishment of a new, more just and more effective
world information and communication order intended to strengthen peace and
international understanding and based on the free circulation and wider and
better balanced dissemination of information and to make recommendations
thereon to the General Assembly;"
and requested the Committee and the Secretary-General to report to the
Assembly at its thirty-fifth session.
2. At its thirty-fifth session, the General Assembly, in resolution 35/201
of 16 December 1980, expressed its satisfaction with the work of the
Committee on Information, approved its report and the recommendations of
its Ad Hoc Working Group, Official Records of the General Assembly,
Thirty-fifth Session, Supplement No. 21, (A/35/21), annex, sect. V.
reaffirmed the mandate given to the Committee in resolution 34/182, and
decided to increase the membership of the Committee from 66 to 67. At its
organizational session in 1980, the Committee agreed that the principle of
geographical rotation would be applied to all the officers of the Committee
and that they should be elected for two-year terms of office.
3. At its thirty-sixth to forty-eighth sessions, the General Assembly
again expressed its satisfaction with the work of the Committee, approved
its reports Ibid., Thirty-sixth Session, Supplement No. 21 (A/36/21);
ibid., Thirty-seventh Session, Supplement No. 21 (A/37/21 and Corr.1);
ibid., Thirty-eighth Session, Supplement No. 21 (A/38/21 and Corr.1 and 2);
ibid., Thirty-ninth Session, Supplement No. 21 (A/39/21); ibid., Fortieth
Session, Supplement No. 21 (A/40/21); ibid., Forty-first Session,
Supplement No. 21 (A/41/21); ibid., Forty-second Session, Supplement No. 21
(A/42/21); ibid., Forty-third Session, Supplement No. 21 (A/43/21); ibid.,
Forty-fourth Session, Supplement No. 21 (A/44/21); ibid., Forty-fifth
Session, Supplement No. 21 (A/45/21); ibid., Forty-sixth Session,
Supplement No. 21 (A/46/21); ibid., Forty-seventh Session, Supplement No.
21 (A/47/21); ibid., Forty-eighth Session, Supplement No. 21 (A/48/21).and
its recommendations, and reaffirmed the mandate given to it in resolution
34/182 (resolutions 36/149 B, 37/94 B, 38/82 B, 39/98 A, 40/164 A, 41/68 A,
42/162, 43/60, 44/50, 45/76, 46/73 B, 47/73 B and 48/44 B). At its forty-
ninth session, the Assembly took note of the report of the Committee
Ibid., Forty-ninth Session, Supplement No. 21 (A/49/21). and adopted its
consensus recommendations (resolutions 49/38 A and B). The Assembly also
requested the Committee to report to it at its fiftieth session.
4. At its thirty-ninth session, the General Assembly appointed two new
members of the Committee, namely, China and Mexico; at its forty-first
session the Assembly appointed Malta a member of the Committee; at its
forty-third session, it appointed Hungary, Ireland and Zimbabwe; and at its
forty-fourth session it appointed Nepal.
5. At its forty-fifth session, the General Assembly decided, on the
recommendation of the Committee, to increase the membership of the
Committee from 74 to 78 members, and appointed Czechoslovakia, the Islamic
Republic of Iran, Jamaica and Uruguay members of the Committee. The
Assembly also decided to appoint the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic
a member of the Committee, with immediate effect, to fill the vacancy left
by the German Democratic Republic.
6. At its forty-sixth session, the General Assembly decided, on the
recommendation of the Committee, to increase the membership of the
Committee from 78 to 79 members and appointed Burkina Faso a member of the
Committee.
7. At its forty-seventh session, the General Assembly decided, on the
recommendation of the Committee, to increase the membership of the
Committee from 79 to 81 members and appointed the Republic of Korea and
Senegal members of the Committee.
8. At its forty-eighth session, the General Assembly decided, on the
recommendation of the Committee, to increase the membership of the
Committee from 81 to 83 members and appointed Gabon and Israel members of
the Committee.
9. At its forty-ninth session, the General Assembly decided, on the
recommendation of the Committee, to increase the membership of the
Committee from 83 to 88 members and appointed Belize, Croatia, the Czech
Republic, Kazakstan and South Africa members of the Committee.
10. The Committee is composed of the following Member States:
Algeria
Argentina
Bangladesh
Belarus
Belgium
Belize
Benin
Brazil
Bulgaria
Burkina Faso
Burundi
Chile
China
Colombia
Congo
Costa Rica
Cote d'Ivoire
Croatia
Cuba
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Ecuador
Egypt
El Salvador
Ethiopia
Finland
France
Gabon
Germany
Ghana
Greece
Guatemala
Guinea
Guyana
Hungary
India
Indonesia
Iran (Islamic Republic of)
Ireland
Ireland
Israel
Italy
Jamaica
Japan
Jordan
Kazakstan
Kenya
Lebanon
Malta
Mexico
Mongolia
Morocco
Nepal
Netherlands
Niger
Nigeria
Pakistan
Peru
Philippines
Poland
Portugal
Republic of
KoreaRomania
Russian Federation
Senegal
Singapore
Slovakia
Somalia
South Africa
Spain
Sri Lanka
Sudan
Syrian Arab Republic
Togo
Trinidad and Tobago
Tunisia
TurkeyUkraine
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
United Republic of Tanzania
United States of America
Uruguay
Venezuela
Viet Nam
Yemen
Yugoslavia
Zaire
ZimbabweII. ORGANIZATIONAL QUESTIONS
A. Opening of the session
11. The organizational meeting of the seventeenth session of the Committee
was held at United Nations Headquarters on 1 May 1995. In the absence of
the outgoing Chairman, the session was opened by the Assistant Secretary-
General for Public Information on behalf of the Secretary-General. The
Bureau was elected, with the exception of the Rapporteur, whose election
was deferred until the second meeting. The Chairman and the Assistant
Secretary-General for Public Information made statements (see annexes I and
II).
B. Election of officers
12. In accordance with the principle of geographic rotation, the Committee
elected the following officers for the period 1995-1996:
Chairman: Mr. Ivan V. Maximov (Bulgaria)
Vice-Chairmen: Mr. Alejandro H. Nieto (Argentina)
Mr. Minhaj Barna (Pakistan)
Mr. Jose Alberto de Sousa (Portugal)
Rapporteur: Mr. Fateh Zeghib (Algeria)
C. Adoption of the agenda and programme of work
13. At its organizational meeting, the Committee adopted, without
objection, the following agenda and programme of work (A/AC.198/1995/1):
1. Opening of the session.
2. Election of officers.
3. Adoption of the agenda and programme of work.
4. Statement by the Chairman.
5. Statement by the Assistant Secretary-General for Public Information.
6. General debate and consideration of substantive questions:
(a)Continuation of the examination of United Nations public information
policies and activities in the light of the evolution of international
relations, and of the need to establish the new international economic
order and the new world information and communication order;
(b)Evaluation and follow-up of the efforts made and the progress
achieved by the United Nations system in the field of information and
communications;
(c)Promotion of the establishment of a new, more just and more
effective world information and communication order intended to strengthen
peace and international understanding and based on the free circulation and
wider and better balanced dissemination of information;
7.Preparation and adoption of the report of the Committee to the General
Assembly at its fiftieth session.
14. The Committee held the substantive meetings of its seventeenth session
at United Nations Headquarters from 1 to 12 May 1995.
15. For its consideration of agenda item 6, the Committee had before it
the reports of the Secretary-General on the allocation of resources from
the regular budget of the United Nations to United Nations information
centres in 1994 (A/AC.198/1995/2) and on the review of publications by the
Department of Public Information (A/AC.198/1995/3).
D. Observers
16. The following Member States took part in the session as observers:
Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Democratic People's
Republic of Korea, Eritrea, Georgia, Haiti, Kyrgyzstan, Libyan Arab
Jamahiriya, Madagascar, Panama, Suriname and Sweden. The representatives
of the Holy See and Switzerland also participated as observers.
17. Representatives of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the United Nations Correspondents'
Association (UNCA) and the World Federation of United Nations Associations
(WFUNA) also attended.
E. Other matters
18. The Committee decided to conduct further informal consultations
through the Bureau, the spokespersons of the regional groups, the Group of
77 and China.
19. The Chairman informed the Committee that the Democratic People's
Republic of Korea had requested to become a member of the Committee.
20. In response to General Assembly resolution 49/233 B of 31 March 1995,
the Extended Bureau brought to the attention of the Committee a paper
containing a review of the Secretariat's policy on dissemination of
information related to peace-keeping (see annex III). The Committee took
note of this review and will examine it further after its seventeenth
session through its Extended Bureau.
III. GENERAL DEBATE AND CONSIDERATION OF SUBSTANTIVE QUESTIONS
21. Statements during the general debate were made by the following States
members of the Committee: Algeria, Argentina, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belize,
Benin, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burundi, Czech Republic, Chile, China, Costa Rica,
Cuba, Denmark, Ethiopia, France (on behalf of the European Union and the
associated States from Central and Eastern Europe), Guinea, Israel,
Indonesia, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Japan, Jordan, Lebanon, Nepal,
Pakistan, Philippines (on behalf of the Group of 77), Russian Federation,
South Africa, Syrian Arab Republic, Netherlands (on behalf of the Group of
Western European and Other States), Tunisia, Ukraine, Venezuela and Yemen.
Statements were also made by the observers for Haiti, Kyrgyzstan and
Panama. At the invitation of the Committee, the representatives of UNESCO
and UNCA also addressed the Committee.
22. In addressing the substantive issues before the Committee, all
speakers acknowledged the dynamic power of information in bringing the
message of the United Nations - peace, democracy and development - to the
world audience. In addition, they expressed their belief that
communication was an important tool that could help all peoples attain
their political, socio-economic and cultural objectives, unite them in
awareness and aspiration, and shape the world of tomorrow. Information was
both the mirror of today's realities and a powerful catalyst for change and
development.
23. Most speakers expressed the view that the spirit of consensus, which
had been sustained and consolidated in past years in the Committee, had
been essential in allowing it to be a meaningful force for positive change
and effectiveness in the public information policies of the United Nations.
In the opinion of one speaker, who also spoke on behalf of a number of
others, the active role of the Extended Bureau had improved the working
relationship between the members of the Committee and the Department of
Public Information and had contributed to transparency in the information
process. This interaction, in the opinion of most speakers, had increased
the efficiency and effectiveness of the Department over the last year and a
half, and they were convinced that with the Assistant Secretary-General for
Public Information this partnership would continue and be further
strengthened in the future.
24. All speakers pointed to the importance of commemorating World Press
Freedom Day, 3 May, and solemnly recalled and remembered the unprecedented
numbers of journalists who had been killed in the exercise of their
profession in the previous year, as well as those who were detained in
jails. A tribute was paid to the Algerian journalists who were the victims
of fundamentalist terrorists. Another delegation reiterated the possibility
of the creation of a legal instrument to protect journalists, especially
those covering situations of social and military tension. It proposed that
as a first step there should be legal protection through a special
accreditation to the United Nations of those journalists who covered peace-
keeping operations, which would allow them to pass freely and would help
provide them with assistance and protection. All delegations reiterated
that freedom of information was the touchstone of all the basic human
freedoms, to be protected at all costs, and that, accordingly, the world
press must be safeguarded from harassment and harm. Several delegations
remarked that the theme of World Press Freedom Day in 1995, "the press for
peace and tolerance", was in consonance with the declaration by the General
Assembly of 1995 as the United Nations Year for Tolerance. One speaker
said that the Secretary-General had stated that the international media had
an important role to play in promoting tolerance by bringing to light
abuses against marginalized groups throughout the world. While many agreed
that a free press was indispensable for promoting democracy and human
rights, others, however, pointed out that it must be accompanied by
responsibility and respect for cultural integrity and diversity.
25. A number of speakers commented on the professional cooperation between
UNESCO and the Department of Public Information in organizing the regional
seminars to promote pluralistic and varied media, held at Windhoek in 1991,
Almaty in 1992 and Santiago in May 1994. Several speakers characterized
those seminars as "turning-points" in the international debate on
communications, and many looked forward to the seminar planned for the Arab
region at Sana'a in January 1996. One speaker suggested that such seminars
be held annually.
26. Many speakers stressed the need for promoting the establishment of a
new, more just, balanced and more effective world information and
communication order, intended to strengthen peace and international
understanding. They also emphasized the need for the transfer of
technology from the developed to the developing countries, and removal of
disparities and imbalances between them. A number of speakers stated their
belief that all countries should have access to the flow of world
information in a balanced and equitable order. Several speakers said that,
in the communications field today, news about the rich and prosperous
abounded, while the poor and disadvantaged were ignored in their misery.
As one representative said, news from the developing world was often
sensational. He praised the journalists who helped to rectify this
unfortunate situation and protect against the destructive effects of press
cliches, which were potentially harmful to some societies. Several
speakers agreed that objectivity was a goal in the covering of
international issues by the so-called "free" media, so that half-truths and
innuendo would not be given credibility and stereotypes not accepted as
unchallenged realities. It was important in the view of a number of
speakers that technology be transferred from the developed to the
developing countries in the field of information and communication, thus
creating a partnership, with the common objective of sharing professional
expertise and setting up a two-way information flow. Several speakers made
the point that electronically transmitting United Nations materials had
little impact when the infrastructures required to access the information
were lacking. They stressed the importance of creating information and
communication infrastructures in developing countries to help them truly
become part of the "global village". In this connection speakers extended
their support to the UNESCO International Programme for the Development of
Communication.
27. One delegation spoke out against the worsening violation of his
country's sovereignty, alleging that radio and television broadcasts from
another Member State were being transmitted to his country in violation of
international standards.
28. All speakers expressed their strong and continuing support for the
work and activities of the Department of Public Information, and their
appreciation for the Assistant Secretary-General's introductory speech and
the reports of the Secretary-General before the Committee. The majority of
speakers highlighted the innovative approaches of the Department, the
strengthening of professionalism within its ranks and the pioneering role
it had played within the Secretariat in the electronic dissemination of
information. Many commended the Department for the new spirit of
partnership, cooperation and transparency evidenced under the Assistant
Secretary-General's leadership, which had resulted in strengthened outreach
towards Member States and diverse media and to educational institutions and
non-governmental organizations. One delegation said that in less than two
years the Assistant Secretary-General had restored a climate of confidence
in the Department, which was greatly appreciated. While recognizing the
complexity of the Department's task as a focal point of the information
activities of the Organization, one representative on behalf of a number of
others welcomed the fact that the Department had operated during the past
year more than ever before as an integral part of a well-defined United
Nations information strategy. One speaker said that the endeavours and
achievements of the United Nations in social development, peace-keeping,
self-determination and human rights would go unnoticed and unfulfilled
without the excellent work of the Department.
29. Another speaker characterized the management of the Department as
dynamic and action-oriented. It was agreed that the Department had a
particularly important role to play in responding to the heightened public
interest in the fiftieth anniversary of the Organization. In its work it
was, therefore, more than ever necessary to project a unified and positive
image of the Organization and to disseminate its success stories as widely
as possible. Several speakers said that they thought the "UN Minute" video
segments covering the history of the Organization were especially
noteworthy in this regard. One speaker said that the Department should
intensify its efforts to commemorate the historic San Francisco meeting,
which marked the end of a brutal war, the defeat of fascism and the
beginning of an era of peace. One speaker informed the Committee about her
Government's contribution to the celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of
the United Nations by proposing the observance of "A World Week of Peace"
to begin on 24 October 1995 with the purpose to achieve a universal cease-
fire or truce. A proposal to that effect would be forwarded to the General
Assembly for adoption during its forty-ninth regular session. Many
delegations stressed the view that it was imperative for the Department to
continue to restructure and redirect its resources in response to changing
information priorities. It was acknowledged by many that that was being
done, although some believed that more could always be done. On the other
hand, another speaker, who also represented a large group, said that in the
pursuit of cost-effectiveness, the wishes of the majority of Member States
should not be forgotten. The Department should receive the necessary
budget allocations for the performance of its tasks. Several others echoed
that sentiment, one delegation maintaining, for example, that if a
particular publication were to be needed, it should be produced regardless
of cost, so that the goals and the objectives of the United Nations would
not be disregarded.
30. Another speaker suggested that the Department must lead in the global
struggle to ensure that information and information technology was the
servant and not the master. He hoped that the Department would give some
guidance to the branches of the United Nations family, ensuring that they
did not abuse the easy electronic access now existing and that audiences
were not drowned in a sea of paper or electronic signals. One speaker,
speaking also on behalf of a large group, reiterated his group's
appreciation to the Secretary-General for the attention he had given to
information work within the system.
31. One representative suggested that the Department, on behalf of the
Organization, must not be afraid to stride along bold, new information
paths and even reiterated his delegation's suggestion, made during the
previous session of the General Assembly, that the Secretary-General might
consider appearing on popular talk-shows and teaching new constituencies
about the Organization. Several speakers emphasized the importance of the
Department's getting the United Nations message out to young people and in
that connection stressed the importance of a partnership with universities
and other educational institutions. That teaching role of the Department
was expanded upon by one representative who strongly believed in the
importance of peace education and suggested that media programmes could be
developed for that purpose. For example, he mentioned the possibility of a
peace education programme, which the Department should promote, involving
the creation of a concept of human values that went beyond specific
identities, and the recognition, appreciation and respect for diversity on
the one hand and the realization of common human origin and values on the
other. The subject of the Department's training of journalists, who could
help to impart peace education and counteract media propagating hatred and
xenophobia, was also raised.
32. Most speakers praised the Department's multi-media expansion into
information dissemination and outreach on the Internet and other electronic
networks. They characterized that new direction as perhaps the most
dynamic area of information activity undertaken by the Department in recent
years, which had greatly increased its outreach and advocacy to vast
potential audiences worldwide. Representatives pointed out concrete and
positive results of the Department's upgrading and use of more
sophisticated informational capabilities, citing specifically their
improved access to the materials in the Dag Hammarskjold Library through
electronic networks, as well as to United Nations news and activities by
telephone via the United Nations News Electronic Bulletin Board. In
supporting the policy of increasing the United Nations presence on the
"information superhighway", one speaker on behalf of a number of others
said that the necessary funds should be made available to the Department to
allow it to keep pace with modern information techniques, if necessary by
budgetary reallocation, particularly in the areas of radio and television.
Others agreed that additional expenditures would prove to be worthwhile
outlays for effective communication to the outside world.
33. Reiterating the integral relationship between peace and development, a
number of speakers pointed to the Secretary-General's supplement to his
Agenda for Peace and his Agenda for Development as important information
priorities of the Organization. Several speakers suggested that the
departmental resources freed by the discontinuation of the anti-apartheid
information activities could be reallocated to economic and social
development and democracy in Africa in general and in southern Africa in
particular. Some delegations expressed strong support for a World Week for
Peace and urged delegations to join in sponsoring a proposal which was
being submitted to that effect. On the other hand, a number of delegations
noted that, while the United Nations had been called to play an increased
role in the field of international peace and security, it was equally
important that the Department be an advocate for sustainable development
activities of the Organization. One speaker said that it must step up its
efforts in that regard.
34. All speakers stressed the important role that the information
programmes and activities of the Department could play in contributing to
the success of the many peace-keeping missions of the Organization. They
pointed out that a timely and integrated information campaign could be
helpful in forming a positive climate of world opinion, both in the troop-
contributing countries and in the countries where the missions were
deployed, and that more funds should be allocated for this purpose.
Accordingly, many speakers representing all groups of Member States
favoured the idea of the Department's increased involvement in support for
United Nations peace-keeping and other political missions, which entailed
introducing an information component into each mission at the very earliest
planning stages, so that the Department would be included in early planning
missions. In this connection, it was important that the Department and the
relevant departments, in particular the Department of Peace-keeping
Operations, the Department of Political Affairs and the Department of
Humanitarian Affairs, further enhance their cooperation and coordination.
One speaker, representing a troop-contributing country of long standing,
asked that the Department be given a greater role in devising information
campaigns for those missions, which would impart to the public in those
countries a clearer picture of what the United Nations could and could not
do in a given operation. Another representative said that, in his view,
because peace-keeping operations did not always bring with them immediate
political solutions, it was imperative that the public be made aware of the
exact mandate of each mission to avoid unnecessary confusion.
35. One delegation, on behalf of a large group, and a number of other
speakers stressed the particular benefits to be gained from the use of
United Nations radio, which could have an immense influence on the
effectiveness of United Nations operations and serve as an important
confidence-building measure. Another representative said that his group
could not understand how the use of radio by the United Nations could be
perceived as a threat by some countries and called, therefore, on
Governments to provide every assistance in those instances where a radio
broadcasting system was being installed by a peace-keeping operation. Such
a capacity, in the opinion of one speaker, was needed to strengthen both
peace-keeping operations and humanitarian activities.
36. Two delegations specifically requested that the Department, as stated
in General Assembly resolution 38/82 B of 15 December 1983, initiate
specific broadcasts in French and in Creole for the Caribbean region, which
they thought would be especially beneficial to local populations to help
clarify the aims of the United Nations Mission in Haiti. One delegation
commended the Department in general for the efficiency, productivity and
excellence of the Caribbean Radio Unit during yet another year. On the
general subject of the advantages of radio broadcasting, one speaker
alluded to its importance to millions of people all over the world and
requested that more frequencies and time be allotted to radio programmes in
some of the regional languages of his country, such as Urdu.
37. All speakers were supportive of the Organization's cycle of
international conferences on economic and social issues and greatly
appreciated the Department's commendable role in bringing the messages of
those conferences to the forefront of the international agenda. In that
connection, one representative said that the press kits were of particular
value. The work related to the World Summit for Social Development was
singled out by a number of delegations as an outstanding example of the
Department's recent successful information campaigns. One speaker, noting
that 2,900 journalists had been accredited to the Summit, said that the
media coverage for that conference had been the most substantial of any of
the Organization's economic and social activities, demonstrating that the
United Nations was indeed a major contributor in the field of information
on sustainable and human development. Many delegations also expressed
appreciation for the preparatory work being done for the Fourth World
Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace, to be
held at Beijing in September 1995, and one representative said that his
country's positive cooperation with the Department in that connection would
surely contribute to the success of the Conference. It was important, in
the view of one speaker, that the Department continue to evaluate the
content of its information campaigns, by studying exactly what was
published and with what goal in mind. One delegation praised the
Department's publications programme on sustainable development issues.
38. Several representatives expressed the view that support for the peace
process in the Middle East and assistance to the Palestinian people
continued to be one of the priorities of the United Nations and supported
the Department's ongoing information activities in that area. One speaker
suggested that fact-finding missions for the press must be sponsored to
that region. Several also pointed specifically to the Department's seminar
on assistance to the Palestinian people in the field of media development,
held at Madrid earlier in the year. Several speakers paid tribute to the
tireless work of the Department in bringing to an end the apartheid regime
in South Africa.
39. Several delegations made reference to the tenth anniversary of the
Chernobyl disaster in 1996 and asked that the Department develop and
implement a programme of activities to commemorate that tragic event. One
delegation expressed its appreciation for the Assistant Secretary-General's
initiative of appointing a special coordinator for dissemination of
information for the tenth anniversary of the disaster.
40. One delegation welcomed the fact that the Publications Board had
succeeded in revitalizing the publications programme of the Department.
Many speakers referred positively to the Department's publications, which
they believed were helping to create a positive image of the Organization,
and stressed the criteria that they should be cost-effective, timely and
issued in response to real needs. Several pointed to the usefulness of the
Department's new publication, Development Update. Several delegations
urged the need for early resumption of the publication Development Forum.
Another delegation pointed to the value of Development Business and other
publications on economic and social issues being widely distributed to
libraries around the world. Another speaker congratulated the staff of
Africa Recovery for a publication of high editorial and production
standards. One speaker referred to that publication and other recurrent
publications, UN Chronicle and the Yearbook of the United Nations, and
suggested the release of major recurrent publications also in French. Some
speakers asked that more Department materials be published in Russian,
which was important not only for the Russian Federation but also for the
countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States.
41. Many delegations praised the recently launched Blue Book series as a
valuable resource for an important constituency of scholars, researchers
and journalists, and one speaker characterized them as "must-have" books
for everyone interested in a serious evaluation of United Nations
activities. In that connection, the same representative wished to
encourage the Department to take advantage of the demand for such research
materials and to promote sales in order to increase revenues for the United
Nations. As to the timing and choice of subject-matter in the series, he
suggested that the issues to be covered would be those on which the United
Nations had recently concluded a major stage of its involvement and on
which the community of students of the United Nations was only about to
begin undertaking a review.
42. One delegation, on behalf of a large group, welcomed the improvement
in quality and speed of issue of the press releases in both working
languages. One speaker said that he would like very much to have press
releases in Spanish, but realized there were budgetary considerations on
that proposal.
43. On the subject of media relations, several speakers paid tribute to
the Spokesman's Office for the important contributions that it made on a
daily basis. The observer for UNCA said that relations between his group
and the senior officers of the Department had improved considerably and
that the latter had gone out of their way, within the limits allowed, to be
approachable and to discuss problems. While differences remained, serious
efforts were being made to resolve them. He further asked for practical
steps to this end, including regular meetings with the representatives of
UNCA, improved access and transparency, increased availability to the press
of the United Nations electronic database of documents, increased
representation of the press at Headquarters, and improved accommodations
for correspondents. Some speakers expressed the view that the
participationofUNCAas anobserver atthe sessionofthe Committeewas important.
44. One delegation, on behalf of a number of others, urged the Department
to devote special attention to the requirements of UNCA. Some delegations
supported the request of UNCA for access for its accredited members to all
conference rooms, including the General Assembly Hall and the Security
Council Chamber, for first-hand coverage of their open meetings. They felt
the gesture would have the desired effect of strengthening the transparency
of the United Nations system. One representative expressed concern,
however, at inappropriate remarks made by the observer for UNCA, which
constituted, in his opinion, interference in the internal affairs of a
Member State.
45. All speakers welcomed the strengthening of the role of United Nations
information centres by the Department, which was greatly enhancing the
information activities of the United Nations throughout the world and was
contributing to a positive image of the Organization. They emphasized the
importance of information centres as focal points for two-way
communications between the United Nations and its Member States. One
speaker believed that this was particularly important in relation to the
newly independent States and those in transition. Several speakers noted
that the information centres were performing an essential and useful role,
particularly in the developing countries where, because of inadequate
resources, the media had more limited access to information. One
representative commented that, during the past year, the network of centres
had facilitated access to regional responses to the Organization's
activities, in particular to the World Summit for Social Development and
the International Conference on Population and Development. He noted also
that booklets and background papers had been produced in several local
languages, including Bahasa Indonesia.
46. Many delegations expressed support for the policy of integration, on a
case-by-case basis, where appropriate, in consultation with the host
Government and provided the functional autonomy of the information
component was preserved. One speaker noted that this process had not
affected the level of efficiency under which the integrated information
centres operated. Another speaker, on behalf of others, said that his
group was pleased with the way the integration of United Nations
information centres in certain countries had been carried out. Another
speaker, however, said that, while the decision to integrate some centres
might have had virtue, it could also possibly create new problems in regard
to the functioning of those centres as effective and independent
institutions. One speaker said that prior consultations with the host
Governments and also with the Committee on Information must be held in the
implementation of this exercise.
47. One speaker expressed interest in establishing an information
component within the office of the United Nations Development Programme at
Sofia and was sympathetic with other countries having similar aspirations.
Another speaker expressed hope for the continued active role of the United
Nations information centre in Moscow, under the new Director, especially
with regard to the dissemination of information in Russian. Another
representative said that his delegation was still looking forward to the
nomination of a Director for the United Nations information centre at
Beirut. His Government would spare no effort in cooperating with the
Department to enhance the role of the centre, in order to restore its
importance in the country and the region. According to one delegation, the
United Nations information centre at Dhaka had been without a Director for
the last few years, and it asked the Department to nominate one as soon as
possible. Another speaker expressed his country's appreciation for the
appointment of a professional information officer to the United Nations
information centre at Tehran and the reactivation of that centre. Another
speaker looked forward to the early addition of an information component
within the United Nations office in his country, which was one of the
youngest democracies of the international community. One speaker
reiterated his delegation's request for a United Nations information centre
at Port-au-Prince, and another repeated the request for a centre at
Conakry. One speaker asked for the Department to re-establish the post of
Director of the centre in his country as a contribution in the field of
preventive diplomacy.
48. One speaker said that the University for Peace in her country was
successfully disseminating information on the work of the United Nations,
and another said that the Department, in collaboration with the University,
should publicize information that enhanced positive developments in the
area of peace. One representative, stressing the importance and pivotal
role of United Nations information centres, said it was alarming that since
the early 1990s there had been a steady decline in host countries'
contributions for centres, and it was important to reverse this trend. An
agreement was being finalized between his country and the Department which
would cover the legal basis upon which the United Nations centre in his
capital operated and would create more favourable conditions for its
multifaceted activities, which his Government intended to support
financially. Several speakers urged the Department to continue to make all
the necessary efforts to address the question of the imbalances in the
allocation of funds to the United Nations information centres. One speaker
said that he hoped that the Department would continue to make genuine
efforts to bring some sort of defensible balance in the extent of resources
and facilities it provided to its regional centres throughout the world.
49. Several speakers commented on the importance of the Department's
outreach to non-governmental organizations, highlighting the importance of
the annual Department of Public Information/non-governmental organization
conference. One speaker suggested that it be complemented by regional
conferences. Another speaker emphasized the great public information
potential of the network of United Nations depository libraries. He noted
that his Government had cooperated with the Department the previous year on
a project which involved a professional librarian from the Dag Hammarskjold
Library visiting the 13 depositories in his country to inspect the status
of their current operation. One major observation which resulted was that
the local library staffs needed greater guidance and training from
Headquarters librarians to make more effective use of United Nations
materials, which were often highly specialized documents. He hoped that
the conclusions reached in the project would prove useful to other
depository libraries around the world. In that connection he believed that
the host countries could greatly assist, and he called upon other Member
States with depositories to consider ways in which to make better use of
that valuable resource in bringing United Nations activities to the
attention of the broader public.
50. The guided tours were of particular interest and concern to a number
of delegations in the debate. One speaker, on behalf of a large group,
emphasized that visitors to the United Nations should not be prohibited
from access to the Security Council Chamber or General Assembly Hall simply
on the grounds that meetings were taking place. Several speakers
maintained that guided tours should be presented in the widest possible
range of languages, which should be considered in the selection of guides.
Another speaker reiterated this point, saying that visitors should meet as
few closed doors as possible. One speaker noted in particular with
satisfaction that the disarmament exhibit in the first-floor corridor of
the conference building, which had been inaccessible to visitors for some
time, had recently been reinstated as part of the tour. His delegation
attached particular attention to those exhibits, which included materials
from Hiroshima and Nagasaki, as an expression of the aspirations of people
everywhere for nuclear disarmament and world peace. He thanked the
Department of Public Information and the Department of Administration and
Management for working out this arrangement, at the same time welcoming any
additional measures that could help make United Nations tours a more
informative and inspirational experience.
51. At the close of the general debate, the Assistant Secretary-General
for Public Information expressed his appreciation for the kind words of
support addressed to him personally and to his staff members. He
emphasized that such progress could not have been achieved without the
close collaboration and mutual confidence between the Department and the
Committee.
IV. PREPARATION AND ADOPTION OF THE REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE
TO THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY AT ITS FIFTIETH SESSION
52. At the 7th meeting of the Committee, on 12 May 1995, the Rapporteur
introduced the draft report of the Committee on its seventeenth session.
Statements were made by the representatives of Belize, Benin, Burkina Faso,
Costa Rica, Cuba, India, the Netherlands (on behalf of the Group of Western
European and Other States), the Philippines (on behalf of the Group of 77),
Romania, the Russian Federation, and by Haiti as an observer. The
Committee decided by consensus to recommend to the General Assembly the
adoption of the report including the following draft resolutions, as orally
amended.
Draft resolution A
Information in service of humanity
The General Assembly,
Taking note of the comprehensive and important report of the Committee on
Information, Official Records of the General Assembly, Fiftieth Session,
Supplement No. 21 (A/50/21).
Also taking note of the report of the Secretary-General on questions
relating to information,
Urges all countries, organizations of the United Nations system as a
whole and all others concerned, reaffirming their commitment to the
principles of the Charter of the United Nations and to the principles of
freedom of the press and freedom of information, as well as to those of the
independence, pluralism and diversity of the media, deeply concerned by the
disparities existing between developed and developing countries and the
consequences of every kind arising from those disparities that affect the
capability of the public, private or other media and individuals in
developing countries to disseminate information and communicate their views
and their cultural and ethical values through endogenous cultural
production, as well as to ensure the diversity of sources and their free
access to information, and recognizing the call in this context for what in
the United Nations and at various international forums has been termed "a
new world information and communication order, seen as an evolving and
continuous process":
(a) 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
developing countries, with due regard for their needs and the priorities
attached to such areas by those countries, and in order to enable them and
the public, private or other media in developing countries to develop their
own information and communication policies freely and independently and
increase the participation of media and individuals in the communication
process, and to ensure a free flow of information at all levels;
(b) To ensure for journalists the free and effective performance of
their professional tasks and condemn resolutely all attacks against them;
(c) To provide support for the continuation and strengthening of
practical training programmes for broadcasters and journalists from public,
private and other media in developing countries;
(d) To enhance regional efforts and cooperation among developing
countries, as well as cooperation between developed and developing
countries, to strengthen communication capacities and to improve the media
infrastructure and communication technology in the developing countries,
especially in the areas of training and dissemination of information;
(e) To aim, in addition to bilateral cooperation, at providing all
possible support and assistance to the developing countries and their
media, public, private or other, with due regard to their interests and
needs in the field of information and to action already adopted within the
United Nations system, including:
(i)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
both public and private auspices throughout the developing world;
(ii)The creation of conditions that will enable developing countries
and their media, public, private or other, 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;
(iii)Assistance in establishing and promoting telecommunication links at
the subregional, regional and interregional levels, especially among
developing countries;
(iv)The facilitation, as appropriate, of access by the developing
countries to advanced communication technology available on the open
market;
(f) To provide full support for the International Programme for the
Development of Communication See United Nations Educational, Scientific
and Cultural Organization, Records of the General Conference, Twenty-first
Session, Belgrade, 23 September to 28 October 1980, vol. I, Resolutions,
sect. III.4, resolution 4/21. of the United Nations Educational, Scientific
and Cultural Organization, which should support both public and private
media.
Draft resolution B
United Nations public information policies and activities
The General Assembly,
Reaffirming its primary role in elaborating, coordinating and harmonizing
United Nations policies and activities in the field of information,
Also reaffirming that the Secretary-General should ensure that the
activities of the Department of Public Information of the Secretariat, as
the focal point of the public information tasks of the United Nations, are
strengthened and improved, keeping in view the purposes and principles of
the Charter of the United Nations, the priority areas defined by the
General Assembly and the recommendations of the Committee on Information,
Taking note of all the reports of the Secretary-General submitted to the
Committee on Information,
1. Welcomes Belize, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Kazakstan and South
Africa, following the establishment of a united, non-racial and democratic
Government in that country, to membership in the Committee;
2. Decides to consolidate the role of the Committee on Information as
its main subsidiary body mandated to make recommendations relating to the
work of the Department of Public Information of the Secretariat;
3. Calls upon the Secretary-General, in respect of the public
information policies and activities of the United Nations, to implement
fully the recommendations contained in paragraph 2 of resolution 48/44 B of
10 December 1993;
4. Requests the Secretary-General, in order to put into practice the
need for an effective public information capacity of the Department of
Public Information for the formation and day-to-day functioning of the
information components of peace-keeping and other field operations of the
United Nations, to ensure the involvement of the Department at the planning
stage of such future operations through inter-departmental consultations
and coordination with the other substantive departments of the Secretariat;
5. Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General regarding the
continuous and major publications of the Department of Public Information
A/AC.198/1995/3. and urges all efforts to ensure timely production and
dissemination of its major publications, in particular the UN Chronicle,
the Yearbook of the United Nations and Africa Recovery, maintaining
consistent editorial independence and accuracy, taking the necessary
measures to ensure that its output contains adequate, objective and
equitable information about issues before the Organization, reflecting
divergent opinions wherever they occur;
6. Requests the Secretary-General to increase his efforts for the early
resumption of the publication Development Forum, or an alternative system-
wide publication that meets the requirements set out for new publications
by the Committee;
7. Requests the management of the Department of Public Information to
review the Department's publications and proposals for publications to
ensure that all publications fulfil an identifiable need, that they do not
duplicate other publications inside or outside the United Nations system
and that they are produced in a cost-effective manner, and to report to the
Committee on Information at its eighteenth session;
8. Reaffirms the importance attached by Member States to the role of
United Nations information centres in effectively and comprehensively
disseminating information, particularly in developing countries and
countries in transition, about United Nations activities;
9. Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General on the results of
the trial of integrating United Nations information centres with field
offices of the United Nations Development Programme, A/AC.198/1995/5. and
invites the Secretary-General to continue the integration exercise whenever
feasible, on a case-by-case basis, while taking into account the views of
the host country, and ensuring that the information functions and autonomy
of the United Nations information centres are not adversely affected, and
to report to the Committee on Information;
10. Reaffirms the role of the General Assembly in relation to the
opening of new United Nations information centres and invites the
Secretary-General, as well, to make such recommendations as he may judge
necessary regarding the establishment and location of these centres;
11. Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General on the allocation
of resources to United Nations information centres in 1994
A/AC.198/1995/2. and calls upon him to continue to study ways and means to
rationalize and effect equitable disbursement of available resources to all
United Nations information centres and to report thereon to the Committee
on Information at its eighteenth session;
12. Welcomes the action by some Member States with regard to financial
and material support to United Nations information centres in their
respective capitals;
13. Welcomes the successful conclusion of the negotiations on the
establishment of a United Nations information component at Warsaw;
14. Notes the progress made by the Secretary-General and the German
authorities towards establishing, within existing resources of the
Department of Public Information, a United Nations information centre at
Bonn;
15. Notes with appreciation the action taken, or being taken, by the
Secretary-General regarding the reactivation and enhancement of the United
Nations information centres at Bujumbura, Dar es Salaam, Dhaka and Tehran;
16. Welcomes the continued enhanced cooperation between the Department
of Public Information and the University for Peace in Costa Rica as a focal
point for promoting United Nations activities and disseminating United
Nations information materials;
17. Takes note of the requests of Bulgaria, Gabon, Guinea, Haiti and
Slovakia for information centres or information components;
18. Expresses its full support for the wide and prompt coverage of
United Nations activities through a continuation of United Nations press
releases in both working languages of the Secretariat, namely, English and
French, and welcomes the improvements in the quality and speedy issue of
those press releases in both working languages;
19. Encourages the Secretary-General to explore ways and means to
improve the access of United Nations radio to airwaves world wide, bearing
in mind that radio is one of the most cost-effective and far-reaching media
available to the Department of Public Information and is an important
instrument in United Nations activities with regard to development and
peace-keeping;
20. Notes with appreciation the efforts of the Department of Public
Information to take advantage of recent developments in information
technology in order to improve the dissemination of information on the
United Nations, and encourages the Department to continue its efforts in
this field;
21. Notes the important role the Department of Public Information will
have to play in responding to the increased public interest resulting from
the fiftieth anniversary of the United Nations, and requests the Department
to ensure the greatest possible access for United Nations guided tours, as
well as to ensure that displays in public areas are kept as informative, up
to date and relevant as possible;
22. Invites Member States that wish to do so to submit to the
SecretaryGeneral by 15 March 1996 their observations and suggestions on
ways and means of furthering the development of communication
infrastructures and capabilities in developing countries, with a view to
consolidating recent experience in the field of international cooperation
aimed at enabling them to develop their own information and communication
capacities freely and independently, and requests the Secretary-General to
report thereon to the Committee on Information at its eighteenth session;
23. Recommends, in order to continue to facilitate contact between the
Department of Public Information and the Committee on Information between
sessions, that the Bureau of the Committee together with representatives of
each regional group, the Group of 77 and China, in close contact with the
members of the Committee, should meet on a regular basis and consult at
periodic intervals with representatives of the Department;
24. Takes note of the request of Belarus, the Russian Federation and
Ukraine concerning information activities for the tenth anniversary in 1996
of the Chernobyl disaster and calls upon the Department of Public
Information to continue cooperation with the countries concerned, and with
the relevant organizations and bodies of the United Nations system, with a
view to establishing and implementing such activities as appropriate, and
within existing resources;
25. Requests the Secretary-General to report to the Committee on
Information at its eighteenth session, in 1996, and to the General Assembly
at its fifty-first session, in 1996, on the activities of the Department of
Public Information and on the implementation of the recommendations
contained in the present resolution;
26. Decides that the next session of the Committee on Information should
last not more than ten working days, and invites the Bureau of the
Committee to explore ways and means of making optimum use of the
Committee's time;
27. Requests the Committee on Information to report to the General
Assembly at its fifty-first session;
28. Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its fifty-first
session the item entitled "Questions relating to information".
53. Also at its 7th meeting, the Committee decided, by consensus, to
recommend to the General Assembly the adoption of the following draft
decision:
Draft decision
Increase in the membership of the Committee on Information
The General Assembly decides to increase the membership of the Committee
on Information from 88 to 89 members and to appoint the Democratic People's
Republic of Korea a member of the Committee on Information.
--ANNEX I
Statement by the Chairman of the Committee on Information
at the opening of the seventeenth session
I feel highly honoured over my election as Chairman of the Committee on
Information for 1995 and 1996. I wish to express my thanks to the members
of the Committee for placing their trust and confidence in me and bestowing
this great distinction on my country. I shall make every endeavour to
fulfil both the mandate of this Committee and your expectations. In doing
so, I shall be guided by your wisdom in the course of our deliberations.
May I take this opportunity to thank Mr. Salman Abbassy of Pakistan, who
was elected Chairman of the Committee at the last session, and Mr.
Stanislaw Konik of Poland, who has directed in his capacity as Acting
Chairman the work of the Committee for over a year. Mr. Konik cannot be
with us today, and I would like, through the delegation of Poland, to
convey our best wishes to him for a speedy recovery.
Both distinguished delegates deserve our recognition for their positive
contributions to the atmosphere of cooperation that has helped maintain and
broaden the consensus in this Committee, which deals with questions of
utmost concern to Member States. I consider this to be a major
achievement, and one for which we shall continue to work together with the
management of the Department of Public Information, under the experienced
leadership of the Honourable Assistant Secretary-General for Public
Information, our friend Mr. Samir Sanbar.
At this point I wish to assure you of my intention to continue on the
same path and to promote teamwork further in order to provide the
Department with the direction it requires to strengthen its role as focal
point within the Secretariat for the implementation of its public
information tasks.
I am delighted to extend my felicitations and a warm welcome to the
delegations of Belize, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Kazakstan and South
Africa, who are the newest members of our Committee. Their participation
certainly further enhances the standing of the Committee on Information and
broadens the diversity of its membership.
At this time of new tasks and major responsibilities for the United
Nations, the importance of public information as a means of mobilizing
support for the Organization cannot be overemphasized. People in all
regions of the world see the United Nations as a repository of hope for
humanity and the future. The work of the Department for Public Information
over the last year has endeavoured to meet these expectations in a
productive and efficient way. I would like to note that the Department has
developed a public information strategy which, undoubtedly, has increased
its outreach and at the same time ensured greater cost-efficiency.
The General Assembly in its resolution 49/38 B requested the
SecretaryGeneral to submit to the Committee several reports, which are now
before us and which reflect the Department's new directions. The first,
which is contained in document A/AC.198/1995/2, describes the increased
outreach of the United Nations information centres, provides information
about the cost-efficiency of their operation and summarizes the
Department's measures to ensure an effective network of information
centres. The second report, contained in document A/AC.198/1995/3, gives a
detailed account of the Department's publication activities and reviews its
recurrent and non-recurrent publications, highlighting their purposes and
their importance for reflecting the achievements of the Organization.
As distinguished delegations are aware, in paragraph 21 of its resolution
49/38 B, the General Assembly invited "Member States that wish to do so to
submit to the Secretary-General ... their observations and suggestions on
ways and means of furthering the development of communication
infrastructures in developing countries". In response to this invitation,
only one communication was received. The Permanent Representative of the
Republic of Maldives to the United Nations has submitted a number of
suggestions inviting United Nations system organizations to assist
developing countries in strengthening their basic communication
infrastructures, particularly in the telecommunications sector, in
providing training facilities and in developing an information exchange
system both within and between developing countries.
The strength of the United Nations depends on its ability to communicate
and to convince. I wish to ensure the management of the Department of
Public Information of the Committee's continued commitment to provide the
guidance and the means for the implementation of its successful work. I am
looking forward to a constructive exchange of views in the course of these
two short weeks before us. With your support and dedicated work, I am
confident that we shall be able to progress even further in strengthening
our consensus on matters pertaining to the important issues before us and
produce concrete, workable and action-oriented recommendations.
ANNEX II
Statement by the Assistant Secretary-General for Public
Information at the opening of the seventeenth session
of the Committee on Information
I
It is indeed an honour and pleasure for me to be with you here as the
Committee on Information undertakes its deliberations at this seventeenth
session. May I first of all congratulate you, Mr. Chairman, and the other
distinguished members of the Bureau, on your election and, on behalf of my
Department, extend best wishes to you for a very successful session. Also,
I wish to express a warm welcome to the delegations of Belize, Croatia, the
Czech Republic, Kazakstan and South Africa as they take their place among
the members of the Committee. No doubt they will make an invaluable
contribution to our work. Allow me to assure you, the Bureau and the
Committee as a whole, that I and my staff will make every effort to assist
you in your deliberations. Having worked with you closely in my present
capacity for well over a year now, I am convinced that this session will
provide further momentum to the work of the Department, or I should say
your Department, in addressing the public information needs of the
Organization at the threshold of its next 50 years.
This session coincides with World Press Freedom Day, which is
commemorated on 3 May. We are committed to freedom of information as the
touchstone of all the freedoms to which the United Nations is consecrated.
I would like, on behalf of my Department, to express gratitude to all media
professionals around the world who risk their lives daily to transmit to us
the important message of peace, democracy and development. In this
connection, we cannot fail to recognize the important role of a pluralistic
media in building democracy. The Department of Public Information
continues to show its dedication to this cause through the series of
regional seminars organized in collaboration with the United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Following
seminars held at Windhoek, Almaty and Santiago, we are planning the next
seminar for Sana'a at the beginning of 1996. We in the United Nations
system, and especially those of us who are dealing with media, must
continue to work together at this session, and wherever the opportunity
arises, to recommit ourselves to the fundamental human rights of freedom of
thought and expression and freedom of the press in the service of humanity
and its well-being.
Through a cycle of world conferences, the United Nations is laying the
foundations of a new consensus dedicated to essential human development
values. "In making social issues a universal priority", as the Secretary-
General pointed out at the recently held World Summit for Social
Development, "our intention is to take responsibility for the collective
future of international society and to pledge ourselves anew to the ideal
of global solidarity". Furthermore, as he stated at the Freedom Forum at
Columbia University, "Events dominate our lives, trends of thought may be
far more significant in shaping the future". Never has information been
more crucial to an effective United Nations than it is today; never has our
ability to disseminate information on the work and the achievements of the
Organization been more important; never has the need to generate favourable
public opinion for the United Nations been greater than it is today. The
message of the United Nations must be brought home to every corner of the
world. This is a very daunting task that can only be accomplished through
a joint effort by all of us. Modern communications technologies offer us
unprecedented opportunities. At the same time, they pose for us major
challenges. How can we best employ our limited resources to master these
new technologies and communicate our message to vast new audiences?
It bears repetition here to say that international affairs have been
transformed by the developments of recent years. The Organization's
response was most succinctly conveyed to the international community by the
SecretaryGeneral in "An Agenda for Peace" and its Supplement and in "An
Agenda for Development". Our information efforts are guided by the
priorities underscored in them, or, to use the Secretary-General's words,
they are "contributions to the contest of ideas about peace, development
and democracy".
The Department of Public Information, over the last year and a half, has
undertaken new initiatives and explored new approaches. In all of them,
costeffectiveness was the key. There is a mutual commitment and
responsibility on the part of the Department and you, the Member States, in
particular the members of the Committee on Information. And I am happy to
state that they are bearing fruit. We continue our efforts in close
cooperation with you. This is how we can really succeed. In this regard,
the regular dialogue between the management of the Department and the
Bureau of your Committee, together with the representatives of each of the
regional groups, the Group of 77 and China, as well as many other
delegations over the year, has been essential to our endeavours.
The concept of partnership is also fundamental to the Department's new
approach within the Secretariat, which entails the sharing of
responsibility, the strengthening of coordination in planning public
information policies and programmes with substantive departments, offices
and agencies, the pooling of resources for the implementation of
information tasks and the recognition of public information as a decisive
factor in United Nations initiatives both at Headquarters and in the field.
With a view to reaching the objective, often reiterated by the
SecretaryGeneral, for the United Nations system to "speak with one voice",
the Department of Public Information has through the machinery of the Joint
United Nations Information Committee (JUNIC) continued to promote stronger
inter-agency cooperation and coordination in the field of public
information. In addition to its regular annual session, during 1994 JUNIC
held two ad hoc sessions to develop and coordinate the implementation of
joint information activities in connection with the major international
conferences scheduled for 1994 and 1995, and in particular with the World
Summit for Social Development and the Fourth World Conference on Women. As
a result of these efforts, members of JUNIC made contributions to a wide
range of joint activities designed to promote a variety of issues in the
information buildup for these conferences.
It is in pursuit of this approach, that we have successfully built
stronger partnerships with media worldwide. We have concentrated our
information efforts on major issues before the international community in
order to attract a wider range of key audiences. We have streamlined the
management of our operating machinery, both at Headquarters and in the
field, and most importantly, we have been able to motivate and mobilize the
Department's main resource, its staff. I would add here my personal pride
at the professional commitment displayed by the staff of the Department
during the year. Perhaps because of my long association with them over the
years, I have always considered the staff of the information centres
working overseas as our family. Most of them I know personally. I was
especially distressed, therefore, by the assassination in March of our
Information Assistant in Algiers, Mr. Ouassini Lahrache. He consistently
displayed all the qualities of a dedicated international civil servant,
working almost single-handedly at the information centre in difficult
circumstances, while always retaining a pride in his country, Algeria. He
is deeply missed. In every service and at every level, staff of the
Department of Public Information have joined hands, working closely and
tirelessly with me to meet the challenge. The Department has endeavoured
to ensure a balanced geographical representation of its staff at all
levels. Although the principle of an equitable geographical distribution
of posts should be seen in a Secretariat-wide context, it is of particular
importance in the field of public information. I am committed to do the
utmost in securing a representation of competent and devoted staff members
from all the regional groups of Member States in the Department.
In preparing for major conferences, the Department has implemented a
focal point approach. Highly qualified information professionals have been
assigned, at the initial planning stage of a conference, to implement in
close cooperation with the substantive departments, conference
secretariats, and other agencies and organizations a coherent information
strategy presenting the image of a unified Organization. The World Summit
for Social Development held at Copenhagen two months ago, was the largest
gathering of world leaders ever held. Staff members of the Department of
Public Information provided extensive coverage and services to the media.
About 70 countries received daily television coverage, and daily radio
reports in English, French and Spanish were sent to 49 broadcasting
organizations in all regions. The team produced press releases in English
and French of all meetings, and 91 press conferences and briefings were
held, including a daily briefing by the Spokesperson. Media accreditation,
ongoing media liaison, photo and document distribution including an
electronic form were also among the activities. Three press kits, special
broadcast and video programmes for the Summit and 24 "issue papers"
highlighting substantive topics also contributed to the world-wide outreach
during this important event.
In preparation of the Fourth World Conference on Women, the Department
has produced a series of fact sheets, brochures, booklets, leaflets,
pamphlets and feature articles, a conference poster and special radio and
television programmes to promote the priority issues of the Conference. We
have organized a number of media encounters in connection with the
Conference and have distributed information packages to United Nations
field offices and media world wide. In addition, the Department is working
in close cooperation with United Nations agencies and with publishers and
broadcasters for radio and television programmes, print publications,
seminars and other events highlighting critical areas of concern of the
Conference Platform for Action. Special press kits were prepared for the
thirty-ninth session of the Commission on the Status of Women in April
1995. These kits were widely appreciated for both content and
presentation.
Another essential development is the work of a revitalized Publications
Board. They provide guidance for publication activities on issues most
relevant to the United Nations by ensuring better utilization of the wealth
of information uniquely available to the Organization. Another
responsibility the Board is entrusted with is to establish a more
manageable publications programme by eliminating duplication and
overlapping of print titles. Our declared goal is cost-effectiveness of
work and increase of sales of United Nations publications.
In this context, and in addition to the information contained in the
report by the Secretary-General on the Department's publications, I should
like to take the opportunity to elaborate further on one of the
Department's major undertakings, that is the Blue Book series, which is an
initiative to capitalize on the United Nations newly gained position at
centre stage. Each volume of the series documents the central role and the
vital legacy of the United Nations in a major international endeavour,
emphasizing its achievements and successes, utilizing the treasure trove of
unique information available to the Secretariat. Most importantly for
policy makers, academicians, researchers and of course journalists, each
edition includes in one volume all the principal documentation: relevant
actions by the Security Council and the General Assembly, related historic
documents and a detailed chronology. Each edition features an extensive
introduction by the Secretary-General. The Blue Book series is aimed at
documenting the most current issues of the United Nations agenda,
highlighting their importance and relevance for future involvement of the
Organization. In the short time they have been available, these books have
begun to generate a growing interest among important target audiences.
This series on United Nations success stories currently tops the list of
the Department's sales items and is the subject of numerous reviews by
specialized magazines in many parts of the world. And it has begun to
generate income.
Keeping pace with the rapidly evolving technology in the field of
telecommunications - which is essential in the extremely competitive field
of information - continues to be a priority for the Department, despite
budgetary constraints and increasing demands on its resources. From the
day I took over as head of the Department, a priority has been to
strengthen United Nations information programmes, to polish the tools of
programme delivery, and to that end find innovative ways to assimilate
technological advances in order to establish a far-reaching communications
network for the United Nations. For a long time, the Department was held
back by limited technological means and equipment at its disposal. Today,
however, we are moving with an accelerated speed on the "information
superhighway" using electronic networks such as Gemnet, APC, Togethernet
and the Internet. The database of the Department of Public Information on
the Internet is presently the largest within the United Nations family and
is user-friendly and economically sound. United Nations publications and
important documents, including reports of the Secretary-General, are
reaching their audiences in electronic form at an enormous speed. Out of
the total of 14,000 daily accesses, many emanate from permanent missions to
the United Nations and United Nations offices world wide.
In a new move forward, the Department is now prepared to strengthen its
existing presence in cyberspace by means of the World Wide Web, a service
which integrates text, graphics and audio in multi-media presentations to
Internet users. Going a step beyond highly successful gopher system of the
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Department of Public
Information is now working with the Electronic Services Division of the
United Nations to build on the Web a United Nations "home page", to be
launched as a pilot project on 26 June, in conjunction with the fiftieth
anniversary observances of the signing of the Charter of the United Nations
at San Francisco. Moreover, through the Web "home page", the United
Nations will be able to provide to Internet users graphically appealing
elements and linked files on United Nations activities in multi-media
format.
Through this service, the Department will not only be able to convey
United Nations news and documents electronically, but also deliver the
Department's collection of historical images recorded during the
Organization's first 50 years and, in addition, present an on-line tour of
Headquarters. Most recently, the World Wide Web was used with great
success to transmit photographs electronically from the World Summit for
Social Development in Copenhagen to media and to Headquarters. Regarding
text transmissions during the Social Summit, the Department has registered
the retrieval of 8,585 information materials through the Web server, in
addition to the more than 11,000 retrievals through the Gopher server. It
should be stressed that this increased dissemination has no financial
implications for the Department.
In yet another move to keep pace with the latest technological
developments, the Department will make the time-consuming process of
audio/visual editing as simple as word processing and will develop a future
tapeless archival system that is fully networked and capable of almost
instantaneous delivery of the Department's products world wide.
In December, for the first time, a video programme of the Department -
the much in demand "Year in Review" - was transmitted via three major
satellites reaching broadcasters around the world with a potential audience
of over 360 million television households. This transmission proved to be
successful not only in reaching large numbers of viewers in a high-quality
and cost-effective manner, but also in ensuring timeliness of delivery.
This pilot undertaking will be the subject of a presentation to you by the
Media Division at the briefing session of the Committee.
The Dag Hammarskjold Library is operating a series of on-line databases,
known as the United Nations Bibliographic Information System (UNBIS) and
consisting of bibliographic, factual, authority and textual data which are
made available to Member States by direct on-line access, bibliographic
utility, the Optical Disc System, and of course via the Internet. Since
April 1995, UNBIS Plus on CD-ROM has been available, providing direct
access through information centres, depository libraries and commercial
users to all library files.
At this juncture, I should like to stress the importance of the United
Nations depository library network totalling today 343 libraries in 138
countries and territories around the world. The efforts of our Dag
Hammarskjold Library in its help to these libraries are aimed at increasing
their potential and role as effective disseminators of United Nations
documents and publications. In the fiftieth year of the Organization,
depository libraries play an essential role in promoting public awareness
of the goals and activities of the United Nations. Major efforts were
undertaken in 1994 to enhance this network of disseminators of information
by making greater use of the Internet and optical disc technologies for
bringing the wealth of United Nations information to these libraries, by
designating additional depository libraries to the network and by
increasing visits and training opportunities to enhance the performance of
these libraries and make it commensurate with an increased interest of
their audiences.
In its quest to forge strong partnerships with broadcasting media world
wide, the Department has proved its capability to deliver swiftly audio-
visual information products of the highest broadcast quality in accordance
with standard technology. The Department has been able to reinforce its
highly successful working relationships with international broadcasting
organizations which receive daily feeds of United Nations television video
packages highlights for redissemination around the world. With the
assistance of international syndicators, United Nations audio-visual
productions are on a regular basis reaching broadcasting organizations also
in the southern hemisphere. Beginning with the World Conference on Natural
Disaster Reduction, held at Yokohama in 1994, the Department began
transmitting audio recordings of major news value through the Integrated
System of Digital Network (ISDN) to the International Broadcast Centre.
ISDN transmissions guarantee full broadcast quality of the audio feeds.
Important addresses by the Secretary-General away from Headquarters - at
locations where ISDN capabilities exist - have also been delivered through
the system to New York and to broadcasters world wide. In observance of
the Organization's fiftieth anniversary, the Department has produced a
series of video compilations focusing on historic moments in the life of
the Organization and on key thematic areas such as peace-keeping, the
plight of refugees, the environment, women's issues and noteworthy
international law topics.
At its session in 1994, the Committee on Information encouraged the
Secretary-General "to explore ways and means to improve the access of
United Nations radio to airwaves world wide, bearing in mind that radio is
one of the most cost-effective and far-reaching media available to the
Department of Public Information". Currently, 29 radio programmes in 15
languages are sent to broadcasters in over 180 countries; the Department's
programmes in Portuguese and in Hindi are broadcast by 168 stations. I
want to share this detail with you, because programmes in other than the
official languages, in many cases, provide for the widest outreach to
audiences. The Department is presently engaged in consultations with major
European shortwave broadcasters to explore the possibility of acquiring
regular airtime for a multilingual daily broadcast schedule for United
Nations radio. In this regard, I would like to call upon Member States
having powerful broadcasting facilities operating on their national
territories to assist the Department in maintaining a radio broadcast
schedule on the air for the United Nations.
The importance of broadcast radio communication for peace-keeping
information programmes has been underlined by the Secretary-General in his
Supplement to "An Agenda for Peace". He stressed the need for peace-
keeping operations to develop "an effective capacity ... to enable them to
explain their mandate to the population", and he concluded that "Radio is
the most effective medium for this purpose".
In my statement to the General Assembly's Special Political and
Decolonization Committee in October 1994, I urged a partnership between the
Department and other Secretariat departments concerned with peace-keeping,
political and humanitarian affairs to consolidate public information
activities in peace-keeping and humanitarian emergency situations. We are
now exploring the development of an inter-departmental consultative
mechanism for the coordination of information strategies in the field. I
welcome the support informally expressed by several members of the
Committee to this collaborative approach to public information strategies,
including an effort for the development of a central broadcasting facility
for the purposes of dissemination of information for peace-keeping and
humanitarian emergency situations. The Department over the last year has
strengthened considerably its input in the planning of public information
components for peace-keeping missions right from the initial stages of
mission planning through mission execution. In addition to such
information support, the Department, in consultation with the Department of
Peace-keeping Operations and other substantive offices, issues on a
continuous basis a series of information materials relative to peace-
keeping and peacemaking. This will continue. Our joint agreement is that
more has to be done.
I cannot address this Committee without bringing to your attention the
increasing importance of the United Nations information centres as a vital
link of the Department, and the United Nations as a whole, to the world.
The network of 68 information centres and services play, more than ever
before, a front-line role in bringing United Nations information to local
audiences. To that end, in 1994, United Nations information centres
organized an extensive schedule of special events with the cooperation of
host country officials, media, universities, non-governmental
organizations, foundations, associations, political and social
institutions, business communities, academicians, parliamentarians,
libraries and municipalities, as well as in partnership with United Nations
agencies.
Their varied activities ranged from translation of the Department's
information kits to keeping local audiences informed about the preparations
for the World Summit for Social Development and the Fourth World Conference
on Women, and about the Secretary-General's "Agenda for Peace" and "Agenda
for Development". In many countries, radio and television programmes on
issues of concern to the United Nations were co-produced with national
broadcasting organizations. United Nations information centres organized
seminars and meetings, round tables and lectures to help bring
intergovernmental debates closer to the general public.
The Department is pursuing its efforts to ensure close cooperation
between United Nations information centres and other United Nations offices
in the field in order to present a unified image of the Organization, to
enhance information activities on issues of regional concern, and - most of
all - to ensure that information centres form an integral part of the
Department's information strategy. We succeeded in effecting savings
through relocation of some centres in high-cost countries, as well as
through the integration of some centres with UNDP offices. The main
objective in this regard is to ensure the most effective means for
increased outreach in the field. The guidance of this Committee was taken
fully into account, that is, a case-by-case approach in close consultation
with the host countries has been adopted. We seek at all times to ensure
that the information functions of the United Nations information centres
are enhanced continuously.
Taking into account the guidance by delegations at the 1994 session of
this Committee, and following the decision of the General Assembly in
resolution 48/258 of 23 June 1994, some funds and resources previously
allocated to the anti-apartheid information programme have been
surrendered. In full compliance with the principles of cost-efficiency, I
have proposed redeployment of some of these resources to enhance public
information activities relevant to southern Africa, including the
establishment of an information office, headed by a Professional staff
member of the Department, within the United Nations Office in South Africa.
As recommended by this Committee, we also intend to strengthen the
production and delivery capacity of the African radio unit.
In its efforts to reach a wider global audience, the Department has
increased its partnerships with educational institutions both through
Headquarters and its offices in the field. Consultations as well as survey
results on teaching about the United Nations have confirmed my conviction
that we need to establish guidelines for education about the Organization
and its goals and activities. Currently, we are in the process of defining
a strategy that will allow us to work in the closest possible way with
educators from all regions and will have an impact on school curriculae.
The fiftieth anniversary and the wide range of activities in the
educational community in this regard provide an excellent opportunity to
strengthen the Department's cooperation with educational institutions.
I wanted to share with you this morning some strategies and activities of
the Department of Public Information fundamental to its new direction. In
the interest of time, I have focused on matters of public information
policies and their implementation as directed by the Secretary-General.
Part II of my statement gives a detailed account of how the Department has
fulfilled specific mandates of the General Assembly called for at its
forty-ninth session, and as recommended by this Committee.
Permit me, Mr. Chairman, to state that the Department now has the ability
to reach its various audiences more quickly and more comprehensively.
Moreover, having regained its professional credibility, the Department is
now more able to communicate together with its partners in a more cost-
effective manner the universal message of the United Nations.
In the discharge of its mandate, this Committee, with the experience and
expertise represented in all of you, is in a unique position to play its
role in guiding the Department of Public Information in the conduct of its
work. Our success is your success, and our achievements begin with you.
For they will have their foundation in your guidance, support and
cooperation and will be built through the creative efforts of a dedicated
staff of the Department throughout the world. "The acts of the United
Nations", as the Secretary-General has underscored in his annual report on
the work of the Organization, "must carry the authority of the peoples of
the world, acting in concert through the Member States of the
Organization". Public information has an essential role to play in
contributing to this goal. To this we are all deeply committed.
II
In paragraph 24 of its resolution 49/38 B, the General Assembly requested
the Secretary-General "to report to the Committee on Information at its
seventeenth session ... on the activities of the Department of Public
Information and on the implementation of the recommendations contained in
the present resolution".
The Department of Public Information, as the communications arm of the
United Nations, has continued to establish the strongest possible links
with diverse media, educational institutions and non-governmental
organizations. In its endeavour to promote an informed understanding of
the work and purposes of the United Nations, the Department makes every
effort to work side-by-side with other departments, programmes and agencies
of the United Nations system, first to formulate the information priorities
of the Organization and then to project a unified message. With the
increased role of the Organization in the management of a diverse array of
global problems, the Department's materials and activities are designed to
forge a clear image for the United Nations in all its dimensions. Its
information programmes carefully blend the use of television, radio and
print products to maximize access to the intended target audiences.
For journalists covering the United Nations, the Office of the Spokesman
for the Secretary-General is a principal point of contact for authoritative
information on the work of the Organization and especially that of the
Secretary-General. The Spokesman receives daily guidance from the
Secretary-General and his senior staff. Each day at noon the Spokesman
briefs accredited correspondents and then gives a briefing for press
officers of the missions. These briefings focus on the statements and
activities of the Secretary-General, but they also inform correspondents on
the work of the Security Council, as well as on other developments in the
United Nations system. He is assisted in these briefings by an Associate
Spokesman who covers specific matters relating to peace-keeping operations.
The scope of the noon briefings, which are frequently supplemented by
additional briefings for correspondents, reflects clearly the increasing
responsibilities of the Organization.
The Office is also responsible for planning the Secretary-General's
media-related activities, setting up his press conferences and handling
requests from journalists for interviews with him and senior officials, as
well as planning media aspects of official travel to Member States and
international conferences. The Spokesman's staff assists in the
preparation of background information on issues raised at the noon briefing
and responds to follow-up inquiries from correspondents. Also, the
Department keeps the Secretary-General and senior officials promptly and
fully apprised of coverage in the international print media and provides
press analysis about the United Nations and its organs, as well as relevant
issues before the Organization.
Radio professionals in the Department coordinated with Headquarters
offices, United Nations field offices and national broadcasting
organizations to ensure that news reports covering the activities of the
Secretary-General during his travels to over 30 countries in the past year
were fed electronically to Headquarters for world-wide dissemination. Such
coverage, with sound actuality from the field, has become a staple item in
radio programming. In addition, the Secretary-General's 1994 United
Nations Day message was packaged and transmitted on line in three languages
to over 80 radio stations and networks world wide prior to the occasion.
A very useful tool in disseminating information about the work of the
United Nations in a cost-effective manner is the Department's United
Nations News Electronic Bulletin Board, which has moved from its
experimental phase into a fully operational, 24-hour-a-day service,
providing consolidated and updated news about the United Nations in three
languages by means of a simple telephone call. At any given time, some
three hours of audio information material for use by broadcasters is
available on approximately 30 different items.
To capitalize on the wide public interest in the Organization in its
fiftieth year, the Department is producing a series of 60-second public
service television announcements about the history and achievements of the
United Nations, entitled "UN Minutes". These informational spots use
historical and current footage from the Department's extensive film and
video library. They are being aired by Cable News Network (CNN) on both
its international and domestic channels and have been sent to selected
information centres. Language versions are being planned and broadcasters
from various regions have expressed interest.
Similarly, the Department has begun production of an ongoing series of
30-second questions and answers about the United Nations. Entitled "UN
Facts", these public service announcements are intended for distribution to
cable television broadcasters. Language versions are also being planned.
In addition, a 20-minute video about the United Nations was produced for
schoolchildren to explain the purposes and work of the Organization.
Three special radio documentaries are being produced in 1995 in
connection with the fiftieth anniversary, which deal respectively with the
history of United Nations peace-keeping, the concerns and priorities of the
world's youth at the threshold of the twenty-first century and key events
in United Nations history.
The Department produced a supporting exhibit to accompany the display of
the Charter of the United Nations in the Public Lobby in January 1995,
highlighting the signing of the Charter in 1945, the signatures of the
founding fathers and the current membership of 185 States.
The Department has given priority to preparations for the cycle of major
United Nations conferences in 1994 and 1995 dedicated to economic and
social issues. During the World Summit for Social Development, the United
Nations News Electronic Bulletin Board carried over three hours of audio
materials sent directly from Copenhagen, including the spokesperson's daily
briefing at the Conference site, and news reports in French, English and
Spanish. Some 4,700 copies of the Department's press kit on the Summit
were distributed in English, French and Spanish to media and non-
governmental organizations, as well as to delegations at the Conference
site. Over 20,000 copies of the Department's poster for the Summit were
disseminated in all official languages. The Department has already
distributed an advance copy of the final Copenhagen Declaration and
Programme of Action to all United Nations information centres and, on
request, to the media. The final text will be reproduced in booklet form
for widespread distribution, in all official languages.
Recent radio documentaries produced on economic and social issues were:
"Water, Our Precious Resource", an eight-part series commissioned by the
JUNIC for the observance of the World Day for Water to focus attention on
issues related to the use and abuse of water resources; "Population and
Development", a six-part series on key issues relevant to the International
Conference on Population and Development; "Family: Resources and
Responsibilities", a series of four programmes on the roles and
responsibilities of families in a world in transition; and "Social
Development", a five-part series on issues of poverty, social
disintegration, unemployment and vulnerable social groups, produced as a
curtain-raiser for the 1995 World Summit for Social Development. Also, a
five-part series on desertification is being produced, as is a four-part
special documentary on the Law of the Sea. The Department is at present
collecting materials for the November release of a four-part series on the
world's indigenous peoples.
As a result of advance arrangements, multilingual coverage of all the
major international conferences, as well as news coverage reports in
Arabic, English, French and Spanish, was provided on a daily basis to
regional radio broadcasting organizations, which retransmitted it in their
regions. For the World Summit for Social Development, a number of video
productions were prepared by the Department, including a documentary video
covering the core issues of the World Summit for Social Development, which
was distributed to United Nations information centres in four languages in
advance of the Summit, four "UN in Action"/"CNN World Report" items on
Summit issues, anda public serviceannouncement in thesix officiallanguages.
An agreement with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has recently
been concluded, under which the Department will produce a radio series in
English, French and Spanish over a period of 18 months, which will focus on
population and development issues as a follow-up to the International
Conference on Population and Development.
In its efforts to promote greater awareness of the Fourth World
Conference on Women, to be held at Beijing, the Department has targeted
communities and non-governmental organizations at the grass-roots level,
educational and cultural institutions and intergovernmental and
parliamentary bodies. It has developed a specialized mailing list of well
over 1,200 media organizations and non-governmental organizations for
periodic mailing of information materials and conference documents. These
include a series of fact sheets, brochures, booklets, leaflets and feature
articles, and a conference poster in the six official languages. The
Department has also strengthened its ties with the host country for the
Conference through the placement in Beijing of a departmental focal point
for the Conference and through meetings at Headquarters and in Beijing with
government authorities responsible for the Conference. In negotiations
with Chinese technical and media teams, which visited Headquarters in April
1995, broad agreements have been reached on media arrangements for the
Conference. In executing its information programme, the Department is
working in close association with the Conference secretariat and the
specialized agencies and programmes of the United Nations system.
The Department has launched a multi-media information programme for the
Second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II), to be
held at Istanbul in June 1996. Production has begun on the print
materials, such as the brochure and an information kit, as well as on the
planning of radio and television programming. Staff of the Department
participated in the first planing mission to Istanbul in April, as well as
the second session of the Preparatory Committee for the Conference, held at
Nairobi.
In support of the International Conference on Families, which was held in
October 1994 during the forty-ninth session of the General Assembly to
discuss issues raised during the International Year of the Family, the
Department organized a press conference with the Coordinator for the Year,
provided press release coverage of the special conference and distributed
public information materials to the press, to non-governmental
organizations and delegates. Previously, in July, the Department had
organized an exhibit on families in the General Assembly Public Lobby and
produced a television public service announcement for the Year, which was
aired on many networks, including CNN.
To assist in launching the International Decade of the World's Indigenous
People in December 1994, the Department produced and distributed a
backgrounder on the decade in English, French and Spanish. A newsletter
was also prepared and distributed in these languages prior to the launch,
and work continues on a variety of projects to raise awareness of the
Decade and its objectives.
The Department's multi-media information campaign in support of the Ninth
United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of
Offenders, being held at Cairo from 29 April to 8 May, has included
backgrounders and an information kit, "UN in Action" television items,
local language materials prepared by information centres and services, an
extensive presentation to over 100 non-governmental organization
representatives, and press, television and photographic coverage of the
Congress itself.
Media and public interest has continued to focus unabated on the priority
areas of United Nations peace-keeping and peacemaking. Accordingly, over
the past year, the Department has strengthened its activities to promote
knowledge and understanding of the Organization's role and objectives in
these important areas of activity. In consultation with the Department of
Peace-keeping Operations and other substantive offices of the Secretariat,
the Department of Public Information issues on a continuous basis a series
of information materials related to peace-keeping and peacemaking.
The in-depth publication, United Nations Peace-keeping: Information
Notes, providing an update of comprehensive information relevant to each
mission, including background, Security Council mandates, composition and
financing, continues to appear twice yearly. In response to the great
demand for language versions, the publication will be released in French
and Spanish. The Department has also continued to issue its quarterly
background note on peace-keeping operations, with the July 1994 edition in
the six official languages.
The Department issued during the past year updated editions of
reference papers on the role of the Organization in Somalia, Angola, Rwanda
and the former Yugoslavia. A poster pictorially illustrating United
Nations peace-keeping was released in February 1995. As mandated by the
General Assembly, work is in progress for issuance later in the year of the
third edition of the comprehensive publication Blue Helmets.
In the field of disarmament, the Department, in cooperation with the
Centre for Disarmament Affairs, has produced and distributed a press kit on
the 1995 Review and Extension Conference of Parties to the Treaty on Non-
Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, which began in April at Headquarters, as
well as a fold-over pamphlet on the United Nations Standing Advisory
Committee on Security Questions in Central Africa.
Many video items produced in the "UN in Action" series and subsequently
aired on "CNN World Report" have been devoted to current peace-keeping
operations, as well as election and humanitarian assistance relating to
Mozambique, Rwanda, Somalia, Liberia, Guatemala, Bosnia, Georgia and
Chechnya. A special line of radio programme production on peace-keeping has
been introduced by the Department, which includes interviews, news
segments, updates and special subjects. This production activity is
feeding material into the Bulletin Board and regional magazines.
Consideration is being given to instituting a regular programme segment,
independently or as part of existing magazines, on the priority theme of
peace-keeping.
The Department's cartographers have prepared new or updated revisions of
maps for 12 missions, including for new deployments of the United Nations
Angola Verification Mission III (UNAVEM III), the United Nations Mission
for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) and the Mission for the
Verification of Human Rights and of Compliance with the Commitments of the
Comprehensive Agreement on Human Rights in Guatemala (MINUGUA). These maps
were included in the reports of the Secretary-General, as well in documents
such as financial reports of the Department of Peace-keeping Operations and
reference papers of the Department of Public Information. Copies were also
provided to the news media upon request. A number of these maps were also
prepared for use in the Blue Book series. A number of new profile maps
have been prepared for countries around the world, including Guatemala,
Honduras, Haiti and El Salvador in Central America; Ecuador and Peru in
South America; Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Yemen, Iraq, the Islamic Republic of
Iran and Israel in the Middle East; and Liberia, Rwanda and Zaire in
Africa. These maps are also used widely within the United Nations system,
for example as sources for many publications issued by the United Nations
Children's Fund (UNICEF), UNDP and UNFPA. They are also made available to
outside publishers with the approval of the Publications Board. In mid-
1994, the Department acquired a large-format colour plotter which now
allows for the preparation of large coloured maps of the various field
operations, which are used for briefing purposes for the Situation Room, as
well as by other offices of the Department of Peace-keeping Operations and
by the Spokesman's Office.
It should be noted that the Department, for the first time, has issued an
annual roundup of Security Council resolutions and Council presidential
statements in English and French, which is complementary to its long-
established and widely used roundup of General Assembly resolutions and
decisions.
The Department continues to provide information support for the work of
the United Nations in the area of sustainable development. A comprehensive
press kit was produced for the session of the Commission on Sustainable
Development held in April 1995. To meet the steady demand, an additional
10,000 copies of the book version of Agenda 21 were reprinted, as were the
texts of the legal agreements signed at the United Nations Conference on
Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro in June 1992.
As part of its special information programme on the question of
Palestine, the Department organized at Madrid from 29 to 31 March 1995 a
meeting on assistance to the Palestinian people in the field of media
development. The seminar, which was hosted by the Government of Spain,
brought together Palestinian media professionals and policy makers with
media experts, foundations and donor agencies, principally from Europe and
the United States of America. It examined ways and means to promote
Palestinian media and provided an opportunity to discuss the needs of
Palestinian media professionals in such areas as media and the democratic
process, legal aspects of communication, media ownership and editorial
freedom, financing and management, application of new communications
technologies and training of media professionals. As a result, a series of
recommendations and projects in these areas have been proposed. In
addition to that provided by the Government of Spain and UNESCO, financial
assistance for the organization of the seminar was also provided by the
Government of the Netherlands and by UNDP.
Within the framework of the same programme, the Department has also begun
preparation of the 1995 International Encounter for Journalists on the
Question of Palestine, which will be held at Prague from 13 to 15 June and
will be co-sponsored by the Government of the Czech Republic.
In a continuing effort to strengthen its production and programme
delivery targeted to the African region, especially southern Africa, the
African radio unit has recently been reinforced with the addition of a
number of experienced staff from the former anti-apartheid unit.
The Department of Public Information, through its Dag Hammarskjold
Library, continues to expand its outreach by making available to the world
community the enormous information potential of the Organization. It
produces a series of on-line databases, collectively known as the United
Nations Bibliographic Information System (UNBIS), consisting of 10 files
containing bibliographic, factual, authority and textual data related to
United Nations documents and/or activities. This information is made
available by the following means: (a) direct on-line access through the New
York Computing Service to permanent missions and government agencies; (b)
access via a bibliographic utility to major universities and other research
institutions in many countries throughout the world; (c) UNBIS Plus on CD-
ROM, developed in collaboration with a commercial vendor, which provides
access to all UNBIS files, making extensive use of hypertext linkages
between files, and is presented with a user-friendly interface, and will be
marketed in developing countries at concessional prices and provided free
of charge to United Nations information centres for consultation by the
general public; (d) access through the Optical Disc System for indexing
data with respect to parliamentary documents and administrative issuances;
(e) access via the Internet; (f) access on diskette; and (g) printproducts.
The publications of the Department have been extensively detailed in a
report by the Secretary-General currently before the Committee. It must be
reiterated, however, that given the wide and long-term impact of
publications on public perception of the United Nations, the Department is
taking steps to ensure that its printed products are original, worthwhile
and of the highest quality. It is the aim of these publications to reflect
the important role the Organization is currently playing in the critical
international endeavours of our time. As a test of their increased
relevance, more of the Department's publications are now being offered for
sale. The External Publications Office of the Department continues to seek
the widest possible dissemination and exposure of United Nations
publications through negotiations with commercial publishers interested in
obtaining publishing and reprinting rights in many languages.
The drive further to enhance publications is facilitated by the
deployment of new technologies which make possible the creation of
attractive designs in a speedy and cost-effective manner and the effective
pooling of editorial resources. The Department's Design Section, which has
been converted to a full-service desk-top publishing office, is providing
design, typography and technical print production services for the print
materials of the Department, as well as for many other offices within the
United Nations system.
In another move to keep pace with the latest technological developments,
the storage, retrieval, reproduction and dissemination of the Department's
photographs will be significantly simplified through the introduction of
the Eastman Kodak Professional CD system. This will operate concurrently
with the existing chemical photo processing system, which will ultimately
be phased out.
Among their many and varied activities, United Nations information
centres continued to play a pivotal role in promoting the Organization's
major conferences on development questions during 1994 by raising the level
of local interest in the issues and keeping the media and public informed.
The centres organized briefings, seminars, round tables and television and
radio discussion programmes featuring United Nations experts. They also
translated, adapted and repackaged documents, backgrounders and other
information materials into 37 local languages. At La Paz and Windhoek, the
centres created issue-specific journalists' networks on women and
population questions in order to generate an increase in in-depth coverage.
The efforts of United Nations information centres facilitated immediate
access to regional responses to United Nations activities, in particular to
two recent United Nations conferences. During the World Summit for Social
Development, information centres faxed more than 2,000 daily clippings,
press reports, media analyses and translations of major editorials from
print, radio and television to the Department's team at the conference.
Immediate feedback was also provided by information centres during and
after the International Conference on Population and Development.
Approximately 7,500 articles from 432 newspapers provided by information
centres indicated the most extensive media coverage ever achieved for
United Nations conferences. At the same time information centres relayed
press releases and other materials by e-mail and fax and responded to
thousands of queries from the media, non-governmental organizations and the
public. A special role was played by information centres located in the
conference host countries, which not only facilitated access to local media
for Conference officials, but also often provided translation and
interpretation liaison services as well. A number of centres have
undertaken, and continue to undertake, follow-up briefings on the outcome
of the World Summit for Social Development for media and non-governmental
organizations and intend to conduct briefings in connection with
preparations for the Beijing women's conference and for Habitat II in 1996.
United Nations information centres were instrumental in establishing over
70 Fiftieth Anniversary National Committees. In keeping with the
objectives of the fiftieth anniversary of the United Nations, the centres
devoted themselves to promoting the observance, especially by the young,
through teachers and specialists in curriculum development. To publicize
the overall work of the United Nations information centres such as those at
Bucharest, New Delhi, Rome and Tehran created special partnerships for the
publication of United Nations information materials. The Bucharest centre,
in cooperation with the Romanian League on Human Rights, published 5,000
local language copies of the ABC-Teaching Human Rights: Practical
Activities for Primary and Secondary Schools, as well as excerpts from the
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. By a
special arrangement with the centre in Rome, the Italian news agency
Agenzia Nationale Stampa Associata (ANSA) published papers on the Fourth
World Conference on Women, the Ninth United Nations Congress on the
Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders and the fiftieth
anniversary and distributed them to its subscriber base as well as to
parliamentarians, academics and editors of specialized journals. The
centre at New Delhi established close relations with leading academics and
private sector organizations to facilitate the publishing and dissemination
of United Nations documents and information materials in vernacular
languages, and the centre at Tehran translated "An Agenda for Development"
into Farsi and published the report in seven parts in cooperation with the
Persian morning daily, Abrar.
Statements by the Secretary-General, as well as booklets, fact sheets
and backgrounders related to the Conference on Population and Development,
the World Summit for Social Development and the Fourth World Conference on
Women have been produced in Bahasa Indonesian, Danish, Dutch, Finnish,
German, Hindi, Hungarian, Icelandic, Italian, Kiswahili, Nepali, Norwegian,
Portuguese, Romanian, Shona, Swedish and Thai. Major publications such as
the annual report of the Secretary-General on the work of the Organization,
the Charter of the United Nations and the Universal Declaration on Human
Rights have been made available by information centres with the assistance
of national partners, in additional languages, including Czech, German,
Greek, Japanese and Portuguese. In this connection, currently a Portuguese
version of the second edition of the Secretary-General's "An Agenda for
Peace", with the new supplement and related United Nations documents, as
well as his "Agenda for Development", are being produced for distribution
in the Portuguese-speaking countries.
Non-governmental organizations have been key players in the United
Nations community from the beginning, when 42 of them served as consultants
during the United Nations Conference on International Organization, which
produced the Charter. The past few years have witnessed an unprecedented
growth in the number of non-governmental organizations involved in the work
of the United Nations, and they have had a tremendous influence in helping
to bring a number of important United Nations issues to the forefront of
the international agenda.
In its original mandate of January 1946, the Department was urged
actively to assist and encourage non-governmental organizations, and it has
continued to reach out to this community. In 1968, at United Nations
Headquarters, 204 organizations were listed with the NGO Section of the
Office of Public Information. Between 1990 and 1994, 244 new associates
were added, bringing the total of non-governmental organizations accredited
to the Department of Public Information to 1,327.
It should also be pointed out that with each major United Nations
conference which has mobilized public interest in issues of global concern,
a growing number of national and international non-governmental
organizations have joined in the discussion and promotion of these issues.
For example, 1,420 non-governmental organizations were registered for the
United Nations Conference on Environment and Development at Rio de Janeiro
in 1992, and for the World Summit for Social Development at Copenhagen over
2,400 non-governmental organizations were accredited.
To help promote cooperation between the United Nations and the non-
governmental organization community, the Department published in 1994 an
expanded annual directory of the 1,327 non-governmental organizations
associated with it, which includes two annexes categorizing these
organizations by country and field of activity. The 1995 version will be
available in May. In addition, in order to facilitate its dialogue with
its wide non-governmental organization constituency, the Department has
recently initiated a weekly bulletin, DPI/NGO Link. An average of 120
representatives of non-governmental organizations attend weekly briefings
on a wide range of current United Nations activities and issues, featuring
speakers from offices throughout the United Nations system and delegations.
The guided tours operation at Headquarters faced serious difficulties
throughout 1994 as a result of a variety of restrictions imposed for
security reasons. With a curtailed tour route, which did not include the
Security Council Chamber, the number of people taking the tour declined.
However, at the end of the year, an agreement was reached between the
Department of Public Information and the Office of Conference and Support
Services to regain access to the Security Council Chamber as well as the
disarmament exhibit. Visitors have responded positively and the results
have been clearly tangible, since as of 15 March 1995 the number of people
taking the guided tour was up by 27 per cent compared with 1994 figures.
However, the problem remains that visitors are disappointed by not being
granted access to the Security Council Chamber when the Council is in
session, and this is a matter which the Department continues to pursue. In
addition, the tour operation is restricted by a designated group size of 15
people per tour guide, which limits the efficient use of guiding staff and
will contribute to a projected deficit of well over $l million for the
current biennium.
Staff members with a talent for public speaking were utilized by the
Department for group programmes, and 410 briefings on United Nations topics
were arranged for groups at Headquarters from May 1994 to March 1995 for an
audience of 38,000 people. Also there were 37 speaking engagements
arranged away from Headquarters to a total audience of 10,650 people. The
subjects most frequently requested by groups dealt with peace and security
and United Nations peace-keeping, but there was an increased number of
briefings which dealt with social development, particularly with women.
Intense public interest in the Organization has also resulted in a total of
42,000 inquiries being processed on the whole spectrum of United Nations
activities, especially on peace-keeping, peacemaking and social
development. Interest in the fiftieth anniversary has also been high.
In general, staff of the Department of Public Information have found that
the nature of the public's questions have become more complex, with answers
requiring considerable research and liaison with substantive departments.
The Department has planned a special publication, a poster/pamphlet
entitled "The Charter at Your Fingertips", a guide to the Charter in
question-and-answer format, for release in 1995. Also, Model United
Nations participants are approaching the Department in increasing numbers
for information kits.
The Department has continued to co-sponsor with United Nations agency
partners a series of events related to special observances, such as
International Literacy Day, Human Rights Day and International Women's Day.
The Department is currently organizing a special event in cooperation with
the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and others for World
Environment Day on 5 June, which will have as its special focus "women and
the environment".
The Department produced an exhibit, "A New Agenda for Human Development",
in collaboration with a number of agencies and programmes in the United
Nations system in 1994, which won an award for excellence from the
Industrial Designers' Association in March 1995. The exhibit was designed
to highlight the interwoven issues before the United Nations conferences on
population and development, social development and women. The structure of
the exhibit is a double helix, invoking the structure of deoxyribonucleic
acid (DNA) and acting as a metaphor for the yet to be discovered economic
and social solutions that will make possible the implementation of a new
agenda for human development. The exhibit will travel to Beijing for the
Fourth World Conference on Women in September.
JUNIC held its twentieth session at Montreal in July 1994, under the
chairmanship of the Director of Information of UNICEF. The Assistant
Secretary-General for Public Information and the information directors of
27 United Nations organizations attended the session. The report of the
session was presented to the Administrative Committee on Coordination and
approved.
JUNIC members held extensive discussions on a system-wide publication on
development issues that could replace Development Forum, which ceased
publication at the end of 1992 owing to a lack of sufficient funding both
from the regular budget and from extrabudgetary sources. Several members
of the Committee supported a proposal to contract a London-based news
service to research and write, for a yearly fee, at least one article per
week on issues flagged by the members of JUNIC. It was suggested that the
quarterly output of articles could be consolidated in a single publication
for wider dissemination.
In the view of the Department of Public Information, this proposal does
not provide a viable alternative to a system-wide publication, nor does it
meet the requirements of the mandate entrusted to the Department by the
General Assembly through the Committee on Information. Rather, the
Department suggested looking into the possibility of expanding its bi-
monthly publication, Development Update, into a new system-wide
publication. JUNIC encouraged the Department to develop this proposal for
a new publication on development issues in 1996, but also decided to
negotiate a one-year contract with the news service, enabling those members
of the Committee who wished to do so to participate in the cost-sharing.
Consultations were also held both at the regular and at two ad hoc
sessions of JUNIC in February and November 1994, on the implementation of a
system-wide information programme for the World Summit for Social
Development. The development and implementation of an information
programme for the upcoming Fourth World Conference on Women was also
discussed at the regular session and at the two ad hoc sessions, resulting
in agreement on a wide range of joint activities. JUNIC also approved, and
ACC later endorsed, an addendum to the 1992 guidelines for participation of
the United Nations system in international exhibits, which provide, among
other things, guidance on practical matters relevant to these exhibitions.
JUNIC explored ways and means of working more effectively with the medium
of television, exchanged views on the use of commercial advertising in
publications issued by United Nations agencies and related organizations,
considered alternative sources of financing for JUNIC activities, and
discussed holding an inter-agency colloquium on strategies for more
effectively communicating global development issues. The members of JUNIC
discussed several issues pertaining to the Non-Governmental Liaison
Service, which is important to the United Nation system at a time when
efforts are increasing to develop outreach to the non-governmental
organization community. JUNIC held its annual workshop for directors of
information of bilateral development agencies and members of JUNIC at
Copenhagen in November 1994. The workshop was organized by UNDP and
UNICEF, in cooperation with the Danish International Development Agency.
The twenty-first session of JUNIC was scheduled to take place in July
1995 at UNESCO headquarters in Paris. The agenda included, among other
items, discussion on system-wide information programmes for the Fourth
World Conference on Women and Habitat II, a review of the JUNIC Information
Exchange Network and follow-up activities to the World Social Summit.
The Department has continued to provide its full support for UNESCO and
its International Programme for the Development of Communication. In
cooperation with UNESCO, the Department of Public Information has begun
preparations for a seminar on independent and pluralistic Arab media, which
will be held in Sana'a, at the invitation of the Government of Yemen, in
December 1995 or January 1996. As in the case of the successful regional
seminars held previously at Windhoek in 1991, Almaty in 1992 and Santiago
in 1994, this seminar will provide an opportunity to evaluate the needs and
concerns of media practitioners of the region and to propose a series of
recommendations and concrete projects.
A draft backgrounder on the International Year for Tolerance (1995) has
been prepared by the Department and distributed to information centres and
field offices. The Department has responded to numerous inquiries
regarding the Year and publicized the joint launching of the Year by the
Secretary-General and UNESCO's Director-General.
ANNEX III
Paper on media strategies for peace-keeping
and other field operations
A widespread perception has developed in United Nations circles
concurrently with the dramatic growth in the number of peace-keeping and
other field operations in recent years: that the Department of Public
Information is responsible for the formation and day-to-day functioning of
the information components of such missions. This perception is far from
reality.
While the Department disseminates information on peace-keeping
operations, in all other respects the professional expertise and existing
infrastructure that already exist in the Department remain largely
untapped, and the Department's involvement in conceptualizing, planning,
implementing and coordinating the information programmes of field
operations has so far been minimal. Nor have the Department's expertise
and experience been used in all cases to identify staff, both internal and
external, for rapid deployment to field missions. If they were,
accountability could be ensured, thereby eliminating waste associated with
the recruitment of transient officers. Thus, the Department's role as the
focal point and coordinating mechanism for public information activities in
the Secretariat -long recognized by the General Assembly - has not been
activated with regard to peace-keeping. In the last year, however, the
heads of the Department of Peace-keeping Operations and the Department of
Public Information have developed closer links in the approach to questions
relating to public information activities associated with peace-keeping
missions.
The growing expectation that the United Nations information activities
should help foster better understanding of the purposes of peace-keeping
and peacemaking, correct misperceptions, counter hostile propaganda and
create a favourable environment for the smooth operation of a mission has
created new challenges in the area of public information. It has also
given public information programmes an essential role and responsibility in
ensuring the success of peace-keeping and other field missions; hence the
need for a coordinated and unified public information strategy aimed at
increasing public understanding and support for the peacemaking role of the
United Nations. In his supplement to "An Agenda for Peace", the Secretary-
General underlined the vital role played by an effective information
capacity and the importance of establishing such a capacity at the early
planning stages of each and every field mission.
The Department of Public Information disseminates information on peace-
keeping through the network of United Nations information centres and
services located in 68 countries. Currently, a wide range of information
material is prepared and produced at Headquarters for dissemination. The
Department's audio-visual services also regularly produce and disseminate
information on peace-keeping via its broadcast transcriptions, the
Electronic Bulletin Board, and videos and films.
The following measures are suggested:
(a) It is necessary that interdepartmental consultations and
coordination between the Department of Public Information, which acts as
focal point for public information activities within the Secretariat, and
the substantive departments - the Department of Peace-keeping Operations,
the Department of Humanitarian Affairs and the Department of Political
Affairs - are undertaken at the very earliest stages of planning for any
field mission. This would enable the Secretariat to coordinate its efforts
in the field of information. It would bring together the substantive
input, i.e., the message, which is the responsibility of the Departments of
Peace-keeping Operations, Political Affairs and Humanitarian Affairs, with
the means for dissemination, i.e., the medium, which is the responsibility
of the Department of Public Information;
(b) Early involvement of the Department of Public Information would
ensure cost-efficiency and avoid fragmentation of resources and activities
in the field of public information, as well as duplication of efforts.
Moreover, the implementation of the observation by the Secretary-General in
his report on effective planning, budgeting and administration of peace-
keeping operations (A/48/945) that "when public information activities are
specific to a particular operation ... [the costs involved] will ... be
covered from the individual peace-keeping budget account" requires the
participation of the Department;
(c) As soon as signals are received indicating that an emergency
situation requiring United Nations intervention may arise, consultations
should begin on the expected public information requirements and the
development of an information strategy. Such consultations should take
place within a standing inter-departmental working group on information
strategies, comprising representatives from the Departments of Peace-
keeping Operations, Political Affairs and Humanitarian Affairs and the
Department of Public Information, which would meet as required;
(d) Coordination between the departments would also allow the
preparation by the Department of Public Information of rosters of personnel
required to carry out the various functions associated with the public
information activities of a peace-keeping or other field mission. This
would save time and allow for the rapid establishment of an information
component at the very start of a mission. These rosters should draw on
personnel from the Secretariat, the media and delegations of Member States
that possess the relevant media and political experience. This would
enable mission recruitment to take place in an organized manner and would
ensure greater accountability and responsibility of such personnel;
(e) In order to facilitate the Organization's response to the demand for
mission-related information, a set of draft standards should be developed
by the Department of Public Information. These draft standards should
serve as a tool for the planning of mission information strategies and
related Headquarters activities. Emphasis should be placed on the most
cost-effective minimum information requirements, in recognition of the
budgetary constraints common to all peace-keeping missions. The draft
standards should identify a basic information programme, as well as
additional supplementary activities that could be carried out according to
the mission's mandates and requirements. A fragmentary, ad hoc and late-
hour conception and implementation of peace-keeping information programmes
has led to diminished impact, an incoherent message and costly information
activities purporting to serve peace-keeping operations;
(f) The goal of an integrated information programme should be to enhance
the effectiveness of the mission, both in the area of the mission and
internationally, by fostering a better understanding of the United Nations
mandate. It should, therefore, consist of two parts: an internal
programme within the area of the mission, and an external programme for the
international community at large, particularly troop-contributing and donor
countries. 95-22092 (E) 280895--*9522092*Parameters for each part should
be detailed in the programme design, programme outputs, expected functions,
personnel requirements and equipment and supplies.
An integrated information strategy would target public opinion in
countries providing support to peace-keeping operations as well as those
hosting peace-keeping missions. Such an approach would help build a solid
consensus in support of peace-keeping missions among contributing countries
and establish a positive environment for those missions in the countries of
deployment. Moreover, this approach would help avoid duplication and
fragmentation of public information programmes, disseminate a consistent
message on peace-keeping and achieve cost-effectiveness.