About the Committee
The Committee on Information is a subsidiary body of the General Assembly, established by the General Assembly to deal with questions relating to public information.
It is responsible for overseeing the work of the Department of Global Communications and for providing it with guidance on policies, programmes and activities of the Department.
Background
Establishment
At its 34th session, the General Assembly decided to maintain the Committee to Review United Nations Public Information Policies and Activities, established under General Assembly resolution 33/115 C of 18 December 1978, which would be known as the Committee on Information.
Mandate
In its resolution 34/182 of 18 December 1979, the General Assembly outlined the mandate of the Committee on Information as follows:
- 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;
- To evaluate and follow up the efforts made and the progress achieved by the United Nations system in the field of information and communications; and
- 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.
Bureau of the Committee
Election of officers
At its first session in 1980, the Committee agreed that the principal of geographical rotation would be applied to all the officers of the Committee — its bureau — and they would be elected for two-year terms.
Traditionally, members to the bureau are elected unanimously — through consensus nomination of candidates by their respective Regional Groups.
Composition of the current Bureau:
- Chair: Mr. Muhammad Usman Iqbal Jadoon (Pakistan)
- Vice-Chair: Ms. Ludovica Murazzani (Italy)
- Vice-Chair: Mr. Oļegs Iļģis (Latvia)
- Vice-Chair: Ms. Vero Henintsoa Andriamiarisoa (Madagascar)
- Vice-Chair and Rapporteur: Ms. Liliana Verónica Baños Müller (El Salvador)
Bureau Elections
The Members of the Bureau were elected for the period 2023-2024 during the opening session of the 45th session of the Committee on Information (COI).
Membership
Over the years, the membership of the Committee has continued to grow. Currently, the Committee is composed of the following 122 Member States.
The Committee is an open-ended body and any Member State, not yet Member of the Committee, can request membership by applying through the Secretariat.
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Algeria |
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Angola |
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Antigua and Barbuda |
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Argentina |
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Armenia |
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Austria |
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Azerbaijan |
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Bangladesh |
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Belarus |
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Belgium |
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Belize |
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Benin |
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Bolivia (Plurinational State of) |
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Brazil |
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Bulgaria |
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Burkina Faso |
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Burundi |
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Cabo Verde |
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Chile |
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China |
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Colombia |
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Congo |
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Costa Rica |
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Côte d’Ivoire |
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Croatia |
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Cuba |
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Cyprus |
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Czechia |
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Democratic People’s Republic of Korea |
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Democratic Republic of the Congo |
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Denmark |
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Djibouti |
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Dominican Republic |
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Ecuador |
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Egypt |
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El Salvador |
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Estonia |
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Ethiopia |
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Finland |
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France |
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Gabon |
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Georgia |
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Germany |
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Ghana |
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Greece |
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Guatemala |
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Guinea |
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Guyana |
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Honduras |
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Hungary |
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Iceland |
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India |
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Indonesia |
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Iran (Islamic Republic of) |
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Iraq |
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Ireland |
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Israel |
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Italy |
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Jamaica |
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Japan |
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Jordan |
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Kazakhstan |
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Kenya |
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Latvia |
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Lebanon |
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Liberia |
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Libya |
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Luxembourg |
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Madagascar |
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Malaysia |
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Malta |
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Mexico |
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Monaco |
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Mongolia |
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Morocco |
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Mozambique |
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Nepal |
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Netherlands |
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Niger |
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Nigeria |
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Oman |
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Pakistan |
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Paraguay |
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Peru |
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Philippines |
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Poland |
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Portugal |
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Qatar |
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Republic of Korea |
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Republic of Moldova |
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Romania |
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Russian Federation |
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Saint Vincent and the Grenadines |
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Saudi Arabia |
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Senegal |
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Sierra Leone |
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Singapore |
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Slovakia |
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Solomon Islands |
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Somalia |
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South Africa |
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Spain |
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Sri Lanka |
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Sudan |
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Suriname |
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Switzerland |
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Syrian Arab Republic |
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Thailand |
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Togo |
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Trinidad and Tobago |
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Tunisia |
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Türkiye |
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Ukraine |
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United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland |
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United Republic of Tanzania |
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United States of America |
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Uruguay |
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Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) |
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Viet Nam |
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Yemen |
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Zambia |
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Zimbabwe |
Annual General Debate
The Committee meets once a year for a two-week period, usually in April-May, to discuss questions relating to information.
Each session includes a general debate, following by informal consultations (informal informals) to adopt a draft resolution. This draft resolution, traditionally adopted by consensus by the Committee on the concluding day of the annual session, is further considered by the Special Political and Decolonization Committee later in the year (usually in October).
The drafts, adopted by the Special Political and Decolonization Committee become a resolution only after it is formally adopted by the General Assembly, usually in December each year.
Interactive dialogue
Traditionally, the Department of Global Communications arranges an interactive dialogue with Member States, led by the Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications and Head of the Department of Global Communication. This dialogue takes place in the afternoon of the opening day of the annual session.
List of speakers
Any member of COI, including observers, can participate in the general debate and make a formal statement. Traditionally, each statement is limited to ten minutes.
Requests for inscribing on the list of speakers should be sent to the Secretariat at committeeoninformation@un.org. The list is closed following the conclusion of the opening day’s debate (before 6:00 pm).
Statements
Member States participating in the General Debate must send their statements to estatements@un.org at least two hours in advance of their designated speaking slot to facilitate interpretation. The statements will remain embargoed until delivery after which they will be available on the Journal of the United Nations. The e-mail title should indicate that the statement is for COI, along with the country/group name.
Right of reply
In accordance with rule 115 of the Rules of Procedure of the General Assembly (A/520/Rev.15), statements in the right of reply may be accorded by the Chairperson after all speakers inscribed for that meeting have spoken. To request a right of reply, Committee members should raise nameplates to indicate their intention, and/or contact the Secretariat.
With your support, dear Member States, our Department of Global Communications will continue to deliver our duties with compassion and solidarity to protect truth and overcome indifference."
Melissa Fleming, Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications
