STATEMENT BY HIS EXCELLENCY DR. MANUEL AUGUSTO,
VICE-MINISTER FOR SOCIAL COMMUNICATIONS OF THE
REPUBLIC OF ANGOLA
AT
THE 23RD SESSION OF THE COMMITTEE
ON INFORMATION
NEW
YORK, 2 MAY 2001
MR.
CHAIRMAN,
DISTINGUISHED DELEGATES,
LET
ME START BY CONGRATULATING YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN, ON BEHALF OF THE GOVERNMENT OF MY
COUNTRY, THE REPUBLIC OF ANGOLA, AND IN MY OWN NAME, ON YOUR ASSUMPTION OF THE
CHAIRMANSHIP OF THE UNITED NATIONS COMMITTEE ON INFORMATION ON THIS 23RD PERIOD OF SESSIONS YOU STARTED ON 30 APRIL 2001.
MY
WARM CONGRATULATIONS ALSO GOES TO THE OUTGOING CHAIRMAN, HIS EXCELLENCY EL
HASSANE ZAHID, AMBASSADOR OF THE KINGDOM OF MOROCCO, FOR HIS EXCELLENT WORK
DURING HIS MANDATE THROUGH THE 22ND PERIOD OF THE SESSIONS OF OUR COMMITTEE.
THE
ANGOLAN DELEGATION ALSO CONGRATULATES ARMENIA AND LIBYA ON THEIR ADMISSION AS
MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE ON INFORMATION, AS THEY WILL NOW BE ABLE TO CONTRIBUTE
WITH THEIR VALUABLE PARTICIPATION TO THE PROCEEDS OF THIS RELEVANT BODY OF THE
UNITED NATIONS.
THE
DEVELOPMENT OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY INTRODUCED MAJOR CHANGES
TO ALL AREAS OF HUMAN ACTIVITY AROUND THE WORLD.
TODAY,
THE USE OF NEW IT SYSTEMS CAN NO LONGER BE SEEN AS A SIGN OF MEGALOMANIA, BUT AS
A NECESSITY OF LIFE FOR THE COMMON CITIZEN BECAUSE OF ITS SPEED, EFFICACY AND
SAFETY.
TO
GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE, ACCORDING TO THE STATISTICS, IN 1998 THE INTERNET HAD 140
MILLION USERS AND THIS YEAR THIS NUMBER HAS GROWN TO MORE THAN 500 MILLION.
HOWEVER,
ACCESS TO THESE MODERN INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES HAS POLARIZED
THE WORLD INTO TWO GROUPS: THOSE
WHO ARE CONNECTED AND THOSE WHO ARE ISOLATED. THIS SITUATION HAS SIMPLY LED THE MARGINALIZATION OF THE PEOPLE IN
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES BECAUSE THEY LACK THE FINANCIAL RESOURCES AND THE MANPOWER
WITH THE REQUIRED SKILLS TO USE THE NEW TECHNOLOGIES AND COMPETE ON EQUAL
FOOTING WITH THE DEVELOPED COUNTRIES.
THIS
SITUATION FORCES THE DEVELOPING COUNTRIES TO RELY MAINLY ON THE TRADITIONAL
MEDIA SUCH AS RADIO, TELEVISION AND THE PRINTED PRESS TO GET THEIR DAILY
INFORMATION. TODAY, THE FLOW OF
INFORMATION IS A GLOBAL PHENOMENON THAT REQUIRES THE MODERNIZATION AND USE OF
NEW TECHNOLOGIES ENABLING THE INFORMATION TO REACH THE USERS WHEREVER AND
WHENEVER THEY MAY BE.
A
VIABLE SOLUTION TO MAKE MODERN TECHNOLOGY AVAILABLE TO ALL REGARDLESS OF THEIR
STATUS IS THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE NEW INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION WORLD
ORDER DECLARED BY THE UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY RESOLUTION 34/189 OF 1979.
THE
ANGOLAN DELEGATION BELIEVES THAT THE TRANSLATION OF THIS PROJECT INTO CONCRETE
RESULTS WOULD HELP LESSEN THE GAP IMBALANCE IN THE RELATIONS BETWEEN DEVELOPED
AND DEVELOPING COUNTRIES IN TERMS OF THEIR TECHNOLOGICAL CAPABILITIES.
THE
ANGOLAN DELEGATION HOPES THAT THE DPI RESTRUCTURING WILL CONSIDER EXPANDING THE
BROADCASTING STAFF BY INCLUDING THE POSITION OF PRODUCER/ASSISTANT IN THE UNITED
NATIONS PORTUGUESE-LANGUAGE RADIO BROADCASTING SERVICE. THIS WOULD ALLOW THE CPLP COUNTRIES TO PARTICIPATE DIRECTLY
WITH THEIR OWN PRODUCTION OF REGIONAL PROGRAMMING AND BROADCASTING OF
INFORMATION AND WORLD NEWS.
THE
UNITED NATIONS PORTUGUESE-LANGUAGE RADIO BROADCASTING SERVICE WHICH IS AN
EXTREMELY IMPORTANT PART OF THE DPI, IS OPERATED BY ONE SINGLE PRODUCER. IT COVERS THE DIFFERENT REGIONS: LATIN AMERICA (BRAZIL), ASIA (EAST TIMOR), AFRICA (ANGOLA, CAPE VERDE,
GUINEA-BISSAU, MOZAMBIQUE, SAO TOME AND PRINCIPE), AND EUROPE (PORTUGAL).
DURING
THIS YEAR (2001), THE UNITED NATIONS PORTUGUESE-LANGUAGE RADIO BROADCASTING
SERVICE IMPROVED THE QUALITY OF ITS PROGRAMS WITH THE USE OF ITS NEW SHORT-WAVE
FREQUENCY AND ITS AUDIENCE ROSE TO 230 MILLION LISTENERS ACROSS THE
PORTUGUESE-SPEAKING WORLD, INCLUDING EAST TIMOR IN THE CONTINENT OF ASIA AND
OCEANIA.
IN
ANGOLA, THE RADIO PROGRAMS BROADCAST FROM THE UNITED NATIONS IN NEW YORK ARE
LISTENED TO BY MORE THAN 12 MILLION PEOPLE WHICH IS ONE MORE REASON FOR A
CONTINUED IMPROVEMENT OF THE DPI PUBLIC INFORMATION SERVICES AND THE
STRENGTHENING OF ITS RELATIONS OF MUTUAL COOPERATION WITH THE LOCAL MEDIA.
MR.
CHAIRMAN,
DISTINGUISHED DELEGATES,
MY GOVERNMENT APPROVED
RECENTLY ITS STRATEGY FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES IN ANGOLA
FOR THE PERIOD 2000-2010, WITH A VIEW TO ESTABLISHING A NATIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE
FOR THE MODERNIZATION OF THE GOVERNMENT AND THE BUILDING OF AN INFORMATION
SOCIETY.
THIS
PLAN WILL ENABLE THE ANGOLAN GOVERNMENT TO DEVELOP PUBLIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS
THAT WILL INTEGRATE THE ECONOMY, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, NATURAL RESOURCES AND
THE ENVIRONMENT.
MR.
CHAIRMAN,
DISTINGUISHED DELEGATES,
ON
MAY 3RD THE FREEDOM OF THE PRESS WORLD DAY WILL BE CELEBRATED, AND MY DELEGATION CANNOT
LET IT GO UNRECOGNIZED, GIVEN ITS SIGNIFICANCE TO SO MANY AROUND THE WORLD.
FREEDOM
OF THE PRESS, WHICH WILL BE CELEBRATED ACROSS THE WORLD ON MAY 3RD, IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT PILLARS OF A DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY UNDER THE
RULE OF LAW. FREEDOM OF THE PRESS
IS CLOSELY LINKED TO SUSTAINABLE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT AND IT IS A
VALUABLE TOOL TO ENSURE THE EXERCISE OF THE FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS AND LIBERTIES OF
THE PEOPLE.
FREEDOM
OF THE PRESS, THE DEMOCRATIZATION OF THE MEDIA, AND FREEDOM OF SPEECH EXPRESSING
DIFFERENT CONVICTIONS ARE PRINCIPLES THAT THE ANGOLAN GOVERNMENT HOLDS AS
IMPORTANT POLITICAL PRIORITIES IN ITS ENDEAVOURS TO ACHIEVE PEACE.
IN
ANGOLA, FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND FREEDOM OF THE PRESS ARE RIGHTS GRANTED BY OUR
CONSTITUTIONAL LAW AND IN OTHER LAWS. ALTHOUGH
WE HAVE EXPERIENCED ONE OF THE MOST RAVAGING ARMED CONFLICTS EVER SEEN IN
HISTORY, WHICH COULD JUSTIFY THE ADOPTION OF EXCEPTIONAL MEASURES DURING A STATE
OF SIEGE OR EMERGENCY, WE ARE INSTEAD DETERMINED TO BUILD A DEMOCRATIC STATE
UNDER THE RULE OF LAW.
TODAY,
IN MY COUNTRY, WE ARE AT A STAGE WHERE THE ANSWER TO THE QUESTION ABOUT WHAT
KIND OF PRESS LAW WE SHOULD HAVE IS FOUND BY POLLING THE COUNTRY’S POPULATION.
WITH
THAT PHILOSOPHY IN MIND, OUR HEAD OF STATE, PRESIDENT JOSE EDUARDO DOS SANTOS
PRESENTED TO THE COUNTRY A NEW PRESS LAW BILL AND INVITED EVERYONE ESPECIALLY
THE MEMBERS OF THE PRESS TO DISCUSS THAT BILL IN A DEMOCRATIC AND OPEN WAY WITH
AN OVERWHELMING RESPONSE FROM THE ANGOLAN PEOPLE.
THE
ANGOLAN GOVERNMENT IS AWARE THAT THERE IS STILL A LOT TO BE DONE WITH REGARD TO
FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND FREEDOM OF PRESS. HOWEVER,
THE UNITED NATIONS SECRETARY-GENERAL, MR. KOFI ANNAN, IN HIS LATEST REPORT ON
ANGOLA RECOGNIZED THAT IN SPITE OF THE CLIMATE OF INSTABILITY CREATED BY THE
ONGOING WAR, THE OPPOSITION PARTIES AND THE MEDIA HAVE MORE SPACE WITH RESPECT
TO POLITICAL DEBATE AND THE FLOW OF INFORMATION.
MR.
CHAIRMAN,
DISTINGUISHED DELEGATES,
TO
CONCLUDE, THE ANGOLAN DELEGATION APPEALS TO THIS COMMITTEE FOR THE NEED TO
INCREASE ITS EFFORTS TO HELP DEVELOPING COUNTRIES IN ORDER TO IMPROVE THEIR
EXISTING INFRASTRUCTURES AND THEIR INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGICAL
CAPABILITIES IN THIS THIRD MILLENNIUM.
THE
NEW INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES LED TO GLOBALIZATION AND ALSO
OFFER MANY OPPORTUNITIES FOR HUMAN PROGRESS, IN ADDITION TO DRIVING THE GOALS OF
ECONOMIC, POLITICAL, SOCIAL, CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT AS WELL AS THE PRESERVATION OF
THE ENVIRONMENT.
THANK YOU.
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