Questions related to information – GA Fourth Cttee debate – Press release (excerpts)

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Sixty-third General Assembly

Fourth Committee

15^th Meeting (PM)

FOR UNITED NATIONS PEACEKEEPING, CONSIDERATION MUST BE GIVEN TO MEETING CHALLENGES

INHERENT IN ‘POLITICALLY CHARGED, INSECURE SCENARIOS’, FOURTH COMMITTEE TOLD

‘The More Sophisticated a Mission’s Mandate, the Harder It Is

To Support It’; Huge Logistical Challenges Make Months Ahead Pivotal

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During the afternoon meeting, the Fourth Committee also concluded its general debate on information, hearing from the representatives of Bahrain, Senegal, Iran, Tunisia and Uruguay.

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Background

As the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) met this afternoon to conclude its general debate on questions relating to information, it had before it two reports:  the report of the Secretary-General on that topic (document A/63/258) and a report on the thirtieth session of the Committee on Information (28 April to 9 May 2008) (document A/62/21 (Supp)).  (For summaries of those reports, see Press Release GA/SPD/405 of 17 October.)

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Statements

FAISAL AL ZAYANI (Bahrain)…

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…The Department should continue its activities on the question of Palestine until a just decision could be reached on the issue.

PAUL BADJI (Senegal)…

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He commended the Department’s efforts to commemorate the sixtieth anniversary of United Nations peacekeeping operations.  While the omission of any mention of the question of Palestine in the Secretary-General’s report on information this year had been regrettable, it was clearly not the Department’s intention to overlook the question of Palestine.  He urged the Information Department to respond appropriately to the suggestions and concerns of the Member States included in the report of the Committee on Information and to study in depth those comments of the various delegations during its deliberations. The Department should also help publicize the Digital Solidarity Fund, which sought to close the digital divide between the North and South.

AMIR HOSSEIN HOSSEINI ( Iran)…

He commended the Department’s success reporting on a wide range of issues, among them, the Organization’s reform, sustainable development, and dialogue among different Member States, but he reminded the Committee that emerging issues should not eclipse older ones in need of exposure, such as the question of Palestine.  Indeed, the Department should continue its past record in addressing the question of Palestine, including the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and their current humanitarian tragedy, as one of its top priorities.

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For information media • not an official record