Assembly calls for co-operation in a new world information and communication order.

The General Assembly on 3 December called on all countries, the United Nations system as a whole and all others concerned to co-operate in the establishment of a new world information and communication order, seen as "an evolving and continuous process", and based, among other things, on the free circulation and wider and better balanced dissemination of information, guaranteeing diversity of sources of information and free access to information.

The Assembly also reaffirmed "the ongoing efforts of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), which retains the central role in this field, to gradually eliminate the existing imbalances in the field of information and communications", in accordance with relevant UNESCO resolutions adopted by consensus.

The plenary acted by adopting resolution 41/68 A, whose draft had been submitted by the Chairman of the Working Group on Questions relating to Information of the Special Political Committee. That draft in turn was based on consultations held on an earlier draft submitted informally by China. Four other draft resolutions recommended by that Committee were also adopted by the Assembly.

By resolution 41/68 A, the Assembly also noted the report of the Committee on Information (A/41/21) which, it said, "had served as an important basis and stimulated further deliberations", and urged full implementation of 51 recommendations concerning a new world information and communication order and the work of the Department of Public Information (DPI). The resolution was adopted by a vote of 148 in favour to 1 against (United States), with 4 abstentions (Canada, Israel, Malawi, United Kingdom).

Under other provisions, the mass media was encouraged to give wider coverage to efforts of the international community towards global development and to those of the developing countries to achieve economic, social and cultural progress. The United Nations system was asked to cooperate, through its information services, in promoting a more comprehensive and realistic image of the system's activities and potential. Countries were urged to extend assistance to journalists for the free and effective performance of their professional tasks.

Urgent attention, the Assembly said, should be given to eliminating existing inequalities in, and all other obstacles to, the free flow and the wider and better balanced dissemination of information, ideas and knowledge by diversifying sources of information and respecting the interests, aspirations and socio-cultural values of all peoples. The United Nations system as a whole, as well as developed countries, were urged to co-operate with developing countries towards strengthening the information and communication infrastructure in the latter countries.

The Assembly stated that United Nations information centres should make every effort to establish coordination with other field offices of the United Nations system to avoid duplication of work, but that coordination should take into account the centres' functional autonomy.

The Assembly emphasized its full support for UNESCO's International Programme for the Development of Communication. The United Nations system as a whole was urged to give UNESCO adequate support and assistance in the field of information and communication. The United Nations system, particularly UNESCO, was asked to aim at providing support and assistance to developing countries in the field of information, in particular in the development of human resources, the creation of conditions that would enable those countries to produce communications technology suited to their national needs, and in establishing telecommunication links.

The Secretary-General was asked to: ensure that DPI's activities, as a focal point of information activities of the United Nations, were strengthened and improved to ensure an objective and more coherent coverage of, and better knowledge about, the United Nations and its work; ensure that DPI disseminated widely the United Nations Programme of Action for African Economic Recovery and Development 1986-1990, adopted by the Assembly at. its thirteenth special session in 1986; and intensify his efforts to alert world public opinion to Namibia's illegal occupation.

DPI was requested to continue to co-operate with UNESCO in assisting the Pool of Non-Aligned News Agencies and regional news agencies of developing countries, and to co-operate more regularly with UNESCO - especially at the working level - with a view to maximizing the Department's contributions to UNESCO's efforts in promoting a free and a more balanced flow of information.

DPI was also asked to: continue its co-operation with the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries and intergovernmental and regional organizations; to strengthen its co-operation with the Pool of Non-Aligned News Agencies and regional news agencies of developing countries; widely disseminate information pertaining to acute world economic problems, particularly to the critical economic situation in Africa, the severe economic difficulties of the least developed countries, the external debt crisis and development, and the adverse effect of the international economic environment on developing countries; and continue to maintain consistent editorial independence and accuracy in reporting and to promote an informed understanding of the Organization's work and purposes.

The Assembly also asked the Department to: improve the timely distribution of its materials, particularly the UN Chronicle; continue its annual training programme for journalists and broadcasters from developing countries; continue to cover adequately and accurately all United Nations activities pertaining to the situation in the Middle East and the question of Palestine, in accordance with relevant United Nations resolutions; continue its activities and dissemination of information with regard to the policies and practices of apartheid giving due attention to the unilateral measures and official censorship imposed on the local and international media related to all aspects of that issue; and disseminate information concerning United Nations decisions dealing with acts of terrorism.

Within the World Disarmament Campaign, DPI was requested to encourage coverage aimed at promoting a climate of understanding, confidence and co-operation, peace and development, and the enhancement of human rights.

UNESCO: Under resolution 41/68 B, which dealt largely with the role of UNESCO in the field of information, the Assembly considered that UNESCO's International Programme for the Development of Communication represented a significant step towards the gradual elimination of existing imbalances in the field of information and communications; expressed appreciation to all Member States that had contributed towards the Programme's implementation; and called for response to the appeals of UNESCO's Director-General to contribute to the Programme financially and through staff, equipment, technologies and training resources.

The Assembly reaffirmed the ongoing efforts of UNESCO, "which retains he central role in the field of information", to gradually eliminate existing imbalances, "particularly with respect to the development of infrastructures and production capacities and to encourage a free flow and wider and better balanced dissemination of information with a view to the establishment of a new world information and communication order seen as an evolving and continuous process" in accordance with relevant UNESCO resolutions.

The Assembly's support for UNESCO, its constitution and the ideals reflected in it were reaffirmed.

The resolution was adopted by a vote of 143 in favour to 2 against (United Kingdom, United States), with 7 abstentions.

The Assembly, in resolution 41/68 E on UNESCO's fortieth anniversary, observed in November 1986, reaffirmed its full support for and deep appreciation of the efforts which UNESCO had been exerting in the information field, and asked DPI to pay particular attention to that event and make broad use of that anniversary for the dissemination of information on the role of the United Nations and UNESCO in the information field, and in all fields of UNESCO's competence - education, science and culture.

The resolution was adopted by a vote of 134 in favour to 10 against, with 9 abstentions.

The Assembly, in resolution 41/68 C, granted Malta's request to become a member of the Committee on Information, thus increasing the Committee's membership from 69 to 70. The resolution was adopted without a vote.

By resolution 41/68 D, also adopted without a vote, the Assembly commended the World Federation of United Nations Associations - which commemorated its fortieth anniversary in 1986 - and United Nations associations for the valuable contribution they had made in the past 40 years through their activities in the mobilization of popular support for the programmes and work of the United Nations.

Fortieth Anniversary of UNESCO observed

The fortieth anniversary of the founding of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) was observed on 4 November. Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar, in a message on the occasion, noted that "like the United Nations itself, UNESCO has had to fulfil its mandate in the context of a process of massive transition unprecedented in history."

The unrestricted pursuit of objective truth and the free exchange of ideas "admit different priorities from different viewpoints", observed the Secretary-General. None the less, he said, it was imperative to try to reconcile them. Despite difficulties, UNESCO had striven to bring about closer cultural relations among the world's peoples. It had helped train millions of teachers, produced thousands of scholarly and technical works and led the way in overcoming illiteracy and saving priceless cultural monuments.

The words of UNESCO's charter - "Since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defences of peace must be constructed" - expressed the direction global civilization must take if it was to endure and grow. That goal was "wholly attainable", and UNESCO "an indispensable instrument for its pursuit", affirmed the Secretary-General.

General Assembly President Humayun Rasheed Choudhury (Bangladesh), in his message for the anniversary, noted that for many developing countries, UNESCO had a special meaning. "For the millions of children who have been educated by the teachers from UNESCO, whether they are in Asia, Africa or Latin America, life is no longer the same anymore."

Recalling UNESCO's work in the areas of technical education, vocational training for women, educational planning and preservation of ancient monuments, Mr. Choudhury expressed the hope that "those who were recently obliged to leave the organization would find it possible to return within its fold".

UNESCO Board considers organizational reforms,

plans for zero-growth budget for 1988-1989

Steps towards drafting a zero-growth budget for 1988-1989, further work on a plan to eliminate illiteracy by the year 2000 and efforts aimed at declaring an International Year of the Family were among key issues considered by the Executive Board of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), as it tackled a 50-item agenda during its 125th session (Paris, 10 September-8 October),

During the four-week session, the 51-member Board reviewed progress in implementation of more than 100 reform measures undertaken by UNESCO in the areas of programme execution, programme evaluation, decentralization and staff management, in response to the withdrawal from the Organization of the United States, United Kingdom and Singapore. The Board also expressed satisfaction with the results of UNESCO's personnel reduction and redeployment exercise.

Some 800 posts - more than 17 percent of UNESCO's staff - were eliminated following UNESCO's General Conference session in November 1985. Through a hiring freeze, reassignment of personnel and an incentive programme for separations, UNESCO Director-General Amadou Mahtar M'Bow stated he was able to avoid wholesale firings. The Board praised the efforts of the Director-General, who announced on 6 October he would not seek re-election for a third term.

Mr. M'Bow, in his oral report on the Organization's activities, told Board Members UNESCO was no longer in a "state of uncertainty" and was looking to the future with confidence in its role as a "unique and irreplaceable instrument for facilitating international intellectual co-operation".

In the field of operational activities, he reported, the execution rate for projects carried out by UNESCO and financed by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) was 82 per cent in 1983, 77 per cent in 1984 and 79 per cent in 1985. Those rates for the three-year period were higher than the aggregate execution rate achieved by all agencies implementing UNDP projects, the Director-General said.

During the session, the Executive Board began the process of putting together UNESCO's programme and budget for the 1988-1989 biennium, with the aim of achieving zero growth. The budget was one of the main concerns of the United States and the United Kingdom prior to their withdrawal from UNESCO in, respectively, 1984 and 1985.

The Board also began preparing UNESCO's third medium-term plan, to become effective in 1990.

In other action, Board Members asked the Director-General to consult with member states and other United Nations agencies on the feasibility of declaring an "International Year of the Family". He was also asked to survey financial and personnel resources available to wage an intensified campaign to eradicate illiteracy by the end of the century. (UNESCO estimates there are some 880 million illiterate people in the world today.)

The Board asked for additional financial support for the organization's World Heritage Programme, which designates natural and cultural sites for preservation. At present, 217 sites in 55 countries are on the list.

In addition, the Board authorized the start of negotiations with Intersputnik, the Soviet communications satellite body, in connection with UNESCO's Third World Communications programme. UNESCO already co-operates with Intelsat, the United States-based satellite communications body, in that regard.

UNESCO meeting

held in Geneva 

More than 500 persons, including 60 education ministers, discussed secondary education as the bridge between primary schooling and higher education or entry into the work force at the fortieth International Education Conference organized by the International Bureau of Education and UNESCO in Geneva in December.