Assembly calls for continuation of efforts to establish a new world information and communication order.

Assembly calls for continuation of efforts to establish a new world information and communication order 

The General Assembly on 16 December 1985 asked for continuing efforts to promote the establishment of a new, more just and effective world information and communication order and the dissemination of "more widely objective and better balanced information" about United Nations activities.

the plenary acted on the basis of recommendations made by the United Nations Committee on Information which were endorsed by the Special Political Committee. That Committee put forward two draft resolutions for approval by the Assembly.

Resolution 40/164 A--with 21 operative paragraphs and an annex containing 70 recommendations from the Committee on Information--was adopted by a vote of 121 in favour to 19 against, wit 8 abstentions (Austria, Barbados, Greece, Haiti, Ireland, New Zealand, Spain, Turkey). By it, the public and private media and nongovernmental organizations were asked to disseminate information about the efforts of developing countries towards their economic, social and cultural progress and about international efforts to achieve social justice and economic development.

The report of the Committee on Information (A/40/21), approved on 29 August 1985, contained 70 recommendations for action by the General Assembly.

Twenty-three of them were concerned with the 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.

By one provision, all countries, the United Nations system as a whole, and all others concerned, were to collaborate in establishing a new world information and communication order based inter alia, "on the free circulation and wider and better balanced disemination of information, guaranteeing the diversity of sources of information and free access to information and, in particular, the urgent need to change the dependent status of the developing countries in the field of information and communication, as the principle of sovereign equality among nations extends also to this field, and intended also to strengthen peace and international understanding, enabling all persons to participate effectively in political, economic, social and cultural life, and promoting understanding and friendship among all nations and human rights".

In other recommendations, the Assembly appealed for media support; for the co-operation of the United Nations system in improving the conditions of the lives of peoples in developing countries; and--in view of the structural imbalance in the international distribution of news--for elimination of existing inequalities and all other obstacles in the free flow and wider and better balanced dissemination of information by diversifying the sources of information as a step towards free and more balanced information.

Access to technology

Also called for was access of developing countries to communication technology, and strengthening of the information and communication infrastructure of developing countries to enable them to develop their own information and communication policies freely and independently. The Assembly recommended providing assistance to developing countries for training journalists and technical personnel and setting up appropriate educational institutions; for production of communication technoloy suited to their needs; and establishing telecommunication linsk at subregional, regional and interregional levels.

Other recommendations endorsed dealt with public information policies and activities of the United Nations.

In the light of the grave economic situation in Africa, the United Nations Department of Public Information (DPI) was asked to bring to the international community's attention the real dimensions of the plight of the African people and the African countries' tremendous efforts.

A new recommendation asked that DPI widely disseminate information on "acute world economic problems", particularly the "critical economic situation in Africa", and also on "the severe economic difficulties" of the least developed countries, the external debt of developing countries, and the "adverse effect of the international economic environment on these countries".

One stressed that DPI should maintain editorial independence. Another rejected the use of the mass media, especially radio broadcasting, to disseminate false or distorted reports as an instrument of hostile propaganda against the sovereignty of other States. The media, it was stated, should contribute to the fostering of peace, mutual respect, non-interference and self-determination.

Other recommendations asked DPI to: promote teaching about the structure, principles and aims of the Organization in the educational institutions of Member States; cover adequately Israeli policies and practices which violated the human rights of the populations in occupied territories, especially those which impeded the attainment and exercise of the inalienable national legitimate rights of Palestinians; and disseminate information concerning United Nations decisions dealing wtih acts of terrorism in all its forms.

The Secretary-General was requested to take urgent steps to increase the representation of underrepresented developing countries and of other underrepresented groups of countries in DPI, especially at the senior levels. He was also requested to intensify his efforts, within existing resources, to alert world public opinion against South Africa's illegal occupation of Namibia and its policies of apartheid, and to continue to disseminate as widely as possible information relating to the struggle of the oppressed peoples of South Africa and Namibia.

Training programmes

DPI was also asked to: contribute more effectively through its training programmes to developing the resources of the mass media from developing countries, and to continue to fully support the promotion and publicizing of United Nations goals.

The Department was also urged to strengthen its co-operation with the Non-Aligned News Agencies Pool. DPI and the mass media wordlwide were requested to intensify the dissemination of information regarding the policies and practices of apartheid, taking account of "recent measures and official censorship".

One recommendation stated that the World Disarmament Campaign should give full consideration to the role of the mass media as the most effective way to promote in world public opinion a climate of understanding, confidence and co-operation, conductive to peace and disarmament, the enhancement of human rights and development.

It was also stated that the quality, usefulness and coverage of daily press releases and the weekly news summary issued by DPI in all working languages should be further enhanced and improved; the resources of the United Nations system should be pooled in support of Development Forum and Development Business; and the Secretary-General should be encouraged to intensify his efforts to explore all possibilities of securing adequate resources for the continuation of the World Newspaper Supplement project.

Under resolution 40/164 B, which dealt largely with the role of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in the field of information, the Assembly:

* Reaffirmed its strong support for UNESCO's efforts to further enhance its capabilities with a view to promoting the establishment of a new world information and communication order;

* Appealed to the mass media all over the world to explore all possible avenues for more equitable international co-operation in the field of in formation and communications;

* Requested Member States, international organizations and concerned public and private enterprises to in crease their contributions to UNESCO's International Programme for the Development of Communication; and appealed to Member States to reduce telecommunication tariffs for news exchanges;

* Encouraged UNESCO's Director-General to continue the chronological survey of the documents dealing with a new world information and communication order and an analysis of the development of that concept, and to keep the Committee on Information informed on developments of that concept; and

* Encouraged UNESCO to continue to identify new technological trends in information, communication, telematics and informatics and assess their socio-economic and cultural impact on the development of peoples.

Resolution 40/164 B was adopted by a vote of 122 in favour to 16 against, with 9 abstentions (Australia, Austria, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Spain, Turkey).

Debate

Among the 73 participants in the debate on information in the Special Political Committee was Egypt, which said the Group of 77 had sought a common ground for consensus on the recommendations emanating from the Committee on Information. A genuine consensus would take account of the real issues and promote practical steps towards a new order which was recognized as necessary to international balance. The ongoing process at UNESCO to define the new world information and communication order must be encouraged. Endeavours to promote the establishment of the new order should not be seen as part of an ideological struggle. The third world, in attempting to redress imbalances in the field of information and communication, was not trying to silence other voices or restrict access to the communications media. It was striving to establish a new, more just and more effective world information and communication order which would encourage a greater diversity of opinions.

Currently, the international flow of information was unilateral from the developed countries to the rest of the world. Statistics showed a bleak picture of the dimensions of the communication gap. The Movement of Non-Aligned Countries had taken practical steps to narrow the information and communication gap, one example of which was the establishment of the Pool of Non-Aligned News Agencies. The belated recognition of the political nature of information by the United States could possibly eliminate one more obstacle in the way of consensus.

India said developing countries were demanding fairer treatment from developed countries, which monopolized modern information technology and the international technology and the international communication media. The aim of a new order was to promote peace and understanding among nations by establishing a balance between developed and developing countries in the field of telecommunications and electromagnetic communications. Developing countries must establish independent sources for gathering and disseminating news. Now, they were passive recipients of inadequate information.

Yugoslavia said the new world information and communication order must be based on the need for complete, objective and truthful information. There was a need for a multiplicity of sources of information and public participation in their management to ensure the right to development and promote international co-operation.

Algeria said the definition of the new world information and communication order was no longer a major problem between the developing and the Western countries. The failure of the negotiations during the fortieth session was due not to a basic disagreement, but to a procedural problem. Next year the Committee on Information session should take place in a climate more conducive to a consensus.

The German Democratic Republic said the mass media had an essential contribution to make to solutions for preventing a nuclear catastrophe. The media could promote policies of peace and disarmament, provided that they were not misused for the opposite ends. Questions of information and communication had become an integral part of international relations. An international code should be established to govern potential uses of information and communication, in particular one respecting the principles of non-interference, self-determination and the sovereign equality of nations. The doctrine of the free flow of information could only intensify existing relationships of dependency, since it extended to the information and communication field the principle of the "law of the strongest" which ruled in the so-called free markets economies.

Under a new world information and communication order, free of inequality and injustice, all States would be able to preserve their national integrity and cultural identity as equal participants in the international exchange of information. Unfortunately, the Committee on Information recommendations had not been supported by certain States. Perhaps their insistence on a particular formula had been no more than a pretext to veil their negative attitude towards essential passages of the document.

DPI's information policies and activities must reflect the priorities of the General Assembly, the Security Council and other United Nations bodies, while making the best possible use of existing resources and skills. The United Nations communications systems would not be automatically improved through advanced and costly technologies. Funds were limited. There should be a more equitable geographical distribution of posts in DPI; socialist countries, for instance, were still considerably underrepresented and that imbalance should be corrected.

Luxembourg, on behalf of the European Community, Spain and Portugal, said the best means of defending the basic human rights of freedom of thought, opinion and expression lay in the existence of an informed and critical international public opinion. The Community, Spain and Portugal were committed to developing a new, more just and more effective world information and communication order based on that assumption. The evolution of such a process depended on the removal of restrictions, both internal and external, on freedom of movement and on the wide dissemination of information, knowledge and opinion.

Communication and information should not be subordinate to government policy; freedom of the press is essential for developing a well-informed public opinion. The Community, Spain and Portugal shared developing countries' concerns regarding dangers implicit in information distortion. Such concern, however, should not lead to imposition of censorship or other restrictions, which would be counter-productive. Mutual understanding was facilitated by developing and not by restricting communication.

A free flow of information between developing and developed countries and between developing countries themselves was of particular importance. The Community was ready to contribute to the improvement of developing countries information and communication infrastructures and to help in training activities. DPI should give high priority to economic and social information, as the United Nations made its greatest contribution to developing countries in those areas. DPI should also promote awareness of the issue of human rights and their implementation. It should provide impartial material reflecting all points of view.

Norway, on behalf of the Nordic countries, said DPI should act as a catalyst in generating ideas and encouraging others to pay attention to issues of global importance. The establishment of a new, more just and more-effective world information and communication order was a huge task and probably impossible to accomplish to everyone's satisfaction. Although serious imbalances existed among nations and peoples concerning access to modern means of communication and information, no useful purpose would be served by attempting to define the exact parameters of a new world information and communication order. The new order should be seen, as an evolving and continuous process, and should not be construed so that new restrictions might be introduced.

The United States opposed all practices--jamming, censorship or contraints on journalists--which violated the individual's right to seek, receive and impart information and opinions without interference. That right covered any information which the individual might happen to want, whether the source was domestic or foreign and whether or not the information was agreeable to the Government of the country in which the citizen lived.

While some aspects of a new world information and communication order would encourage incresed communication capabilities and more information "voices", other aspects advocated increased governmental controls over information judged by governmental entities to be unbalanced, false or incomplete. Giving a Government, or anyone else, the power to dictate, what was "true" only provided inordinate power to dictate. Protection lay, not in deciding truth, but in enabling as many voices as possible to pursue truth and to report their findings to others. If the discussion on a new world information and communication order followed a path that prevented the support of the entire developed world, that would only delay the changes so eagerly sought by the developing world.

The United States said the Western countries had not supported the two resolutions because neither mentioned the phrase "seen as an evolving and continuous process", although it was essential to an understanding of the concept of a new order. Despite efforts by the Group of 77 countries to overcome differences, there had been no real accommodation of the main concerns of the Western countries.