UN doing a good job, polls find.

Results of public opinion pons released on 4 April by Under-Secretary-General for Public Information Therese P Sevigny showed that a majority of people in Australia, Canada, Mexico, South Africa and the 12 member countries of the European Community believe that the UN's performance is good rather than poor.

UN Secretary-General javier Perez de Cuellar commented that the polls' results were very encouraging" The general public now recognized that the UN is succeeding as an institution for the resolution of conflict and the promotion of peace in the world, he stated.

The polls were conducted in the second half of 1989 on behalf of the Department of Public Information (DPI).

People thought well of the performance of the UN in all countries polled. Around half of all people surveyed in Australia, Canada, Mexico and the European Community as a whole said the UN was doing a good job, while no more than 25 per cent in any country felt it was doing a poor job. Those findings were consistent with a poll conducted in the United States at the beginning of 1989, which also showed more Americans felt the UN was doing a good job.

That was a significant improvement over 1985, when polls conducted in Australia, Canada, the United States and six European countries showed less support for the view that the UN is doing a good job. The only exception to the positive results for the UN was in South Africa, where 39 per cent of whites living in urban areas said the UN was doing a poor job, as compared to 23 per cent who felt it was doing a good job.

The publication of these polls came during a period which has seen major achievements for the UN, particularly in the peace-keeping and peacemaking fields. Reasons given by persons of the view that the UN is doing a good job largely reflected their perception of the Organization's achievements in those areas. Those of the opposite view believed there were too many national interests at play for the UN to reach agreement and be effective.

Environmental protection was the most popular UN issue. Human rights, drug abuse, international peace and security, children and crime prevention were also considered important. Television and newspapers were the main sources of information about the UN in all countries polled. Radio, magazines and books were other sources.