Statement by  Mr. Ts. Dorjsuren,
Representative of Mongolia
on agenda item 91:
"Questions relating to information"

New York, 17 November 1999
 

Mr. Chairman,

 First of all my delegation would like to express its acknowledgments  to Mr. Kensaku Hogen, Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information for his statement made  yesterday on the work of the Department of Public Information.

While my delegation thanks the Secretary-General for the report on "Questions relating to Information" contained in document A/54/415, our  appreciation  also  goes    to Mr. Elhassane Zahid of Morocco,  Chairman  of the Committee on Information for the valuable contribution he has made, with the support of his able Bureau, to the work of this body.

My delegation fully associates itself with the statement made by the representative of Guyana on behalf of the Group of 77 and China. Nevertheless, I would like to make   some brief comments on the  issues under consideration.

Mr. Chairman,

The time we are living in is rightly  called as  information age. It is  characterized  by very rapid advances in information technology and in telecommunications' areas, such as convergence, digitization, the world wide web,  the internet,  etc.   Such a truly technological revolution has enormous impact on disseminating  information in real time world wide. Of course, this is, in general,  one of  the indisputable advantages of technological progress that every individual could  equally benefit from for his or her personal uses and advancement. However, the  existing information gap between  developed and developing countries  does not permit most of the population  of the latter  to have an equal access to use   modern information technology and the database that could substantially improve  their educational background, widen their knowledge and outreach.

It is bearing the above in mind, that my country strongly advocates   a new and more just information and  communications order that should  be based on a free and balanced flow of information accessible to the people of all the  countries around the world. We believe that that should still be the  international community's common goal in the sphere of information.

Mr. Chairman,

The United Nations, in particular, the Department of Public Information (DPI) is called upon to play an important role in disseminating objective information on world problems and activities of the United Nations.  My delegation  fully supports   the policy of the Secretary-General and especially  the  efforts of the  DPI aimed at reorienting the United Nations activities in the field of public information and communications as well as  introducing  modern media system in this area. Thus, we  welcome the recent establishment  and launching of the web-based United Nations News Service as an important step in this regard.  We attach  importance to the Under-Secretary-General's new outreach strategy for the Department, involving partnerships with civil society organizations throughout the world.  This strategy would help the United Nations to project itself as a relevant international body, responding to the needs of the civil society partners in all sectors. In this context, my delegation would like to highlight the importance of rapid delivery of news to the global media, which is continuously disseminating  information about the Organization's activities and objectives to deal with world problems. We  also positively assess  the organizational work to restructure  the  Department with a view to  reorienting  the entire UN activities in the field of public information and communications.

Mr. Chairman,

While we highlight the effectiveness of modern media system, we would like to stress the continued importance of the traditional information media, including television and radio transmissions. My delegation welcomes the measures taken to strengthen the  international radio broadcasting capacity of the United Nations. We believe that the Department should also seek to improve its  television programs, reflecting multi-faced activities of the Organization.
 
 

Mr. Chairman,

Among the structural programming of  information such as the United Nations role in enhancing economic and social development, human rights and strengthening regional and global peace and security, my delegation would like to note the importance today of disseminating more information on the United Nations peace-keeping operations, especially in the field so that the local population of the countries in conflict understands well and supports the  objectives of these peace-keeping missions.

Mr. Chairman,

Turning to the Department's publications, as reflected in the Annex to the Secretary-General's report, we see that a great deal of material has been published on the main activities of the Organization and  various issues of international concern. Concerning the publications, my delegation would like to emphasize with satisfaction the publication of "Discovering the UN" in the Mongolian language, that was made available   to the participants of serial seminar "One World" during the visit of Under-Secretary-General  Hogen to Mongolia last June.

Mr. Chairman,

We are well aware that the Department would not be able to successfully fulfill its mandate without the necessary financial resources. Therefore, it is my delegation's earnest hope that the need for the increase in resources would  be taken into account when the proposed budget for the 2000-2001 biennium is considered.

 Finally, Mr. Chairman, my delegation welcomes and supports the proposals and recommendations contained in the report of the Committee on Information (A/54/21) and in the draft resolutions contained in the said report.
 

Thank  you.