45th SESSION OF COMMITTEE ON INFORMATION

GENERAL DEBATE

India Statement

April 25, 2023

Thank you, Chairperson, for providing me the floor. I congratulate the Bureau and convey my delegation’s full support to the team and the Bureau for the successful completion of the 45th session of the Committee. I also thank Under Secretary General Melissa Fleming for her informative briefing.

Mr. Chair,

2. India welcomes the statement of G-77 and individual statements of the member states on preventing the spread of misinformation. We are tackling a tidal wave of misinformation through the internet, social media and other news and communication platforms. We are also aware of Secretary-General’s “Our Common Agenda” report that called for a global Code of Conduct that will complement the Global Digital Compact, part of the 2024 Summit of the Future. In the wake of COVID-19 and ongoing conflicts around the world, people are looking at us for correct and reliable information. The need for access to accurate, impartial and timely information, therefore, has never been greater before.

3. A functioning democracy is dependent on access to information for all people. India is one of the very few countries that empowered its citizens with the Right to Information from the government since 2005. While acknowledging that ‘information is the currency of democracy’, we see worldwide evidence of the need to also be mindful of sustained misinformation and disinformation campaigns using social media and mass media. These are aimed at undermining peace and harmony in society.

4. To tackle misinformation, as suggested by USG Melissa Fleming, we need a partnership between Students & Youth, Journalists, influencer with DGC. India is successful in bridging the digital gaps. Expenditure on India’s Information-Technology and Telecom sectors has increased by 6 times in last 9 years; Internet connections registered a growth of 232% while Broadband connections registered a growth of more than 1200% in the last 9 years.

Mr. Chair,

5. I appreciate the work done by DGC during last one year, as we navigate through the challenges posed by COVID-19 Pandemic and recent security developments. We take note of efforts of DGC in ensuring business continuity and supporting the larger UN system to position the UN as the most authoritative and authentic source on scientific knowledge, best practices, including through the ‘Verified’ and ‘ActNow’ campaign on Climate.

6. We also thank DGC in its efforts to promote multilingualism, notably UN’s Hindi social media account which has also witnessed a massive fan following. We reiterate that the people of this planet dream, read, hear, watch and gossip in languages beyond the six official UN languages. And so, we would like to see DGC’s ongoing global outreach efforts in languages other than official languages be strengthened. We also request DGC to take more proactive approach in disseminating information in Hindi language.

Mr. Chair,

7. UN Peacekeeping missions have been at the heart of the United Nations since its formation. In this regard, India appreciates the Department’s role in spearheading the communication campaign to project the service and sacrifice of the UN peacekeepers as well as the contribution of countries, who are sending their uniformed men and women, to serve in peacekeeping missions to maintain international peace and security.

8. India is concerned about safety of the UN peacekeepers in the field. We underscore the importance of this critical issue and urge the DGC to work together with Field Missions and tailor its communication strategies accordingly to address it. Maintaining the Peacekeeping websites in local languages would be a useful step to further broaden the outreach of this information and achieve the above objective.

9. Separately, as part of its strategic communications, India would also like to see greater focus in the remarkable work done in the area of South-South cooperation in promoting the SDGs and achieving the Agenda 2030. Highlighting such efforts is particularly relevant during the ‘Decade of Action’.

Mr. Chair,

10. We take note of the extensive work done by the News and Media Division of the DGC and its efforts to promote multi-lingualism. I also take this opportunity to thank the Division’s support in commemorating the ‘International Day of Yoga’ and helping the global Yoga community in promoting the message of Yoga to fight social isolation and depression and its significant role in the psycho-social care and rehabilitation during COVID-19 pandemic.

11. The strain on its financial resources requires DGC to look at innovative ways to raise resources beyond the regular budgetary allocations to carry out its mandated tasks especially in non-official languages. In this regard, we are happy to partner with the DGC in evolving a unique model to mainstream and consolidate news and multimedia content through the UN News online portal and social media in Hindi. We hope to continue this partnership with DGC to enhance the visibility and impact of such efforts.

12. India also welcomes the important role played by the UN Academic Impact in creating a vibrant and diverse network of students, academics, scientists, researchers, think-tanks and many institutions of higher education, which are the new ideas, inventions and solutions to the many global challenges we face today. We appreciate UNAI for providing the link between the UN and these important stakeholders.

13. Globally, engagement with member countries to address misinformation during an infodemic and learning from each other will go a long way to understand the issues and to find suitable solutions to address the concerns. India believes that a transparent, timely and trust worthy flow of information furthers democracy and allows our citizens to take informed decisions.

Mr. Chair,

Let me conclude by assuring you and the Department of Global Communication, of India’s continued support to the Department's activities and initiatives. I thank you.