propaganda & secrecy

free flow of information

Main Topic: Coordinator Comments

"Freedom of opinion, expression and information ... are needed to replace the secrecy and manipulation of information which characterize the culture of war. In this regard, the media can be a powerful partner for the construction of a culture of peace. Its technological advances and pervasive growth have made it possible for every person to take part in the making of history, enabling for the first time a truly global movement for a culture of peace."

"At the same time, however, the media is sometimes misused to create and disseminate enemy images, violence and even genocide against other ethnic and national groups, and to portray and glorify violence in many forms. Also secrecy is on the increase, justified in terms of 'national security' and 'economic competitiveness', whereas in fact more transparency is needed in governance and economic decision-making."

With the preceeding words, UNESCO introduced the sixth programme area of the culture of peace in document A/53/370 sent to the United Nations General Assembly in 1998.

Among the specific recommendations in this regard adopted by the General Assembly in the final resolution on the culture of peace (resolution A/53/243) were support for:

(a) Support the important role of the media in the promotion of a culture of peace;

(b) Ensure freedom of the press and freedom of information and communication;

(d) Promote mass communication that enables communities to express their needs and participate in decision-making;

(e) Take measures to address the issue of violence in the media, including new communication technologies, inter alia, the Internet;

The references in the UNESCO proposal to the use of propaganda and secrecy by governments as part of their culture of war were taken out of the resolution at the insistence of the UN diplomats.

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