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Montage of several photos representing different meetings of the Committee on Information.

About the Committee

The Committee on Information is a subsidiary body of the General Assembly, established by the General Assembly to deal with questions relating to public information.

It is responsible for overseeing the work of the Department of Global Communications and for providing it with guidance on policies, programmes and activities of the Department.

Background

Establishment

At its 34th session, the General Assembly decided to maintain the Committee to Review United Nations Public Information Policies and Activities, established under , which would be known as the Committee on Information.

Mandate

In its , the General Assembly outlined the mandate of the Committee on Information as follows:

  • To continue to examine United Nations public information policies and activities, in the light of the evolution of international relations, particularly during the past two decades, and of the imperatives of the establishment of the new international economic order and of a new world information and communication order;
  • To evaluate and follow up the efforts made and the progress achieved by the United Nations system in the field of information and communications; and
  • To promote 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 and to make recommendations thereon to the General Assembly.

Bureau of the Committee

Election of officers

At its first session in 1980, the Committee agreed that the principal of geographical rotation would be applied to all the officers of the Committee — its bureau — and they would be elected for two-year terms.

Traditionally, members to the bureau are elected unanimously — through consensus nomination of candidates by their respective Regional Groups.

Composition of the current Bureau:

  • Chair: Mr. Muhammad Usman Iqbal Jadoon (Pakistan)
  • Vice-Chair: Ms. Ludovica Murazzani (Italy)
  • Vice-Chair: Mr. O?egs I??is (Latvia)
  • Vice-Chair: Ms. Vero Henintsoa Andriamiarisoa (Madagascar)
  • Vice-Chair and Rapporteur: Ms. Liliana Verónica Ba?os Müller (El Salvador)

Bureau Elections

The Members of the Bureau were elected for the period 2023-2024 during the opening session of the 45th session of the Committee on Information (COI).

H.E. Muhammad Usman Iqbal Jadoon
H.E. Mr. Muhammad Usman Iqbal Jadoon, Deputy Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the United Nations, chairs the 1st meeting of the 46th session on the Committee on Information (2024). Photo: Courtesy of the Permanent Mission of Pakistan

Membership

Over the years, the membership of the Committee has continued to grow. Currently, the Committee is composed of the following 124 Member States.

The Committee is an open-ended body and any Member State, not yet Member of the Committee, can request membership by applying through the Secretariat.

Algeria

Angola

Antigua and Barbuda

Argentina

Armenia

Austria

Azerbaijan

Bangladesh

Belarus

Belgium

Belize

Benin

Bolivia (Plurinational State of)

Brazil

Bulgaria

Burkina Faso

Burundi

Cabo Verde

Chile

China

Colombia

Congo

Costa Rica

C?te d’Ivoire

Croatia

Cuba

Cyprus

Czechia

Democratic People’s Republic of Korea

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Denmark

Djibouti

Dominican Republic

Ecuador

Egypt

El Salvador

Estonia

Ethiopia

Finland

France

Gabon

Georgia

Germany

Ghana

Greece

Guatemala

Guinea

Guyana

Haiti

Honduras

Hungary

Iceland

India

Indonesia

Iran (Islamic Republic of)

Iraq

Ireland

Israel

Italy

Jamaica

Japan

Jordan

Kazakhstan

Kenya

Latvia

Lebanon

Liberia

Libya

Luxembourg

Madagascar

Malaysia

Malta

Mexico

Monaco

Mongolia

Morocco

Mozambique

Nepal

Netherlands

Niger

Nigeria

Oman

Pakistan

Paraguay

Peru

Philippines

Poland

Portugal

Qatar

Republic of Korea

Republic of Moldova

Romania

Russian Federation

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Saudi Arabia

Senegal

Sierra Leone

Singapore

Slovakia

Solomon Islands

Somalia

South Africa

Spain

Sri Lanka

Sudan

Suriname

Switzerland

Syrian Arab Republic

Thailand

Togo

Trinidad and Tobago

Tunisia

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Uganda

Ukraine

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

United Republic of Tanzania

United States of America

Uruguay

Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)

Viet Nam

Yemen

Zambia

Zimbabwe

Annual General Debate

The Committee meets once a year for a two-week period, usually in April-May, to discuss questions relating to information.

Each session includes a general debate, following by informal consultations (informal informals) to adopt a draft resolution. This draft resolution, traditionally adopted by consensus by the Committee on the concluding day of the annual session, is further considered by the Special Political and Decolonization Committee later in the year (usually in October).

The drafts, adopted by the Special Political and Decolonization Committee become a resolution only after it is formally adopted by the General Assembly, usually in December each year.

Interactive dialogue

Traditionally, the Department of Global Communications arranges an interactive dialogue with Member States, led by the Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications and Head of the Department of Global Communication. This dialogue takes place in the afternoon of the opening day of the annual session.

List of speakers

Any member of COI, including observers, can participate in the general debate and make a formal statement. Traditionally, each statement is limited to ten minutes.

Requests for inscribing on the list of speakers should be sent to the Secretariat at committeeoninformation@un.org. The list is closed following the conclusion of the opening day’s debate (before 6:00 pm).

Statements

Member States participating in the General Debate must send their statements to estatements@un.org at least two hours in advance of their designated speaking slot to facilitate interpretation. The statements will remain embargoed until delivery after which they will be available on the Journal of the United Nations. The e-mail title should indicate that the statement is for COI, along with the country/group name.

Right of reply

In accordance with rule 115 of the , statements in the right of reply may be accorded by the Chairperson after all speakers inscribed for that meeting have spoken. To request a right of reply, Committee members should raise nameplates to indicate their intention, and/or contact the Secretariat.

Photo of Melissa Fleming, Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications

With your support, dear Member States, our Department of Global Communications will continue to deliver our duties with compassion and solidarity to protect truth and overcome indifference."

Melissa Fleming, Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications