A/RES/59/126 A-B Recognizing that developments in the information and communication technology revolution open vast new opportunities for economic growth and social development and can play an important role in the eradication of poverty in developing countries, and, at the same time, emphasizing that the revolution also poses challenges and risks and could lead to the further widening of disparities between and within countries, Recalling its resolution 56/262 of 15 February 2002 on multilingualism, and emphasizing the importance of making appropriate use of the official languages of the United Nations in the activities of the Department of Public Information, aiming to eliminate the disparity between the use of English and the five other official languages, Welcoming Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname and Switzerland to membership in the Committee on Information, I Introduction 1. Reaffirms its resolution 13 (I), in which it established the Department of Public Information, and all other relevant General Assembly resolutions related to the activities of the Department; Calls upon the Secretary-General, in respect of the public information 2. policies and activities of the United Nations, to continue to implement fully the recommendations contained in paragraph 2 of General Assembly resolution 48/44 B of 10 December 1993 and other mandates as established by the Assembly; Notes that the medium-term plan for the period 2002–2005 6 continues to 3. serve as a guideline that sets out the overall orientation of the public information programme for the Organization’s goals through effective communication, and recalls its resolution 58/269 of 23 December 2003, entitled “Strengthening of the United Nations: an agenda for further change”, in which it requested the SecretaryGeneral to prepare, on a trial basis, for submission to the General Assembly at its fifty-ninth session, a strategic framework to replace the current four-year mediumterm plan; Reaffirms that the United Nations remains the indispensable foundation 4. of a peaceful and just world and that its voice must be heard in a clear and effective manner, and emphasizes the essential role of the Department of Public Information in this context; Stresses the importance of clear and timely provision of information by 5. the Secretariat to Member States, upon their request, within the framework of existing mandates and procedures, and encourages the Department of Public Information to continue to do so; Reaffirms the central role of the Committee on Information in United 6. Nations public information policies and activities, including the restructuring process of the Department of Public Information, and the prioritization of its activities, and welcomes the continued constructive interaction between the Department and the members of the Committee; _______________ 6 Official Records of the General Assembly, Fifty-seventh Session, Supplement No. 6 and corrigendum (A/57/6/Rev.1 and Corr.1). 4