CM/Res.1234 (L)
RESOLUTION ON THE STATUS OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION IN AFRICA
The Council of Ministers of the Organization of African Unity, meeting in its Fiftieth Ordinary Session in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from 17 to 22 July, 1989,
Having been briefed by the Chairman of the Inter-Governmental Council on Communication in Africa (ICC) and the Chairman of the Conference of African Ministers of Information, on the current status of information and communication in the Continent,
Convinced that the Information and Communication Sectors constitute a corner- stone of the socio-economic development process,
Aware of the efforts that the ICC has made to co-ordinate and mobilize the information and communication activities in Africa,
Desirous of guaranteeing Africa a specific identity in the field of information and providing it with effective means of communication,
Realizing the importance of giving the Information and Communication Sectors renewed attention and priority place to enable it to counter the challenges facing the Continent and counter distortion of information perpetuated by foreign media:
TAKES NOTE of the statement made by the ICC Chairman;
SUPPORTS giving serious attention to promote the information infrastructure in the Continent by making available the necessary resources that will enable African information sectors to effectively participate in the Continent’s development process by giving active support to regional African institutions responsible for information especially PAMA and URTNA;
WELCOMES the idea of establishing a New African Information and Communication Order, as prescribed by the African Ministers of Information, to ensure a balanced flow of information at the national and Inter-African levels;
CALLS for the available use of information and communication facilities to promote a self-reliant growth oriented and national unity in all Member States;
FURTHER CALLS for the formulation of national information policies and for the treatment of information and communication as priorities in the national development plans;
REQUESTS the OAU Secretary-General to convene a joint conference for African Ministers of Information and their telecommunications counterparts with a view to finding solutions to the technical difficulties experienced by African information and to guaranteeing proper and effective co-ordination between the two Ministries;
COMMENDS THE ICC Chairman, the Chairman of the Conference of African Ministers of Information, for his initiative to inform the Council on the status of Information and Communication in the Continent and for explaining the ways and means for the development of the Information and Communication Sector.