The General Assembly,
 
      Having considered the report of the Secretary-General, as well as the
report prepared by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization on the sixth Inter-Agency Round Table on Communication for
Development, held at Harare from 2 to 5 September 1996, and the report of the
Joint Inspection Unit entitled "Communication for development programmes in
the United Nations system" and the comments of the Administrative Committee on
Coordination thereon,
 
      1.    Recalls its resolution 50/130 of 20 December 1995;
 
      2.    Considers that informal round tables, such as the sixth
Inter-Agency Round Table on Communication for Development, organized at Harare
by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, can
constitute a notable mechanism of inter-agency cooperation and coordination
for promoting and advancing communication for development, owing, inter alia,
to their openness to partners outside the United Nations system and the
outreach of their outcomes;
 
      3.    Recognizes the importance of addressing the issue of communication
for development within the intergovernmental processes of the United Nations
system, according to the respective mandates of the agencies concerned;
 
      4.    Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General, and invites the
agencies, organizations, funds and programmes of the United Nations system to
take the recommendations contained in the report into consideration when
planning and implementing relevant projects and programmes, with the
cooperation of the resident coordinator;
 
      5.    Recognizes the relevance for concerned actors in development at
the country level, including policy makers and decision makers at all levels,
to attribute increased importance to communication for development, and
encourages them to include it, in an appropriate manner, as an integral
component in the development of projects and programmes;
 
      6.    Stresses the need to support two-way communication systems that
enable dialogue and that allow communities to speak out, express their
aspirations and concerns and participate in the decisions that relate to their
development;
 
      7.    Acknowledges the interest in holding the next informal round table
in the Latin American and Caribbean region, to build upon the meetings held in
Asia and Africa, and invites interested States to cooperate with the relevant
agencies, organizations, funds and programmes of the United Nations system in
the convening of these informal round tables on communication for development,
with the participation of the international financial institutions and the
regional banks, at the country level;
 
      8.    Reaffirms the importance of resource mobilization, including
financial cooperation, the transfer of technology and capacity-building for
communication in development programmes and projects, and calls upon the
international community and organizations of the United Nations system to
assist developing countries in introducing technologies and innovative methods
for enhancing communication for development;
 
      9.    Requests the Secretary-General, in consultation with the Director-
General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization, in accordance with the agency's mandate, to inform the General
Assembly officially, at its fifty-third session, under an appropriate agenda
item, on the implementation of the present resolution, in accordance with the
periodicity that was agreed upon in Assembly resolution 50/130.