TERMS APPROVED

Otago Daily Times, Issue 27081, 16 May 1949, Page 5

TERMS APPROVED

CONVENTION ON FREEDOM OF INFORMATION UNITED NATIONS ASSEMBLY N ZP A—Copyright Rec. 9.10 p.m. NEW YORK, May 14. The terms of the world’s first convention on freedom of information, which the United'Nations General Assembly approved early to-day, provide for right of correction by a provision that if a State feels that news concerning it published abroad is false or distorted, or is capable of injuring its relations with other States, it may send its own version to the country for publication. Publication of the correction is not mandatory, but if the correction is not published by the receiving State the machinery of the United Nations Secretariat’s information channel will be used to give publicity to the correction. , The convention was approved by 33 votes to 6 over the vigorous opposition of the Soviet bloc, which previously had stated that it did not intend to sign the pact when it was submitted 1 finally for the approval of member States late in 1949. The convention aims to protect the freedom of newspaper correspondents and outlaws the peace-time censorship of news except for reasons of “national defence.” A Soviet proposal that an article providing for access to news be dropped and replaced by one calling on States to provide “ generous ” access to news and promote the dissemination of “honest and objective” information was defeated bv 30 votes to 7.