World Federalist Movement
May 19, 2003
Dear Secretary General Kofi Annan,
I am writing to request that you renew your support for the provision of universal access to the UN's Official Documents System (ODS. Formerly known as the Optical Disk System) in the United Nations' 2004 budget. The ODS database contains all UN documents in the six official UN languages and its availability on the Internet would greatly facilitate timely contributions from NGOs throughout the world.
It is our understanding that the software for universal access to the ODS has been created and all that is needed now is hardware, such as server computers. Reportedly, a line item in the UN's 2003 budget for $1.5 million for making the ODS available through the Internet was deleted at the last minute during negotiations in December 2002.
As the UN reforms and improves its methods of meetings and consultations, including limiting the number of large meetings at the UN, it will become even more essential for NGOs to have access to the UN's documents in order to be able to continue participating in UN and conference follow-up processes. The UN's cost of providing the ODS service would be considerably less than the cost of printing the documents and distributing them worldwide.
For several years, NGOs have been requesting access to the ODS as a major way to improve our ability to contribute to the UN's work. ODS access will be especially valuable in our efforts to involve civil society organizations from developing countries and others located far from the UN headquarters. With increasing use of information technology worldwide, it is time for the UN to provide its documents on the Internet. The World Federalist Movement is willing to work cooperatively with the UN and governments to get this done.
Thank you for your time and consideration of this issue.
Sincerely,
William R. Pace
Executive Director
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