The UN General Assembly announced on Wednesday 2008 as the International Year of Languages, in an effort to promote unity in diversity and international understanding.

Acting without a vote, the 192-member assembly adopted a resolution by consensus, recognizing that the world body pursues multilingualism as a means of promoting, protecting and preserving diversity of languages and cultures globally.

It emphasized "the paramount importance of the equality of the organization's six official languages" -- Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.

The assembly requested UN chief Ban Ki-moon to ensure that all language services were given equal treatment and were provided with equally favorable working conditions and resources.

The secretary-general was also requested to complete the task of publishing all important older UN documents on the organization's website in all six official languages, on a priority basis.

The assembly also emphasized the importance of making appropriate use of all the official languages in all the activities of the Department of Public Information, with the aim of eliminating the disparity between the use of English and the use of the five other official languages.
 
Editor: Yan