PRESS BRIEFING BY THE UNITED NATIONS INFORMATION SERVICE
16 December 2022
Announcements
Rhéal LeBlanc, for the United Nations Information Service, informed that the 9th Review Conference of the Biological Weapons Convention was continuing today. The meeting was public and being webcast at webtv.un.org. For the moment, there were no media activities scheduled around the conclusion of the Conference, but correspondents would be informed promptly should this change.
He also stated that 18 December would be the International Migrants Day, on which occasion the Secretary-General had issued a message. The Secretary-General said that on this Day, we reflected on the lives of the over 280 million people who had left their country in the universal pursuit of opportunity, dignity, freedom, and a better life. Migrant rights were human rights, and they had to be respected without discrimination – and irrespective of whether their movement was forced, voluntary, or formally authorized.
Responding to a question, Margaret Harris, for the World Health Organization (WHO), said that the IHR Emergency Committee on COVID-19 would be meeting again in mid to late January 2023, prior to 30 January.
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Press Conferences | UNHCR
End of UNHCR's 77th Annual Executive Committee (ExCom) meeting week
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Press Conferences | UNICEF , IOM , UNHCR
UN Special Assistant to the Personal Envoy Office (SUDAN): Peace Initiatives and Efforts in Sudan; UNICEF: Dire situation of children in Gaza; IOM: Damaged Homes and Energy Attacks Risk Displacing Ukrainians for this winter; UNHCR: update on EXCOM week
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Press Conferences | IOM , UNDRR
UN stresses importance of household preparedness for disaster risk reduction.
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Statements , Press Conferences | OHCHR
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Press Conferences | UNHCR , UNICEF , IFRC , OHCHR , UN WOMEN , IOM , OCHA , WHO
UNHCR – ExCom Meeting, UNICEF – Nepal Recovery, IFRC – Flash Floods, WHO – Mental Health, IOM – South Sudan Floods, OCHA – DRC Humanitarian aid, UNHCR – Sahel Displacement, UNICEF – Yemen Update, IOM – Gaza Shelter, UN Women – Gaza Women, OHCHR – Arrests and detentions of Syrians by Israeli force
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Press Conferences | UNCTAD
Presentation of the Trade and Developement Report 2026
Embargoed until 9 October 2026 at 11 a.m. (Geneva Time)
UNCTAD: UNCTAD’s flagship report finds that governments increasingly use industrial, trade, financial and technology policies to pursue economic and national security objectives. Market access and the ability to move into higher-value activities now depend more heavily on technology, finance and geopolitics.
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Press Conferences | UPU
Release of the State of the Postal Sector Report 2026
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Press Conferences | IOM , ITU , UNECE , UNICEF , WHO , WMO
UNICEF: Ebola, DRC - children orphans or separating them from parents and caregivers; IOM: Humanitarian needs in Djibouti amid arrivals from Yemen and increased migrant movements; WHO: Darfur, scale of health needs far exceeds available resources; WMO co-sponsored Global Heat Forum, Bangkok, monthly Global Seasonal Climate Update; UNECE: UN Forum of Mayors; ITU Plenipotentiary Conference 2026; WHO: child and adolescent obesity guidelines and new global roadmap to tackle pregnancy hypertension, a leading cause of maternal mortality
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Press Conferences | OCHA , UN WOMEN , UNHCR , WFP , WHO , WTO , UNEP
OCHA – $160M CERF allocation to 12 underfunded crises; UNHCR – 5.8M refugee children remain out of school amid funding cuts; UN Women – Middle East escalation and food security among women/girls; WHO – Gaza supplies and overall situation; WFP – Yemen food insecurity and impact on global hunger ; UNEP - First International Conference of the Global Framework on Chemicals in Geneva | 16-20 November 2026
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Press Conferences | UNHCR , WHO
Yemen's health system nears collapse amid conflict, causing rising casualties and medicine shortages.
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Press Conferences | HRC
Update by the Expert Mechanism to Advance Racial Justice and Equality in Law Enforcement
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Press Conferences | WIPO , WHO , UNICEF , UNHCR , IOM , WFP , FAO
WIPO Global Innovation Index 2026 launch and press conference, WHO Composition of influenza vaccines for the 2027 Southern Hemisphere flu season, UNICEF Yemen hunger and malnutrition; UNHCR Sudan displacement into Chad; IOM Ebola and population movements in DRC; WFP emergency food assistance in Nepal; and FAO food loss and waste.