PRESS BRIEFING BY THE UNITED NATIONS INFORMATION SERVICE
3 January 2023
Messages
Ms. Vellucci wished happy New Year to all participants and read excerpts of the New Year’s message from the Secretary General: “Ever new year is a moment of rebirth. We sweep out the ashes of the new year… In 2023 we need peace now more than ever… In 2023 let’s put peace at the heart of our words and actions. Together, let’s make 2023 a year when peace is restored to our lives, our homes, and our world.”
Pakistan
Alessandra Vellucci, for the United Nations Information Service (UNIS), said the International Conference on Climate Resilience in Pakistan would take place next Monday January 9 at the Palais des Nations. The Conference would be co-hosted by the Government of Pakistan and the United Nations, and would bring together governments, leaders from the public and private sector, and civil society, to support the people and government of Pakistan after the devastating floods in 2022.
It had two main objectives:
To present the Resilient Recovery, Rehabilitation, and Reconstruction Framework, which laid out a multisectoral strategy for rehabilitation and reconstruction in a climate-resilient and inclusive manner
To secure international support and forge long-term partnerships for building Pakistan’s climate resilience and adaptation.
A curtain raiser briefing with representatives of UNDP and the government of Pakistan would be organised on 5 January at 2:30 pm, with details to be provided soon.
Covid-19
Responding to questions on Covid-19, Tarik Jasarevic, for the World Health Organisation, said the technical advisory group on virus evolution was meeting today. This was a regular meeting of experts who would help WHO assess the risk of evolution of the virus. Chinese colleagues were expected to participate and the meeting would take place around noon, with the advice received to be made public.
ITU New Senior Leadership Team
David Hirsch, for the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), said the new senior leadership team of the ITU took office on 1 January 2023. Doreen Bogdan-Martin became ITU's 12th Secretary-General since it was designated a UN specialized agency in 1947. She was also the first woman to head the organization since its establishment in 1865
Member States elected Bogdan-Martin as Secretary-General in September 2022 at ITU's Plenipotentiary Conference (PP-22) in Bucharest, Romania. She came to the post from ITU's Telecommunication Development Bureau, where she had served as director since 2019.
ITU was unique as it had five elected officials: Secretary-General, Deputy Secretary-General, Director of ITU's Radiocommunication Bureau, Director of ITU's Telecommunication Standardization Bureau, Director of ITU's Telecommunication Development Bureau. All five senior officials were elected to four-year terms. ITU noted and appreciated the interest the press corps had in talking to the new ITU Secretary-General and was working with her office to schedule a date.
Complete information on ITU’s new senior leadership team could be found on the ITU website: www.itu.int. Media inquiries could be found at: pressinfo@itu.int
1
1
1
Press Conferences | UN WOMEN , WFP , WHO
UN Women - The situation of women and girls in Lebanon; WFP - Deteriorating humanitarian conditions in Somalia; WHO - Hantavirus interim update
1
1
1
Press Conferences | ILO , UNHCR , IFRC , WHO , OHCHR , UNECE
ILO - Report on Skills and Lifelong Learning; UNHCR, IFRC - Humanitarian Needs Rise in Lebanon; WHO Cruise Ship Hantavirus; OHCHR - Civilians Impacted Amid Clashes in Mali; UNECE - Call for Water Cooperation in Central Africa; IFRC - Call for Protection of Humanitarian Personnel on the Anniversary of the Founding of IFRC
1
7
1
1
Press Conferences | ITU , UNDRR
Doreen Bogdan-Martin, ITU Secretary-General and the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction and head of the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, Kamal Kishore, will brief the media on the launch a joint report titled "When Digital Systems Fail: The Hidden Risks of our Digital World."
1
1
1
Press Conferences | UNHCR , OHCHR
Rolando Gómez, Chief of the Press and External Relations Section, United Nations Information Service (UNIS) at Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by spokespersons and representatives of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | OHCHR , UNICEF , IFRC
Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service (UNIS) at Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by spokespersons and representatives of the United Nations Children’s Fund, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the International Labour Organization, the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction and the International Federation of the Red Cross.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | UNICEF , WFP , FAO , WHO , IFRC , OHCHR , IOM , WMO
Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by the spokespersons and representatives of UNICEF, WFP, FAO, WHO, IFRC, OHCHR, IOM and WMO.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | UNMAS
UNMAS update on:
- Ridding the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Ukraine of explosive hazards and landmines
- Children and Blast Injuries Report - The devastating impact of explosive weapons on children 2020–2025
- Legacy Contamination in the Solomon Islands
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News
The continued support of UN Member States to Lebanon will be “indispensable” to boost the country’s national armed forces and provide humanitarian assistance with more than one million people still uprooted by the Middle East war, the UN's peacekeeping chief said on Wednesday.
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | UNECE
Middle East war: After oil and gas shortages, concerns grow over critical minerals crunch
The shipping crisis in the Strait of Hormuz caused by war in the Middle East has exposed a new threat: a looming shortage of strategic minerals needed to drive economies all over the world and a race by countries to obtain them.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | UNITED NATIONS
The Co-Chairs of the Global Dialogue on Artificial Intelligence Governance, Egriselda López, Permanent Representative of El Salvador to the UN and Rein Tammsaar, Permanent Representative of Estonia to the UN, together with Amandeep Gill, UN Under-Secretary-General and Special Envoy for Digital and Emerging Technologies, brief the media in Geneva.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | UNECE , IOM , WMO , UNMAS , UNESCO
Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by the Co-Chairs of the Global Dialogue on Artificial Intelligence Governance, the Special Envoy for Digital and Emerging Technologies, the Deputy Director-General of the International Organization for Migration, as well as the spokespersons and representatives of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, the World Meteorological Organization, the United Nations Mine Action Service, the International Organization for Migration, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, and the Geneva International Center for Humanitarian Demining.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | UN WOMEN , UNHCR , UNEP , UNIS
Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by the spokespersons and representatives of UN Women, the United Nations Refugee Agency, and the United Nations Environment Programme.