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 | IOM , OHCHR , UNDP , UNHCR , UNICEF , UNWOMEN
Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by the representatives and spokespersons of the United Nations Development Programme, UN Women, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the International Organization for Migration, and the United Nations Refugee Agency.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | OCHA , OHCHR , UN WOMEN , UNHCR , UNICEF , UNWOMEN , WFP , WHO
Child rape in DRC hits historic levels amid funding crisis; Sudan conflict nears year three.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | ITC
Global trade could shrink by three per cent as a result of the United States’ new tariff measures which in the longer term could reshape and boost as-yet untapped regional commercial links, a top UN economist said on Friday.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | BRS , COPS , UNDP , UNHCR , WMO
Rolando Gómez, Chief of the Press and External Relations Section at the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by the representatives and spokespersons of the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Refugee Agency, the World Meteorological Organization, and the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions Secretariat.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | ICRC , IOM , ITC , OHCHR , UNHCR , UNMAS , WHO
Rolando Gómez, Chief of the Press and External Relations at the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by the spokespersons and representatives of the United Nations Mine Action Service, the International Organization for Migration, the International Trade Centre, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the United Nations Refugee Agency, the World Health Organization, and the International Committee of the Red Cross.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | IFRC , OCHA , UNCTAD , UNFPA , UNHCR , UNICEF , WHO
Alessandra Vellucci of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired the hybrid briefing, attended by spokespersons and representatives of the United Nations Office of the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the World Health Organization, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the United Nations Populations Fund, the United Nations Special Envoy for Syria and the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | OCHA , UNHCR , UNWOMEN , WHO , IFRC
Updates on Gaza, women in Gaza, health crises, and funding cuts for displaced people.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | UNCTAD , UNDP , UNICEF , UNIDIR , WHO
Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by the representatives and spokespersons of the United Nations Children’s Fund, the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Institute on Disarmament Research, UNICEF/Giga, and the World Health Organization.
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | UNAIDS
Amid continuing uncertainty about the impact of deep US funding cuts to humanitarian work worldwide, the head of the UN agency coordinating the fight against HIV-AIDS warned that an addition 6.3 million people will die in the next four years, unless the support is reinstated.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | UNRWA , IFRC , UNICEF , OHCHR , UNHCR , WHO
Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by representatives and spokespersons of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the United Nations Refugee Agency, the World Health Organization, and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
1
1
1
Press Conferences | HRC
Launch of the report by the Group of Independent Experts on the Human Rights Situation in Belarus