PRESS BRIEFING BY THE UNITED NATIONS INFORMATION SERVICE
31 January 2023
Announcements
Sarah Bel, for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), informed that on 6 February at 2:30 p.m., there would be a hybrid press conference to launch new UNDP report on violent extremism in Sub-Saharan Africa and Arab States - Journey to and from Extremism: Pathways to Recruitment and Disengagement. Speakers would be Achim Steiner, UNDP Administrator, and Nirina Kiplagat, main author and Regional Peacebuilding Advisor. The report, the most extensive research on this topic, with some 2,200 interviewees, would be under embargo until 7 February at 6 a.m.. One-on-one interviews with the authors could be organized. Ms. Bel explained that the reported focused on eight countries: Niger, Nigeria, Mali, Somalia, Sudan, Chad, Burkina Faso, and Cameroon, in which most incidents of violent extremism were taking place. The report concluded with policy recommendations for countries under threat. A key message was that the money going into prevention was a tiny fraction of overall sums spent to tackle the phenomenon.
Alessandra Vellucci, speaking on behalf of the Human Rights Council (HRC), said that the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) was currently reviewing the report of Japan, which was being webcast live. UPR would then review the report of Sri Lanka on 1 February.
Ms. Vellucci, for the United Nations Information Service (UNIS), stated that the Committee on the Rights of the Child would have a meeting with States Parties on 2 February at 3 p.m.. The Committee would then close its session the following day, 3 February, after at 5 p.m..
The Conference on Disarmament was holding this morning a public plenary meeting, still under the presidency of Egypt.
Ms. Vellucci reminded that 1 February would mark the second anniversary of the coup in Myanmar. On that occasion, the statement by the Spokesman of the Secretary-General had been shared with the media. UN Special Rapporteur for Myanmar Thomas Andrews would hold a press conference today at 8 pm Geneva time, which could be followed at webtv.un.org.
Finally, Ms. Vellucci informed about the Education Cannot Wait (ECW) High-Level Financing Conference event in Geneva on 16-17 February, which would be hosted by ECW and Switzerland and co-convened with Colombia, Germany, Niger, Norway, and South Sudan. A curtain-raised press conference was foreseen at the Palais des Nations. More information is available here.
Responding to questions, Tarik Jašarević, for the World Health Organization (WHO), said that the IHR Emergency Committee had advised the Director-General that COVID-19 still represented an emergency of international concern. The Director-General had concurred with this recommendation and urged countries to continue with a measured approach to address the pandemic. Numbers around the world had been on the rise again, stressed Mr. Jašarević.
Ms. Vellucci shared the sad news of the untimely passing of a dear UN Geneva colleague, Olga Cheremisina, at the age of 38. Ms. Cheremisina had worked at UNIS for several months and would be fondly remembered by all.
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Press Conferences | OCHA , UNHCR
Rolando Gómez, Chief of the Press and External Relations Section at the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired a hybrid briefing, which was attended by the spokespersons of the United Nations Refugee Agency and the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
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Press Conferences | WHO , ILO
Rolando Gómez, Chief of the Press and External Relations Section at the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired a hybrid briefing, which was attended by the spokespersons and representatives of the World Health Organization and the International Labour Organization.
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Press Conferences | UNODA
Preparatory Committee for the 2026 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT): second session
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Press Conferences | FAO , WFP
Media launch of the 2024 State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World Report (SOFI)
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Press Conferences | UNHCR , OHCHR , UNICEF , WHO
Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired a hybrid briefing, which was attended by spokespersons and representatives of the World Health Organization, the United Nations Human Rights, the United Nations Refugee Agency, and the United Nations Children’s Fund.
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Press Conferences | WHO , WMO , ILO
Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service (UNIS) in Geneva, chaired the hybrid briefing, which was attended by spokespersons and representatives from the World Health Organization, the World Meteorological Organization, and the International Labour Organization.
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Press Conferences | UNCTAD
Publication of the Digital Economy Report 2024: Shaping an environmentally sustainable and inclusive digital future
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Press Conferences | OHCHR , WHO , OCHA , UNHCR , WFP
Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chairs a hybrid briefing, attended by spokespersons and representatives of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the United Nations Human Rights Office (OHCHR).
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Press Conferences | FAO , IFRC , OCHA , WHO
Rolando Gómez of the United Nations Information Service (UNIS) in Geneva, chaired the hybrid briefing, attended by spokespersons and representatives of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the World Meteorological Organization, the Food and Agricultural Organization and the World Health Organization.
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Press Conferences | IOM , mcc , UNHCR
UNHCR IOM MCC Report on risks faced by refugees and migrants on the Central Mediterranean route - "On this journey, nobody cares if you live or die"
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Press Conferences | HRC , IOM , ITU , UNCTAD , UNHCR , UNICEF , UNRWA , WHO , WMO , OCHA
Alessandra Vellucci of the United Nations Information Service (UNIS) in Geneva, chaired the hybrid briefing, attended by spokespersons and representatives of the United Nations Children’s Fund, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the International Organization for Migration, the World Meteorological Organization, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, the World Health Organization, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, UN Trade and Development and the International Telecommunication Union.