Press Conferences | UNCTAD
Key messages delivered by Rebeca Grynspan, UNCTAD Secretary-General (UN Conference on Trade and Development) this morning Wednesday 4th of October at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, on the occasion of the publication of the Trade and Development Report 2023.
Key messages delivered by Rebeca Grynspan, UNCTAD Secretary-General (UN Conference on Trade and Development) this morning Wednesday 4th of October at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, on the occasion of the publication of the Trade and Development report 2023.
"There are five messages that we want to emphasize from the Trade and Development report of this year. The first message is that the global economy is slowing down. This, despite the good news of the unexpected soft landing of the U.S. economy this year. But the perspectives of accelerating growth in the coming years are very slim.
The second message is that debt is a problem and that a lot of the developing countries are in a debt and development crisis. And debt has to be part of the discussion at the international level to be able to find the right solutions for restructuring debt in many developing countries, including middle income countries.
The third message is that investment is weak and credit is going down. So, the question of where the new sources of growth will come from has to be addressed.
And the fourth message is that we are worried about the market concentration, lack of competition in financialization of trade in very important markets, meaning energy, food, pharmaceuticals and digital are some examples.
So, the important thing is what are the policy recommendations?
On the one hand, we think that we need the policy mix, we have been calling for this. We think that interest rates should not be the only instrument use. And we have called for a revision of the inflation target of 2%, that could mean a collateral damage if not revised, especially for the developing countries, but also for the long term financial stability in the developed world.
The second recommendation is the reform of the international financial system. It would be the instruments to face the liquidity problems, the investment scale that is needed from the multilateral development banks, and, as I said before, a permanent mechanism to deal with the debt problem in the developing countries."
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Press Conferences | OCHA , UNICEF , UNOG , WFP , FAO , WHO , UNEP , ILO , WMO
UN Geneva press briefing chaired by Rolando Gómez, Chief, Press and External Relations Section, UN Information Service, with the participation of representatives of OCHA, UNICEF, WFP, FAO, WHO, UNEP, ILO and WMO.
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Press Conferences | UN WOMEN , UNDP , UNEP , UNICEF , WHO
UN WOMEN: Ukraine war deadlier for women and girls; UNICEF: West Bank and East Jerusalem, children targeted in direct violence and dismantling of systems and services; WHO: Gaza, update on medical rehabilitation needs; UNDP: South Sudan: fragility, elections, local peacebuilding, justice access and community resilience; UNEP: Sand and Sustainability report.
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Press Conferences | UNEP
Launch of the United Nations Environment Programme’s report: ‘2026 Sand and Sustainability: An Essential Resource for Nature and Development’.
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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
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Press Conferences | ILO , UNHCR , IFRC , WHO , OHCHR , UNECE
ILO: Skills and Lifelong Learning report; UNHCR, IFRC: Lebanon, rise in humanitarian needs ; WHO: Cruise Ship Hantavirus; OHCHR: Mali, Civilians Impacted Amid Clashes; UNECE: Call for Water Cooperation in Central Africa; IFRC: Call for Protection of Humanitarian Personnel on the Anniversary of the IFRC founding
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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."
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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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.
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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.