Universal Periodic Reviews
Alessandra Vellucci, on behalf of the Human Rights Council, said that the Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review Working Group had begun its 36th session yesterday in the Assembly Hall. Under the circumstances, and given the latest COVID-19 measures, most speakers were participating via video message. Today, the Working Group was reviewing the human rights situations in Malawi and Panama. Further details about the session could be found in the background press release sent last week and as well as in media advisories.
Election of the new President of IPU
Thomas Fitzsimons, for the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), said Mr. Duarte Pacheco, a Portuguese Parliamentarian, had been elected as the 30th President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union. Mr. Pacheco had been a Member of Parliament in Portugal since 1991. He had held different functions in Parliament, including as a Member of the Budget and Finance Committee and the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Portuguese Communities. Mr. Pacheco had been elected with a majority of 56% of the vote in a first round of voting. Mr. Pacheco beat off three other candidates from Canada, Pakistan and Uzbekistan. The election had been a 100 per cent global online ballot in a unique example of digital democracy and of politics catching up with technology. The election had taken place during an extraordinary virtual session of the IPU’s Governing Council, its main decision-making body made up of parliamentarians from around the world.
Ivorians flee to neighbouring countries fearing post-electoral violence
Boris Cheshirkov, for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said UNHCR was concerned as electoral tension and unrest in Côte d'Ivoire had caused several thousand people to flee to neighboring countries as refugees. Violent clashes had erupted after the presidential election that was held on 31 October leaving at least a dozen dead and many more injured, according to the latest reports. As of 2 November, more than 3,200 Ivorian refugees had arrived in Liberia, Ghana and Togo. Most of the arrivals were women and children from Côte d’Ivoire’s west and southwest regions. The newly arrived included former Ivorian refugees who had recently repatriated and had been forced to flee once again. Many reported fears of getting caught-up in the escalating violence. UNHCR was deploying additional staff to boost its aid response and monitoring activities.
A briefing note is available here.
Responding to questions, Mr. Cheshirkov said most people crossing the borders were women and children. In Liberia and Ghana, most people arriving were children. UNHCR was boosting capacity and deploying additional staff to better understand what had led these people to flee. Arrivals were accelerating, and UNHCR was collaborating with the Governments of Ghana, Liberia and Togo to roll out contingency plans. UNHCR was calling on Ivorian political and opinion leaders to refrain from inciting violence, resorting to hate speech, and to resolve any disputes peacefully and through dialogue
Responding to a journalist’s question, Alessandra Vellucci, for United Nations Information Service, said the Secretary-General had strongly encouraged political leaders and their parties to resolve any disputes that may arise through dialogue. He had reiterated the commitment of the United Nations to support the country’s efforts to consolidate democratic gains and national cohesion.
Geneva announcements
Alessandra Vellucci, for United Nations Information Service, said that on Wednesday, 11 November at 2.30 p.m. the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development would hold a press conference on the publication of the Review of Maritime Transport 2020. The press conference would be embargoed until Thursday, 12 November at 6 p.m. GMT. The speakers would be Shamika Sirimanne, Director of Division on Technology and Logistics; and Jan Hoffmann, Chief of the Trade Logistics Branch of the Division on Technology and Logistic.
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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.
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Press Conferences | HRC , UNHCR , UNRWA , WHO
Daniel Johnson, Public Information Officer, United Nations Information Service (UNIS) in Geneva, chaired a hybrid briefing, which was attended by spokespersons and representatives from the United Nations Human Rights Council, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the World Health Organization, United Nations Trade and Development (UNCTAD), and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
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Press Conferences | UNECE
The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) press conference on regulating autonomous vehicles: international developments
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Press Conferences | HRC
Human Rights Council thematic report on drug use, harm reduction and the right to health
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Press Conferences , Edited News | UNRWA
Every day in Gaza 10 children lose one or both legs, says top UN aid official There’s been no let-up in the terrible human cost of the war in Gaza where 10 children lose one or both legs every day, amid ongoing Israeli bombardment and renewed fears of famine, a top UN aid official said on Tuesday.
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Press Conferences | HRC , ITC , OCHA , OSE , UNECE , UNHCR , 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 Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the United Nations Refugee Agency, the World Health Organization, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, the International Trade Centre, and the Human Rights Council.