The United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon expressed deep regret over the inability of Lebanon’s leaders to reach agreement on the formation of a new Government that is urgently needed to address the country’s numerous challenges.
The United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon expressed deep regret over the inability of Lebanon’s leaders to reach agreement on the formation of a new Government that is urgently needed to address the country’s numerous challenges.
On Friday, 25 June, the United Nations Department of Global Communications Civil Society Association Committee selected nine civil society organizations for formal association with the Department.
The Ministerial Forums for the High-Level Dialogue on Energy ended today, with commitments announced by India’s major power supplier, NTPC; Power Africa pledging to the electrification of more health centres; and Student Energy aiming to mobilize $150 million to train 35,000 young energy leaders in 100 countries.
The United Nations learned with deep sadness that Edward Mortimer, Head Speechwriter and Director of Communications for Secretary-General Kofi Annan, died at the weekend. During a tumultuous period in world affairs, Mr. Mortimer made an imprint on many of the Secretary-General’s signature achievements and initiatives.
The onset of winter — compounded by the devastating effects of the coronavirus — poses a direct threat to the health and livelihoods of Venezuelan refugees and migrants, nearly 2 million of whom have settled in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay, the United Nations refugee agency warned today.
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is working to restore normalcy following the eruption of La Soufrière volcano in April, with efforts shifting from providing aid to recovering better and boosting preparedness for the hurricane season, which starts next week. Of the 23,000 displaced people, more than 4,000 are in shelters; 18,000 are in private homes.
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the eruption of Mount Nyiragongo near Gomas has caused 13 deaths and destroyed the homes of 5,000 people, humanitarian colleagues report. The United Nations is assisting with water, shelter, health and family reunification, and peacekeepers are set to clear the main roads into Goma.
The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres:
Five years after the 2017 influx into Bangladesh of Rohingya refugees, food security in Cox’s Bazar remains a top priority, the World Food Programme (WFP) reports. A joint response plan calls for $943 million to help the refugees and their host communities; 25 per cent of the funds will go to fight hunger and malnutrition.
The Committee on Information, which oversees the work of the Department of Global Communications, concluded its annual session today with the adoption of its report to the General Assembly, which includes two resolutions for formal adoption by the 193-nation organ.
The Secretary-General welcomed the beginning of consultations between Papua New Guinea and the Autonomous Bougainville government, following a referendum on Bougainville’s political future held in 2019. The consultations mark an “important step” in the implementation of the 2001 Bougainville Peace Agreement.
Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message for World Telecommunication and Information Society Day, observed on 17 May:
The United Nations country team in Myanmar calls for the immediate release of dozens of journalists who are detained more than three months after the military seized control of the Government. To date, military authorities have revoked the operating licenses of six Myanmar media outlets; 82 journalists have been arrested, more than half of them are still detained.
Following is the text of UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ video message for World Press Freedom Day 2021 — “Journalism as a Public Good: 30 Years of the Windhoek Declaration” — observed on 3 May:
Following is the text of UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ video message on “COVID-19 — How Do We Prevent the Pandemic from Becoming a Media Extinction Event?”, in New York today:
The Elsie Initiative, a United Nations Trust Fund that supports deployment of uniformed women to peace operations, announced this morning its first five recipients — Liberia, Mexico, Niger, Senegal and Sierra Leone — during a high-level virtual event. The Fund also launched its second programming round.
Following are UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed’s remarks at the General Assembly high-level thematic debate on digital cooperation and connectivity, today:
The Committee on Information continued its annual session today, as delegates decried the epidemic of disinformation spreading around the world faster than the COVID-19 virus and tasked the United Nations with strengthening multilingual strategic communications to inoculate populations against this harmful trend.
Progress in protecting the world’s forests — and the people who rely on them — is at risk due to the devastating impacts of the coronavirus and the escalating climate and biodiversity crises, according to a new report released today by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs.
The massive spread of misinformation and disinformation and surge of hate speech that has coalesced to undermine global public health during the COVID-19 crisis presents an “immediate test case” for the United Nations Department of Global Communications and its vision of a world thriving in peace, dignity and equality, its chief told the Committee on Information today, as delegates began their annual session.