press briefing on Colombia by emergency relief coordinator

Colombia was by far the biggest humanitarian catastrophe of the Western hemisphere, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Jan Egeland, told correspondents at a Headquarters press briefing this afternoon.

press briefing on financing for development

Together with the Swiss-based non-profit organization that organizes the global policy meetings at Davos, the United Nations this morning had formalized a partnership seeking to maximize business contributions to development and the fight against poverty, correspondents were told at a Headquarters press briefing today.

PRESS CONFERENCE BY PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF CÔTE D’IVOIRE

The international commission established to investigate allegations of human rights abuses in Côte d’Ivoire during street protests in March had betrayed the confidence of the Ivorian people and should be held accountable for its actions, that country’s Permanent Representative, Philippe Djangone-Bi, said at a Headquarters press conference this morning.

press conference by Security Council president

The month of May would be a busy one for the Security Council, as it would address several African issues and give considerable attention to Iraq, this month’s Council President, Munir Akram (Pakistan), told correspondents at a Headquarters press conference this afternoon.

Press Briefing by director, electoral assistance division

Elections should not be seen as “silver bullets that cured all ills”, Carina Perelli, Director of the Electoral Assistance Division of the Department of Political Affairs, said at a Headquarters press briefing this afternoon.

Press Briefing by UNDP director of regional bureau for Europe and cis

It was imperative for the European Union to embrace former Soviet countries -- such as the Russian Federation, Belarus and Ukraine -- if it wanted to succeed, Kalman Mizsei, Director of the Regional Bureau for Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), said during a Headquarters press briefing this afternoon.

PRESS CONFERENCE BY MINISTER OF ENVIRONMENT OF FRANCE

International action was an essential part of any environmental policy today because no country could pursue its environmental policy by itself, Serge Lepeltier, Minister for Ecology and Sustainable Development of France, said at a Headquarters press conference today.

 

 

PRESS BRIEFING ON OUTCOMES OF TWELFTH SESSION

 

OF COMMISSION ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

The presence of more than 100 government ministers in this week’s ministerial segment of the Commission on Sustainable Development had enshrined the place of water, sanitation, and human settlements in the international agenda, Commission Chairman Børge Brende (Norway) said at a Headquarters press briefing this afternoon.

press briefing by Under-Secretary-General for communicationS

and public information

Too many news stories were “slipping off the radar screen”, and the Department of Public Information had decided to provide correspondents with an annual list of stories it felt merited more focus, Shashi Tharoor, Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information, said today at a press briefing to launch a new initiative entitled “Ten Stories the World Should Know More About”.

PRESS CONFERENCE ON WATER AND SANITATION ISSUES

 

AT COMMISSION ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

The recently appointed Secretary-General’s Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation, with its pro-privatization bias, did not belong at the United Nations, Gemma Adaba of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) said at a Headquarters press conference this morning.