PRESS BRIEFING ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION

The eleventh session of the Commission on Sustainable Development that concluded today had been a success, Nitin Desai, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, told correspondents at a Headquarters press briefing this afternoon.

PRESS BRIEFING ON UNITED NATIONS FINANCIAL SITUATION

BY UNDER-SECRETARY-GENERAL FOR MANAGEMENT

The United Nations’ aggregate cash balance at the end of 2002 was the highest ever; the level of unpaid contributions had dramatically decreased; and significant progress had been made in reducing debt to Member States, Catherine Bertini, Under-Secretary-General for Management, told correspondents at a Headquarters press briefing this afternoon.

PRESS CONFERENCE BY AUSTRALIA’S PRIME MINISTER

Instead of rehashing old arguments, Member States should recognize the realities in post-conflict Iraq, John Howard, Prime Minister of Australia, told correspondents at a Headquarters press conference this morning.

PRESS BRIEFING BY SECURITY COUNCIL PRESIDENT

Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Munir Akram told correspondents at a Headquarters press briefing that the Security Council had passed through a difficult path and, as President of that body for the month of May, he hoped to serve in rebuilding consensus and reconciliation.

PRESS BRIEFING BY SPECIAL ENVOY FOR HIV/AIDS IN AFRICA

If there was ever a time to turn the HIV/AIDS pandemic around in Kenya, that time was now, Stephen Lewis, Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for HIV/AIDS in Africa, told correspondents at a Headquarters press briefing this afternoon.

PRESS BRIEFING ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION

The high-level segment of the Commission on Sustainable Development’s current session had been “very successful” and had shown that the spirit of the Johannesburg Summit on sustainable development had carried through, correspondents were told at a Headquarters press briefing this afternoon. 

PRESS BRIEFING ON LAUNCH OF HUMAN SECURITY REPORT

The report of the independent Commission on Human Security –- co-chaired by Sadako Ogata, former United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and Amartya Sen, Nobel Laureate in economic science, was launched at a press briefing at United Nations Headquarters this afternoon.  A copy of the report was earlier presented to Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

PRESS BRIEFING ON ORGANIZATIONAL INTEGRITY INITIATIVE

To match its efforts at the forefront of the battle against fraud and corruption around the world, the United Nations was undertaking an initiative to mainstream ethics and integrity within the Organization, correspondents were told at a Headquarters press briefing today. 

PRESS BRIEFING BY NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Representatives of four non-governmental organizations addressed the issue of whether the United Nations was still relevant, and whether multilateralism and sustainable development could survive in a “one super-power world”, at a Headquarters press conference this afternoon, sponsored by the Department of Economic and Social Affairs.

PRESS BRIEFING BY UNESCO DIRECTOR-GENERAL

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) was negotiating with the occupying power in Iraq to send an assessment mission to Baghdad and possibly other important cultural sites during early May to obtain a clearer idea of what cultural artefacts had been taken, UNESCO’s Director-General said this morning at a Headquarters press briefing.