MONTERREY PRESS CONFERENCE BY WHO

The Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Gro Harlem Brundtland, said at a Monterrey press conference today that there was no reason not to do what was necessary to deal with urgent humanitarian needs and spur economic growth in poor countries.

Joining Dr. Brundtland were the Minister of Health of Mexico, Julio Frenk, and Special Adviser to the United Nations Secretary-General on Millennium Development Goals, Jeffrey Sachs.

PRESS CONFERENCE IN MONTERREY BY EUROPEAN COMMISSION

The European Union had never before had a common position on official development assistance (ODA), and the organization’s agreement to define the issue was, therefore, timely, Poul Nielson, European Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid, European Commission, said at an afternoon press conference today.

PRESS BRIEFING ON SIERRA LEONE SPECIAL COURT

The Security Council had yesterday given the Secretary-General the green light to proceed with the establishment of the Special Court for Sierra Leone, Ralph Zacklin, Assistant Secretary-General for Legal Affairs, told correspondents at a Headquarters press briefing today.

PRESS BRIEFING BY NGO CAUCUS OF LEAST DEVELOPED COUNTRIES

Members of the NGO Caucus of the Least Developed Countries this afternoon described the Monterrey consensus as a step backwards from all the commitments made over the years to help alleviate poverty in least developed countries.

PRESS CONFERENCE IN MONTERREY BY UN POPULATION FUND

With illiteracy and ill health still the norm for half the world, one sure way of dealing with those problems was investing in women -- that was an investment with guaranteed high returns, said the Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) at a press conference this morning in Monterrey.

MONTERREY PRESS CONFERENCE BY SOROS FUND MANAGEMENT CHAIRMAN, UNDP ADMINISTRATOR

Developed countries should use the special drawing rights (SDR) allocated to them as a novel form of international assistance to developing countries, Soros Fund Management President and Chairman George Soros proposed at a press conference this morning.

PRESS BRIEFING BY UNCTAD

The head of electronic finance (E-Finance) for the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in Geneva briefed journalists in Monterrey today on the just-concluded side event entitled “E-Finance for Development”.   He also drew attention to the draft recommendations addressed to the Conference.

MONTERREY PRESS CONFERENCE BY UN-HABITAT EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, MAYOR OF MONTERREY

Some 1.2 billion people in the world lived without adequate shelter, Anna Kajumulo Tibajuka, Executive Director of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), told correspondents this afternoon.

MONTERREY PRESS CONFERENCE BY EUROPEAN UNION

Poul Nielson, European Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid, European Union (EU), announced an increase in EU official development assistance (ODA) to 0.39 per cent of gross national product (GNP) -- from the current

0.33 level -- which would translate into an extra $7 billion in aid per year from EU member States by 2006.  

PRESS CONFERENCE BY FORMER UNITED STATES PRESIDENT JIMMY CARTER

“I wished I had known then what I know now about the third world”, former United States President Jimmy Carter said today at a press conference in Monterrey, referring to how little Americans understood about how little they gave and how desperately aid was needed.