Public information

Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message for World Telecommunication and Information Society Day, observed on 17 May:

In Myanmar, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights called today on that country’s military to stop all attacks on civilians and civilian objects. He said the unremitting violence inflicted on civilians underscores the need for the parties to commit to a genuine and permanent nationwide halt to hostilities.

"In the digital age, access to information has expanded, but the threat of disinformation and hate speech has become more precise." This was the clear conclusion of the Israeli delegation on the second day of the general debate of the Committee on Information, which is holding its forty-seventh session until 9 May.

At a time when it is engaged, with the UN80 Initiative, in a transformation aimed at making it more effective, the United Nations must more than ever demonstrate its relevance, an effort to which the Department of Global Communications is contributing by shaping a healthy “information ecosystem”, said Melissa Fleming, Under-Secretary-General for the Department, as she opened the forty-seventh session of the Committee on Information today.

Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message for World Press Freedom Day, observed on 3 May:

In Ecuador, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs’ UN Disaster Assessment and Coordination team reports at least 150,000 people have been impacted by the massive oil spill in Esmeraldas in March and need humanitarian assistance.

The United Nations Pavilion at Expo 2025 in Osaka, Kansai, Japan, officially opened its doors to the public today under the theme “United for a Better Future”.

Staff of the United Nations Pavilion at Expo 2025 in Osaka, Kansai, Japan, will begin welcoming visitors on 13 April dressed in uniforms provided by UNIQLO, a brand under Fast Retailing Co., Ltd., the multinational retail holding company based in Japan.

The United Nations and the Swedish School of Textiles are pioneering a groundbreaking collaboration to redefine the future of sustainable fashion. The School, part of the University of Borås, has become the first higher education institution to design and develop a new collection of Tour Guide uniforms for the UN Headquarters in New York.

In Gaza, the World Health Organization (WHO) warns that public health risks remain very high, including for communicable diseases, due to the overcrowding and poor sanitation. As of the end of February, 24 out of 32 environmental samples collected tested positive for vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2.