Public information

A convoy of 109 trucks with food supplies for the World Food Programme and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, originally scheduled for 17 November, was instructed by the Israel Defense Forces to depart at short notice via an unfamiliar route on 16 November from the Kerem Shalom crossing and was looted inside Gaza.

The Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) today approved two draft resolutions relating to the global media landscape as well as United Nations communications, as speakers concluded the debate on this topic while highlighting information wars that are intensifying many current crises.

The Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) continued its general debate on questions relating to information today, with speakers stressing the urgent need for a collective effort to combat the pervasive threat of disinformation, which undermines democracy and international peace, while emphasizing the crucial role of the United Nations in promoting accurate and reliable information across diverse media platforms.

Despite the resource crunch, United Nations communications continue to operate where public interest media are struggling to operate or are prevented from covering the truth, the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) heard as it began its review of questions relating to information.

Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message to the World Internet of Things Convention, in Beijing today:

The following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message to the United Nations International Media Seminar on Peace in the Middle East, in Geneva today:

Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message on the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists, observed on 2 November:

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has appointed William Davis of the United States as Director of the United Nations Information Centre in Washington, D.C.

In Libya, the United Nations Mission there expressed its concern at the recent mobilization of forces in various parts of the country, particularly in the southern and western regions.

At least 53 Palestinian detainees are known to have died in Israeli military facilities and prisons since last October, according to a UN human rights office report published today on arbitrary, prolonged and incommunicado detentions, impacting thousands of Palestinians, including UN staff.