Public information

On Friday, 13 May 2022, the United Nations Department of Global Communications Civil Society Association Committee approved 13 civil society organizations for formal association with the Department.

The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) expressed its serious concern about armed clashes on Sunday involving indiscriminate fire and alleged use of heavy weapons in the Janzour area, a densely populated neighbourhood of Tripoli.  The current mobilization of forces by different armed groups creates tensions and increases the risk of clashes.

The United Nations Committee on Information — concluding its forty-fourth session today under the shadow of the tragic killing of yet another journalist in the line of duty — approved two resolutions detailing Member States’ priorities for the Department of Global Communications, from fighting misinformation to helping States protect the fundamental rights to expression and opinion.

Protais Mpiranya, the last of the major fugitives indicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), is confirmed to have died.  Alleged to have been a senior leader of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, Mr. Mpiranya was charged with eight counts of genocide and crimes against humanity, as well as the murders of 10 Belgian United Nations peacekeepers.

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

Jayathma Wickramanayake, the Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth, and The Body Shop, launched a campaign today that seeks to get young voices into the halls of power.  The campaign, “Be Seen, Be Heard”, seeks to create long-term structural changes that will make decision-making more inclusive of young people and ensure their participation in political life.

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres:

Following is the text of UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ video message to the General Assembly virtual event in observance of World Press Freedom Day:  “Journalism under Digital Siege”, in New York today:

Denouncing the epidemic of misinformation and disinformation proliferating during the coronavirus pandemic, the climate crisis and the rising geopolitical tensions, delegates welcomed today an initiative by the Department of Global Communications to draft a code of conduct to promote integrity in public information while urging it to mainstream multilingualism into its activities.

In Haiti, clashes resumed between gangs in Port-au-Prince, forcing hundreds of people to flee their homes, according to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.  In the commune of Croix-des-Bouquets, violence has displaced more than 1,200 people.  Dozens of houses were burned and a hospital in Marin was looted.