The Independent Expert on the promotion of a Democratic and Equitable International Order, Alfred de Zayas, will give details of his first official visit to Latin America from 27 November to 8 December during which he visited Venezuela and Ecuador. The Expert gathered information about regional cooperation on trade, good governance, social protection and human rights.
Mr. Alfred de Zayas – UN Independent Expert on the promotion of a Democratic and Equitable International Order

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OHCHR

Presentation of the World Economic Situation and Prospects 2018 published by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, the UN Regional Commissions and UNCTAD (under embargo until 11 a.m. EST, 5 p.m. CET)
Richard Kozul-Wright , Director, Division on Globalization and Development Strategies, UNCTAD José Palacin, Senior Economic Affairs Officer, Office of the Executive Secretary, UNECE

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UNCTAD

Ambassador Amandeep Gill, Permanent Representative of India to the Conference on Disarmament, Chair of the 2017 BWC Meeting of States Parties

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UNODA

Advance Media Release of the 2017 Global E-Waste Monitor

E-waste is the fastest growing part of the world’s domestic waste stream.
This will be a Press Conference to provide UN Geneva accredited media with an advanced embargoed release of the definitive global assessment of the state of e-waste (e.g. electronic waste, which includes which includes discarded products with a battery or plug including mobile phones, laptops, televisions, refrigerators and electrical toys.)
This assessment shows that e-waste has grown 8% in two years with just 20% recycled. As the world becomes more digitally dependent, e-waste is expected to increase significantly. Experts foresee a further 17% increase — to 52.2 million metric tonnes of e-waste by 2021. The assessment shows that an increasing number of countries are now developing and implementing e-waste management policies. The assessment also notes that “the conservatively estimated value of recoverable materials in last year’s e-waste was US $55 billion, which is more than the 2016 Gross Domestic Product of most countries in the world.” This Press Conference will be an opportunity to gather the topline annual trend info and current data on e-waste. being implemented by countries, and to ask one of ITU’s top experts any questions you may have on the data, relevance of the trend info, impacts on SDGs, economic/social impacts of the results, state of the information and communication technology sector, etc. The 2017 Global E-Waste Monitor is a collaborative effort of the United Nations University (UNU), represented through its Sustainable Cycles (SCYCLE) Programme hosted by UNU's Vice-Rectorate in Europe, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), and the International Solid Waste Association (ISWA). The report itself will be officially publically released at 10am CET on Wednesday, 13 December 2017. Broadcast quality video b-roll and still images will be made available. Vanessa Gray – ITU E-Waste Technical Expert Jennifer Ferguson-Mitchell – ITU Head of Media Relations

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ITU

NOTE TO CORRESPONDENTS
The Office of the United Nations Special Envoy for Syria informs you that the International Syria Support Group's Humanitarian Access Task Force will convene today, Thursday, 7 December 2017 at 10:00 a.m. at the Palais des Nations in Geneva. The meeting will be followed by a press stakeout in Room III, at around 11:45 a.m., with the Special Envoy for Syria, Mr. Staffan de Mistura and Special Advisor to the UN Special Envoy for Syria, Mr. Jan Egeland, The press stakeout will be webcast live on webtv.un.org. (Please note that the live stream may not be accessible on all mobile devices.)  The Ceasefire Task Force will also meet later in the afternoon. No media opportunities will be available for this exercise.

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UNOG

The current humanitarian situation and challenges in Ukraine
Mr. Neal Walker, United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine

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UNOCHA

Launch of WIPO’s 2017 World Intellectual Property Indicators (WIPI) report
Francis Gurry, WIPO Director General Carsten Fink, Chief Economist, WIPO

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WIPO

Meeting of States Parties to the Biological Weapons Convention - Conference on disarmament
Ambassador Amandeep Gill, Permanent Representative of India to the Conference on Disarmament, Chair of the 2017 BWC Meeting of States Parties Tom Inglesby, Director of the Center for Health Security of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Lalitha Sundaram, Research Associate, Centre for the Study of Existential Risk, University of Cambridge Zabta Khan Shinwari, Secretary-General of the Pakistan Academy of Sciences and Chair of the Biotechnology Department of the Quaid-i-Azam University of Islamabad, 2015 Laureate of the Avicenna Prize for Ethics in Science
Breakfast will be served after the briefing.

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UNOG

UNCTAD/FAO - Publication of the Commodities and Development Report 2017 Embargoed until 11 December at 5 p.m. GMT
Mukhisa Kituyi, UNCTAD Secretary-General James Zhan, Director (Investment and Entreprises) and Supervisor of the Special Unit on Commodities, UNCTAD Ahmad Mukhtar, FAO Representative in Geneva

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UNCTAD

Launch of the Global Humanitarian Overview 2018 to support people affected by disaster and conflict
The press conference at 09:30 am is followed by a high-level panel discussion on “Humanitarian Needs and Response in 2018: A humanitarian dialogue” at 10:45 at the Graduate Institute of Geneva. The event is open to the press.
More info and registration:
http://graduateinstitute.ch/events/_/events/corporate/2017/humanitarian-response -starting-r Mr. Mark Lowcock, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Ms. Helle Thorning-Schmidt, CEO, Save the Children International

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UNOCHA