Media outlets can request permanent or temporary press accreditation for their correspondents to cover the range of activities taking place at the United Nations Office at Geneva, from meetings of the Human Rights Council and peace talks to other major conferences and events.
Accredited correspondents participate in bi-weekly press briefings chaired by the UN Geneva spokesperson and attended by the spokespeople of UN specialized agencies and programmes based in Geneva. Correspondents also have access to scheduled press conferences, stakeouts and background briefings on an almost daily basis.
The UN Information Service regularly issues press releases and the meeting summaries of major meetings happening in Geneva, including the sessions of the Human Rights Council, the human rights committees, and the Conference on Disarmament.
Facilities for the media include free or rented workspaces and access to radio and television studios and services, upon availability.
The Special Rapporteur on torture will talk about his annual report to the Human Rights Council, in which he explores the international legal framework and standards protecting children deprived of their liberty from being subjected to torture or other ill-treatment and from experiencing developmentally harmful and torturous conditions of confinement; specific statutes and standards applying to prevent torture and ill-treatment of children deprived of liberty; and shortcomings in the practical implementation of legal standards. The Special Rapporteur will also make reference to his country reports on Mexico and Gambia, as well as to his follow-up reports on Tunisia and Tajikistan. Mr. Juan E. Méndez, Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
New operational WHO/WFP Partnership to get to zero Ebola cases Extensive field deployment of technical teams with expertise in epidemiology, case investigation, contact tracing and infection prevention and control is vital to stopping the current West Africa Ebola virus disease outbreak completely. To capacitate and ensure maximum functionality of WHO’s technical teams in all districts, counties and prefectures across the three affected countries, WHO and WFP are launching an innovative, first time partnership to establish a joint operational platform. The joint platform will provide all necessary logistic and operations support to these technical teams in the field, each of which is essential to bring cases in these countries to zero and to establish an alert and response infrastructure for future crises. Bruce Aylward, Special Representative of the Director-General for the Ebola Response and Assistant Director-General, Emergencies, World Health Organization Cesar Arroyo, Regional Coordinator for WFP Common Logistic Service
The Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief will talk about his annual report to the Human Rights Council on preventing violence committed in the name of religion: “It would be wrong to focus on religion in isolation when analysing the problem, it would be equally simplistic to reduce religious motives to mere ‘excuses’ for violent crimes perpetrated in their name.” The expert will also refer to his reports on his 2014 missions to Kazakhstan and Viet Nam. Mr. Heiner Bielefeldt, Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief.
At the World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (14-18 March), the international community is set to adopt a new framework that will guide global efforts to rein in disaster mortality and economic losses over the coming decade. The World Conference in Sendai, Japan, is the first since 2005, when countries adopted the Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA), an all-encompassing, 10-year programme. In addition to giving details of what will be on the table in Sendai, the press briefing will give details of the impact of the HFA and provide disaster data for the past decade. Ms. Margareta Wahlström, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction
Presentation of the annual statistics and trends on women in parliament and a review of progress over 20 years since Beijing Platform for Action Kareen Jabre, Director, IPU Programmes Division
New WHO guidelines on the intake of sugars On 4 March at 3 p.m., WHO will publish new guidelines on the intake of sugars among adults and children. Worldwide intake of free sugars varies by age, setting and country. The speaker will brief media on the new recommendations which are based on analysis of the latest scientific evidence. The guidelines will provide countries with recommendations on limiting the consumption of sugars to reduce public health problems like obesity and dental caries (commonly referred to as tooth decay). Dr Francesco Branca, Director, Department of Nutrition for Health and Development, WHO
International Women's Day - Launch of "Motherhood Pay Gap" Report - Beijing plus 20: what has been achieved so far? The report and related material are under embargo until Thursday, 5 March, 23.00 GMT - Shauna Olney, Chief, Gender, Equality and Diversity Branch, ILO - Kristen Sobeck, ILO Economist, Wage Officer
Press stakeout with EU High Representative Federica Mogherini
Press stakeout with Ms Federica Mogherini, European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the Commission, who will address the Human Rights Council for the first time in her new capacity.
