Media Accreditation and Facilities
Representatives of the mass media – press, photo, radio and television – will need to be accredited for the coverage of the Meeting.
A completed application form, together with a letter of assignment on official letterhead from the Editor or Bureau Chief, a copy of the press card and a copy of the passport, should be sent to:
Pre-accreditation and Accreditation
United Nations Office at Geneva
Information Service
1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland
Fax: +41 (0)22 917 0073 or +41 (0)22 917 0030
Email:cfegli@unog.ch
No acknowledgement will be mailed to you. Journalists wishing to know the status of their accreditation may call or email the UN Office at Geneva.
PLEASE NOTE: application forms will be considered only if accompanied by a letter of assignment. Incomplete applications will not be processed. Accreditation is free of charge.
Correspondents already possessing a valid United Nations grounds pass (United Nations Headquarters or United Nations Office at Geneva) will not need additional accreditation for the Meeting.
Each member of the press accompanying a Head of State, Head of Government or Head of Delegations is also required to complete an application form for accreditation. In these cases, the form must be attached to an official letter from the country concerned and should be addressed to the Chief of the Press and External Relations Section, United Nations Information Service, at the above address. The letter must list the names of the media representatives with their functional titles and affiliation (i.e. news media organization).
All members of the press corps accompanying the Head of State, Head of Government or Head of Delegation must present themselves to the Security and Identity Unit, located “Pregny Gate”, 14 avenue de la Paix, Geneva, where they will be issued a grounds pass upon presentation of a national passport or another valid photo ID.
For security reasons, each member of the press corps will be required to wear the UN press pass.
The Media Accreditation office will be open until 24 April, from 9 a.m. to 12 a.m and from 2 p.m to 6 p.m. On 20 April, the Media Accreditation office will be open from 8 a.m to 6 p.m.
Entry and screening procedures
All media personnel are advised to arrive early to allow sufficient time for screening. Last-minute arrivals may encounter delays.
- Access to U.N. in Geneva:
A U.N. media photo ID will be needed. Only one type of badge will be issued to each media representative (no-NGO/Media or Delegation/Media co-badging).
Accredited journalists arriving before the conference will be able to pick up their passes at the registration tent, which will be open on Saturday and Sunday, April 18 and 19, from 9am to 6pm.
The registration tent will be open Monday – Friday, April 20 -24, from 8 am to 5 pm.
- Access to Meeting Room
Media will have access to all public meetings. The plenary sessions will take place in the Assembly Hall. Media will be in the press gallery on the fifth floor.
Visual media:
Television crews and photographers may cover the proceedings in the Plenary Hall from the press gallery on the fifth floor gallery. Visual media pools may work on the floor at the beginning of the morning and afternoon sessions of the Conference.
Media Centre
The UN will establish a Media Centre for the press corps. It will provide the following services and assistance:
- 8-10 computers
- Audio distribution boxes to record proceedings of the plenary in original language, French and English.
- Journalists must bring their own adapters for XLR and 3.5mm mini jacks.
- Local telephone lines
- Twice daily summaries of the Conference plenary proceedings
- Press releases.
All accredited journalists will have access to U.N. bars, cafeteria and the restaurant which is located on the 8th floor.
Briefings for journalists
Daily briefings for journalists will be held at 1.15pm by the Spokesperson of the Conference.
Press conferences and Interviews
Heads of State, Heads of Government, Heads of Delegation or UN senior Officials will hold press conferences. The location and list of the press conferences will be announced daily.
Interviews can be arranged in advance by calling the Office of the Spokesperson of the Conference.
Audio-Visual Services
Radio studios for interviews and transmissions through ISDN lines may be booked on +41 (0)22 917 1077 or +41 (0)22 9172 566.
Video drops with a PAL signal will be available in the UN studio. Dubs of short sequences of conference material will be available in Pal Betacam SX or SP, DVCAM, IMX or Mini-DV. VHS duplication will not be provided, nor will NTSC in any format.
UN photo coverage will be available on-site from an FTP server and will be available after the conference from a UN FTP site. Photo prints will not be made on site.
Pool coverage
Owing to logistics and space considerations, some visual media coverage will be carried out by selected media pools. As described above, video feeds (PAL only) of UNTV pool coverage will be available in the UNTV studio area. Audio feeds will be available in the Media Centre.
Visual coverage in the Meeting room
Televisions crews and photographers will be escorted on to the conference room floor before the start of the meetings.
There will be a fifteen-minute photo-opportunity for visual media pools on the floor at the beginning of the morning and afternoon main plenary sessions of the conference. During the photo-ops, television cameramen may film on the shoulder only. Sound engineers with microphones will not have access to the photo-opportunities. A small pool of photographers may continue to work on the floor during the sessions. Filming on tripods may be done from the fifth floor gallery. Audio distribution boxes with the original language will be provided.
For information about visual coverage, please call + 41 22 917 4606.
UN photo coverage will be available on-site from a FTP server (*) and will be available after the conference from a UN FTP site. Photo prints will not be made on site.
(*): server: ftp.ohchr.org, login:Durban2009, password: Durban2009
United Nations summaries of the Conference plenary proceedings
The United Nations will provide twice daily summaries of the Conference plenary proceedings in English and in French.
Background material
For information about negotiations and issues, suggestions for interviews and other related assistance, contact the Office of the Spokesperson of the Conference.