United Nations Meetings Coverage &Press Releases

Latest Noon Briefings

• Tuesday, 31 July 2012
  The UN refugee agency says that, with armed violence raging in Aleppo, thousands of residents are seeking shelter in schools, mosques and public buildings. National associations report about 300 displaced families per day in need of urgent assistance, with growing numbers from Aleppo fleeing to Turkey.
• Friday, 27 July 2012
  The Secretary-General is attending a reception at Buckingham Palace in London before going to the Olympic Games opening ceremony. Earlier, he took part in an event with the British Foreign Secretary, William Hague, to highlight the Olympic Truce.
• Thursday, 26 July 2012
  The Secretary-General wrapped up his visit to South-Eastern Europe in Bosnia and Herzegovina this morning, running a lap around the Olympic Stadium in the capital and telling reporters he hoped to bring the “spirit of Sarajevo” to the London Games. Before departing, he visited the Memorial Centre at Srebrenica. He then left for London, where he will carry the Olympic Torch on the final leg of its journey in the United Kingdom.
• Wednesday, 25 July 2012
  The Secretary-General today began his visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina, where he met with the members of the Presidency, among other top officials, and also addressed the Parliamentary Assembly. Tomorrow, he will visit Srebrenica. Earlier today, he was in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
• Tuesday, 24 July 2012
  On Thursday, at the invitation of the London Olympic Organizing Committee and the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the Secretary-General will carry the Olympic Torch on the final leg of its journey in the United Kingdom, in the presence of the President of the IOC. On Friday, he will attend the opening ceremony.
• Monday, 23 July 2012
  The Secretary-General this morning wrapped up his visit to Montenegro, where he met with the President and other senior officials. He said Montenegro's future is full of promise, and added that the European Union's decision to open accession negotiations illustrates the country's progress in the six years since its independence.
• Wednesday, 18 July 2012
  The Secretary-General met with President Hu Jintao and Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi in Beijing today. He expressed his appreciation for China’s leadership and active participation in the United Nations. They also discussed ways to address global challenges through collective action and multilateralism.
• Tuesday, 17 July 2012
  The Secretary-General arrived in Beijing a few hours ago and he has already taken part in a social media conversation with young people through the UN’s “Weibo” microblogging site with the help of Sina Weibo, China's largest network of that kind.
• Monday, 16 July 2012
  The Secretary-General will leave New York later today for a visit that will take him to China and to South-Eastern Europe. In Beijing, he will take part in a ministerial conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation. In South-Eastern Europe, where he will promote the strong partnership between the United Nations and the countries of the region.
• Friday, 13 July 2012
  The Joint Special Envoy for Syria, Kofi Annan, has issued a statement saying he is shocked and appalled by news coming out of the village of Tremseh, near Hama, of intense fighting, significant casualties, and the confirmed use of heavy weaponry, such as artillery, tanks and helicopters.
• Thursday, 12 July 2012
  The Joint Special Envoy for Syria, Kofi Annan, acknowledged yesterday that efforts to end the violence in Syria have not succeeded so far. He urged all Governments to work together to press the parties and to support the mediation efforts, adding that it is more powerful if the Security Council speaks with one voice.
• Wednesday, 11 July 2012
  The Security Council held closed-door talks on Syria today, with UN-League of Arab States Joint Envoy Kofi Annan briefing via video link from Geneva. The Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Hervé Ladsous was on hand to discuss the work of the United Nations Supervision Mission in Syria (UNSMIS).
• Tuesday, 10 July 2012
  The UN-League of Arab States Joint Special Envoy for Syria, Kofi Annan, concluded a visit to Iran today, and he gave a joint press conference with the Iranian Foreign Minister. He told reporters that he was seeking the support and cooperation of Iran in his efforts to resolve this conflict peacefully, and added that he had received encouragement and cooperation from the Foreign Minister.
• Monday, 9 July 2012
  South Sudan today marked its one year anniversary with a celebration attended by President Salva Kiir and other senior officials from African Governments. On behalf of the Secretary-General, UN Special Representative for South Sudan Hilde F. Johnson said a lot has been achieved since independence, but more needs to be done.
• Friday, 6 July 2012
  The Secretary-General is leaving New York about now to fly to Japan, where he will attend the Tokyo Conference on Afghanistan on Sunday. He will have a range of bilateral meetings on the margins of that Conference and, of course, with Japanese leaders, including Prime Minister Noda and Foreign Minister Gemba.
• Thursday, 5 July 2012
  The Security Council today passed a resolution calling for sanctions against groups in Mali that are linked to Al-Qaida. Resolution 2056 (2012) notes the increased terrorist threat, and calls on Member States to “undertake measures to prevent the proliferation of all arms” in the Sahel region.
• Tuesday, 3 July 2012
  The Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Somalia, Augustine Mahiga, has welcomed an agreement to end the recruitment and use of children in the national armed forces of Somalia. Mr. Mahiga, who signed on behalf of the United Nations, said it is critical for the professionalization of the security forces and will contribute positively to efforts to stabilize Somalia.
• Monday, 2 July 2012
  The swearing-in has taken place of the new Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, Jan Eliasson. Mr. Eliasson said he was deeply honoured and proud to be serving as Deputy Secretary-General and that he was committed to finding “good solutions” to the many issues that face the United Nations. The Under-Secretary-General for the Department of Political Affairs, Jeffrey Feltman, was also sworn in.
• Friday, 29 June 2012
  The Secretary-General is leaving today to attend tomorrow’s Action Group for Syria meeting in Geneva, and we anticipate there will be a press conference by the Joint Special Envoy Kofi Annan, possibly at around 1 p.m. Geneva time, that is 7 a.m. New York time.
• Thursday, 28 June 2012
  The UN refugee agency and more than 40 other humanitarian aid organizations appealed today for nearly $200 million to help meet the needs of the growing numbers of Syrian refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey and Iraq. In the past three months, humanitarian agencies in neighbouring countries have been registering an average of more than 500 Syrian refugees a day.
• Wednesday, 27 June 2012
  The Joint Special Envoy for Syria, Kofi Annan, announced today that the Action Group for Syria will convene at the ministerial level this Saturday, 30 June, in Geneva. Also, today, Deputy Joint Special Envoy Jean-Marie Guéhenno told the Human Rights Council in Geneva that, at the moment, all sides appear not to believe in the possibility of a political solution.
• Tuesday, 26 June 2012
  The Secretary-General told the General Assembly’s thematic debate on drugs and crime today that drugs and crime threatened one of our most important goals: to ensure sustainable development around the world. We have the Secretary-General’s speech in my Office and online.
• Monday, 25 June 2012
  The Secretary-General presented his latest report on the protection of civilians in armed conflict to the Security Council, in an open meeting this morning. He said that too many people are dying, in too many places. Sometimes they are caught in the crossfire; frequently they are targeted. He detailed attacks on civilians in places ranging from Afghanistan to Somalia.
• Friday, 22 June 2012
  This morning, the Secretary-General met with representatives of the People's Summit in Rio de Janeiro. He said that civil society has helped to promote greater corporate social responsibility, and added that the road doesn't end in Rio, but in many ways starts there.
• Thursday, 21 June 2012
  This morning in Rio de Janeiro, the Secretary-General met with representatives of civil society and then attended a side event on energy, gender and economic growth. And at that event, he noted that women still suffer terrible exclusion in too many parts of the world, with energy poverty taking an especially heavy toll on women.
• Wednesday, 20 June 2012
  The Secretary-General opened the Rio+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro this morning. He said that Rio+20 represents not an end but a beginning. He added that progress on sustainable development since the Earth Summit 20 years ago, also held in Rio, has been too slow and that bold words and good intentions have not been enough.
• Tuesday, 19 June 2012
  Tomorrow is World Refugee Day. And there are nearly 44 million refugees and internally displaced people around the world. The Office of the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, provides assistance to many of them and today's guest is Khaled Hosseini, Goodwill Envoy for the Office. And he is here to brief you on his work with the Refugee Agency in Afghanistan, in particular.
• Monday, 18 June 2012
  The Secretary-General left this morning for the G-20 meeting in Los Cabos, Mexico. This afternoon, he will participate in the first plenary session on “The Global Economy and Framework for Strong, Sustainable, and Balanced Growth”, and he is also expected to hold bilateral meetings with a number of leaders.
• Friday, 15 June 2012
  The Secretary-General will travel on Monday, 18 June, to Los Cabos, Mexico to participate in the G-20 leaders’ meeting, and on Tuesday he will travel to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, for the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, also known as Rio+20.
• Thursday, 14 June 2012
  Seven United Nations Agencies, along with a number of international charities, have signed a statement today that marks the fifth year since the start of the blockade in Gaza. The agencies say that more than 1.6 million people have been under blockade, with more than half of them children. The signatories called for an end to the blockade now.