United Nations Meetings Coverage &Press Releases

Latest Noon Briefings

• Wednesday, 16 December 2009
  With three days remaining at the Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, the Secretary-General is confident that world leaders will be able to agree on a new deal to combat global warming. As part of his efforts to help pave the way, he held meetings today with a wide number of leaders and representatives of groups of nations. He’s met the Group of 77, the African Group, the Least Developed Countries group and the Alliance of Small Island States.
• Tuesday, 15 December 2009
  The Secretary-General has arrived in Copenhagen, and he has been meeting with key officials on climate change while an estimated 130 Heads of State and Government prepare to converge in the Danish capital for the high-level session of the Climate Change Conference.
• Thursday, 10 December 2009
  As negotiations in Copenhagen continue, the Secretary-General is closely following the situation. Delegates continue to work on a set of texts before Ministers arrive in Copenhagen this weekend. The negotiations are focusing on new commitments for developed countries under the Kyoto Protocol and a new long-term cooperative deal under the Climate Change Convention, which will include key issues such as mitigation, adaptation, technology and deforestation.
• Wednesday, 9 December 2009
  In Copenhagen, the UN Climate Change Conference has entered the drafting phase for a final agreement. And according to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, there is a real eagerness among parties to sit down and get the work done as much as possible before Ministers arrive.
• Tuesday, 8 December 2009
  The Secretary-General condemns in the strongest terms the bomb attacks in Baghdad today that have left over 120 people dead and scores more injured. No cause can justify these attacks on civilians. The attacks appear to be aimed at undermining the election process, including the political progress in Iraq.
• Monday, 7 December 2009
  The United Nations Climate Change Conference started today in Copenhagen with what Yvo de Boer, the top UN Climate Change official, called “unprecedented political momentum for a deal”. De Boer called on negotiators to focus on solid and practical proposals that will unleash prompt action on mitigation, adaptation, finance, technology, reducing emissions from deforestation in developing countries and capacity-building.
• Friday, 4 December 2009
  Luis Moreno-Ocampo provided the Security Council with an update on his work dealing with Darfur. He said that all efforts in recent months have encouraged Sudan to respect its responsibilities as a UN Member State and to put an end to crimes and arrest people indicted by the Court. He noted that President Omar al-Bashir, one of the indicted suspects, has been unable to travel to certain States where he may be arrested.
• Thursday, 3 December 2009
  The United Nations, the African Union Mission in Somalia, known as AMISOM, the European Union, the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development, the League of Arab States, Norway and the United States issued a joint statement in Nairobi today. They all condemned in the strongest terms the cowardly suicide bombing carried out which killed Transitional Federal Government officials, students, journalists and other civilians in Mogadishu.
• Wednesday, 2 December 2009
  The Secretary-General welcomes the new United States plan for Afghanistan announced by President Barack Obama yesterday evening.
• Tuesday, 1 December 2009
  Today is World AIDS Day. In a message, the Secretary-General says that more must be done, on an urgent basis, to uphold the commitment to reach universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support by 2010.
• Monday, 30 November 2009
  Secretary-General: "Michèle Montas was my first appointment, as you may recall. I wanted someone I could trust, and someone who believed in the United Nations as much as I do. Someone who embodied the highest standards of personal integrity and journalistic credibility. I found that Michèle Montas has all the qualities one could hope for in a Spokesperson."
• Wednesday, 25 November 2009
  The Secretary-General is travelling tomorrow to Trinidad and Tobago, for this year’s Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. During his three-day trip, the Secretary-General is expected to urge the leaders to attend next month’s Climate Change Summit in Copenhagen and seal a deal.
• Tuesday, 24 November 2009
  The Secretary-General is saddened by the reports of the brutal killing of more than 40 civilians in the Maguindanao Province, southern Philippines. He condemns this heinous crime committed in the context of a local election campaign. The Secretary-General extends heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims and hopes that no effort will be spared to bring justice and to hold the perpetrators accountable.
• Monday, 23 November 2009
  The Spokesperson today introduced her successor, Martin Nesirky of the United Kingdom, saying he comes to the United Nations from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), where is he currently the spokesperson. He has more than 20 years experience as a journalist, in media relations and international affairs.
• Friday, 20 November 2009
  The Secretary-General welcomes the appointment of Mr. Herman van Rompuy as first President of the European Union, and Ms. Catherine Ashton as the European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. The Secretary-General looks forward to working closely with both Mr. van Rompuy and Ms. Ashton in strengthening cooperation between the European Union and the United Nations.
• Thursday, 19 November 2009
  The Secretary-General wishes to congratulate President Hamid Karzai on his inauguration today as the elected President of Afghanistan for a second term.
• Wednesday, 18 November 2009
  The Secretary-General met today with the three commissioners he has appointed to lead the international investigation into human rights violations that occurred on 28 September 2009 in Conakry, Guinea. During the meeting, he recalled that the Commission should work independently in assessing the facts, and make recommendations on accountability measures.
• Tuesday, 17 November 2009
  The Secretary-General, speaking to the press in Rome yesterday, said that he remains positive about Copenhagen. He said: “We have known for a while that we will not have a treaty in Copenhagen. This is not news.” But he added: “We can still reach a significant agreement in Copenhagen that will provide the foundation for a treaty next year.”
• Monday, 16 November 2009
  Our guest at the noon briefing will be Ad Melkert, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Iraq, who will come here once he is done briefing the Security Council about the work of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq.
• Friday, 13 November 2009
  The Security Council today is holding a meeting to receive briefings on the work of three of its committees -- which deal respectively with resolution 1267 (1999), concerning Al-Qaida and the Taliban; resolution 1373 (2001), concerning counter-terrorism; and resolution 1540 (2004), concerning weapons of mass destruction.
• Thursday, 12 November 2009
  The Secretary-General strongly encourages all Heads of State and Government to attend the United Nations Conference on Climate Change in Copenhagen, on 17 and 18 December. He believes it is essential to maintain political momentum at the highest level and from all sectors of society, and is optimistic that an ambitious, fair and effective climate deal can be reached in Copenhagen.
• Wednesday, 11 November 2009
  The Secretary-General this morning spoke at the Security Council’s open meeting on the protection of civilians in armed conflict and reflected on how the issue has risen in prominence on the Council’s agenda. Not so long ago, he said, many Member States questioned whether internal armed conflict posed a threat to international peace and security.
• Tuesday, 10 November 2009
  The Secretary-General is in Washington, D.C., where this morning he was meeting with White House officials dealing with climate change.
• Monday, 9 November 2009
  The Security Council this morning received a briefing in an open meeting from Olusegun Obasanjo, the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the Great Lakes Region.
• Friday, 6 November 2009
  The Secretary-General will brief the Security Council in closed consultations on Afghanistan. He will discuss the security situation and his recent trip to Kabul. This morning, Council members heard a briefing in an open meeting from Karin Landgren, the Secretary-General’s Representative for Nepal.
• Thursday, 5 November 2009
  Effective immediately, the United Nations is taking additional steps to reduce risks to its national and international staff serving in Afghanistan. This is in light of the 28 October attack against UN staff in Kabul, as well as further ongoing threats.
• Wednesday, 4 November 2009
  In Athens, the Secretary-General today warned that conditions in which many migrants move and live remain treacherous. He spelled out three major challenges facing migrants worldwide: first, on the economic front, the global recession; second, climate change; and third, human trafficking.
• Tuesday, 3 November 2009
  The Secretary-General this morning had a working breakfast in London with UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown, and afterwards he told reporters that they had discussed, among other things, Afghanistan, climate change, the Millennium Development Goals and Myanmar.
• Monday, 2 November 2009
  The Secretary-General made a previously unannounced visit to Kabul today, following the attack on a Kabul guesthouse last week, in which five UN staff members were killed and others were injured.
• Friday, 30 October 2009
  The Secretary-General paid tribute in a town hall meeting to the United Nations staff members who were killed in an attack on a guest house in Afghanistan on Wednesday.