"AMERICAS"

In a press conference today (21 Mar), World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus said, “WHO’s Member States are meeting to negotiate a historic, legally binding agreement to protect future generations from the impacts of pandemics. There is much agreement between Member States on the objectives of the agreement. Now they need to agree on how to achieve those objectives.” WHO

US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said, “All 193 members of the United Nations General Assembly have spoken in one voice and together chosen to govern artificial intelligence, rather than let it govern us.” UNIFEED

FAO Members in Latin America and the Caribbean discuss how to reduce hunger and inequality in world’s largest agrifood exporting region. FAO

According to the International Narcotics Control Board, the evolving landscape of online drug trafficking is presenting new challenges to drug control. UNIS VIENNA

In a wide-ranging speech on Monday, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk spoke about the devastating consequences for millions as 55 conflicts flare across the world. He highlighted how 2024 could be a key year for democratic principles and warned about the apparently growing influence of delusional and racist conspiracies theories in many countries. UNTV CH / OHCHR

After almost five months of constant Israeli bombardment and mass displacement in the Palestinian enclave which has left more than 30,000 dead, the UN rights chief Volker Türk told the Human Rights Council that for peace to be achievable in the occupied Palestinian territory and Israel, “occupation must end.” UNTV CH

The UN Secretary General, António Guterres, said, "Two years on – and a decade since Russia’s attempted illegal annexation of Ukraine’s Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol – the war in Ukraine remains an open wound at the heart of Europe." UNIFEED

Addressing the Security Council on the Palestinian question, Tor Wennesland, UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, said, “I cannot stress enough how urgently we need a deal that will bring about a humanitarian ceasefire and the release of hostages.” UNIFEED

The Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, said, “rising regional tensions linked to the war in Gaza, and in particular the military escalation in the Red Sea, are slowing down the pace of the peace efforts in Yemen.” UNIFEED

A top UN official said that in the approaching anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine “is not only an occasion to recount the horrors of the past two years, but also a reminder that the armed conflict in Ukraine did not begin on 24 February 2022, but has been ongoing in the country’s east since 2014.” UNIFEED