UN INFORMATION SERVICE GENEVA PRESS BRIEFING
Rolando Gómez, Chief of the Press and External Relations Section at the United Nations Information Service (UNIS) in Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by spokespersons of the World Health Organization and the World Meteorological Organization.
Mr. Gómez, for the United Nations Information Service, read out a statement of the Secretary-General issued yesterday regarding recent events in Ukraine, in which Mr. Guterres strongly condemned “the latest large-scale missile and drone attacks by the armed forces of the Russian Federation on Kyiv and other cities in Ukraine, that reportedly killed and injured dozens of civilians, and led to extensive damage to civilian infrastructure”. The Secretary-General reiterated his “call for urgent de-escalation, leading to a full, immediate and unconditional ceasefire and for a just, sustainable and comprehensive peace, in line with international law, including the UN Charter and relevant UN resolutions”.
Mr. Gómez also quoted a statement by the Security Council, dated today, in which its members had condemned “in the strongest terms, the heinous and cowardly suicide terrorist attack outside a police station in Kabal, Swat District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, Pakistan, on 2 August 2026.”
Update on Ebola
Answering questions from journalists, Tarik Jašarević, for the World Health Organization (WHO), said the WHO Technical Advisory Group on candidate vaccine prioritization should publish very soon a report on the state of treatment and vaccines against Ebola, including new data on the efficacy of existing vaccines against previous strains.
Drought in Europe
Journalists also requested an update on the drought situation in Europe and the prospects for the coming weeks and months. Clare Nullis, for the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), mentioned, among others, extreme heat in the Republic of Korea and Japan, as well as warnings by Météo Suisse of more high temperatures coming next week, with no rainfall in sight. During next Tuesday’s press briefing, she would try and bring experts with more specific knowledge on the prospects regarding the drought in Europe.
Announcements
Rolando Gómez, for the United Nations Information Service (UNIS), informed that the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) would open its 118th session next Monday, 10 August, at 10 a.m. During this session, the Committee would review reports submitted by Kuwait (10-11 August), India (11-12 August), Honduras (12- 13 August), and Finland (17-18 August). The session would end on 25 August.
Also, the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) would open its 35th session on Wednesday, 12 August, at 10 a.m. The Committee would review the reports of Qatar (12-13 August), Sri Lanka (14 August), Lithuania (17-18 August), Chili (18-19 August), and Slovakia (20 August). The session would end on 27 August.
9 August was the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples.
Finally, a small ceremony would be held today at 11 a.m. to mark the arrival of five new peacocks in the Ariana Park around the Palais des Nations, donated to the United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG) by the Permanent Mission of India to UNOG.
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