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United Nations Information Centre (UNIC)
| The United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) in Beirut is one of 67 information Centres established around the world and constitute field offices of the United Nations Department of Public Information (UN-DPI) based at the UN headquarters in New York. |
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| The mandate of UN-DPI is to promote an informed understanding of the work, principles and purposes of the United Nations among the peoples of the world through various outreach efforts and campaigns. The Department provides information and produces materials on the UN global activities and priorities agenda items such as international peace and security, economic, social and cultural development, human rights and humanitarian issues, education, population, drug trafficking and other issues. It also provides information on the proceedings of the UN principal organs, namely the General Assembly and its various bodies the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council. In carrying out these functions, UN-DPI works closely with other Secretariat departments as well as the UN organizations. DPI also administers the Office of the Spokesman for the Secretary-General (OSSG). |
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| Country Strategy |
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| UNIC-Beirut was established on 7 September 1962 further to General Assembly Resolution 13 (1) of 13 February 1946, which called on, UN-DPI to establish branch offices in all parts of the world. UNIC-Beirut serves Lebanon, Jordan, Syria and Kuwait. It also acts as the UN Information Services (UNIS) for the Beirut-based United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (UN-ESCWA) and therefore extends its media relations among the 14 member countries of the Commission, namely Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, the Syrian Arab Republic, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen either directly or through other UNICs. |
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| UNIC/UNIS maintains close ties with the rest of the United Nations family in Lebanon, and chairs the UN Communication Group (UNCG), which coordinates UN public information activities in Lebanon. In this frame, the Centre/Services draft the UN System Media Strategy and the UN-ESCWA Media Strategy, and follows up their implementation along with the UNCG work plan. |
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| UNIC/UNIS-Beirut keeps the general public up-to-date with the very intricate and diverse work of the United Nations through: disseminating the messages, articles and statements of the Secretary-General and other UN senior officials; disseminating various documents and reports relating to the countries under its jurisdiction; planning and implementing awareness public information activities for UN days/weeks/decades as well as other events such as launching UN flagship reports and studies; providing public information and public relations support for visiting UN officials; and highlighting main UN priorities and activities of UN agencies in Lebanon on the UNIC Web site. |
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| In this regards, UNIC/UNIS-Beirut maintains close relations with the national, regional and international media as well as with governmental and non-governmental organizations, educational institutions, cultural associations and the private sector. |
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| UNIC/UNIS-Beirut has developed a Web page (www.unicbeirut.org) that involves several segments raging from latest UN events to information on media institutions in the countries it serves. The Centres/Services has maintained a weekly page with the Lebanese daily Al-Balad and a bi-weekly window on the UN with the Lebanese daily Al-Mustaqbal in addition to drafting and disseminating the UN-ESCWA Weekly News. |
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| The UNIC/UNIS-Beirut Library, which is integrated within that of UN-ESCWA, continues to provide services to researchers, government offices, academic institutions and NGOs. It has a wealth of information, including a comprehensive collection of UN publications, reports and official records. An archival section, which includes the official documents of the General Assembly, the Security Council and the Economic and Social Council since 1945, is also available for consultancy. A film and video archive section is also maintained and available for use by schools, local broadcasting and civil society institutions. |
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For more information about UNIC/UNIS-Beirut:
Director, UN Information Centre/Services
The United Nations House
Riad El-Solh Square
P.O.Box 11-8575
Beirut, Lebanon
Tel: 961-1-978830/32/29/28
Fax: 961-1-970424, 978969
E-mail: unic-beiurt@un.org
Web page: www.unicbeirut.org
Last update: March 2009
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