Information bulletin 1 – ENG – FINAL 150821

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Sixty-eighth session of the WHO Regional Committee
for the Eastern Mediterranean
Cairo, Egypt, 11–14 October 2021
Information bulletin 1
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Introduction Following a recommendation from the Programme Subcommittee of the
Regional Committee, approved by the officers of the 67th session of the
Regional Committee, WHO Member States in the Eastern Mediterranean
Region have agreed to conduct the 68th session of the Regional
Committee using a virtual modality.
Date and venue The 68th session of the Regional Committee for the Eastern
Mediterranean is scheduled to take place from Monday 11 to
Thursday 14 October 2021, exact timings to be confirmed.
The meeting will be conducted virtually using the Zoom video
conferencing platform, facilitated from WHO’s Regional Office in Cairo,
Egypt. Details for accessing the virtual platform will be provided following
completion of the registration process.
Registration for
participation
All participants are kindly requested to register for the 68th session of the
Regional Committee through the secure online registration service at
https://indico.un.org/event/35845 no later than 15 September 2021. It is
recommended to use the latest version of Google Chrome browser to
access the registration page.
The WHO Secretariat will confirm your registration via email.
Registration is a prerequisite for accessing the Zoom platform during the
Regional Committee sessions, which will be restricted to registered and
approved participants.
Membership and
attendance
The Regional Committee consists of one representative from each
country or territory of WHO’s Eastern Mediterranean Region. For the
virtual modality of the Regional Committee, access to the Zoom platform
will be granted to representatives and their alternates. Advisers and
representatives of other entities invited under Rule 2 of the Regional
Committee’s Rules of Procedure will be able to follow the sessions and
deliberations through webcast.
Credentials Member States should communicate the names and designations of
their representatives and all alternates and advisers to the WHO
Regional Director no later than 15 September 2021. Such credentials
will be issued by the Head of State, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister
of Health, or any other appropriate authority (Rule 3 of the Rules of
Procedure). A copy of the letter of credentials should be uploaded to the
registration system so that registration can be approved.
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Working languages The working languages of the Regional Committee are Arabic, English
and French. Statements made in any of these languages will be
interpreted simultaneously into the other two languages. Delegates will
be able to follow in their chosen language by selecting it when
connecting to the Zoom platform. The meeting will also be webcast in
multiple languages.
Agenda and other
documents
Official documentation for the session will be available in Arabic, English
and French, and will be made available on the Regional Committee
website in the month of September 2021. Documents will not be
dispatched by post. Participants are kindly requested to consult the
documents online.
Written statements Written statements of no more than 600 words may be submitted for
posting on the WHO regional website under the related agenda item.
Written statements should be sent in advance of the opening of the
68th session of the Regional Committee. They may be submitted in lieu
of a live intervention or to complement a live intervention from a
Member State.
Please send written statements for posting to the WHO website to
emrgogovbod@who.int, indicating the name of the country
delegation/entity in the subject line of the email.
Video statements Delegations are encouraged to prepare prerecorded statements to be
broadcast during the Regional Committee sessions and are requested
to share them with the WHO Secretariat at least five days before the
start of the virtual Committee session, to allow time for testing. Exact
video specifications and means of sharing them will be communicated
at a later stage.