Yemen, #CSW66, Ukraine & other topics - Daily Press Briefing (16 March 2022)

The United Nations of Earth reporting on this issue: "Yemen, #CSW66, Ukraine & other topics - Daily Press Briefing (16 March 2022)"
The topics: Noon briefing by Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesperson for the Secretary-General. Highlights - Yemen - Commision on the Status of Women - Ukraine - Ukraine/Trafficking in Persons - Ukraine/Socioeconomic Study - Deputy Secretary-General Travels - Libya - Mali - DRC - Rural Women - Resident Coordinators - Financial Contribution - Noon Briefing Guest Today YEMEN The Secretary-General this morning co-convened a virtual high-level pledging conference for Yemen, along with the Governments of Sweden and Switzerland. He urged donors to respond generously to the UN’s Humanitarian Response Plan, which has programmes designed to reach 17.3 million people at a cost of $4.27 billion. The Secretary-General said that tens of thousands of civilians – including at least 10,000 children – have died in Yemen’s conflict, with millions of internally displaced people facing a daily struggle for survival. The situation has been worsened by budget cuts. The Secretary-General noted that the World Food Programme had to cut rations in half due to lack of funds, with further cuts looming. Recently, he warned, food rations have been reduced for 8 million people, with devastating consequences. In the coming weeks, the Secretary-General added, nearly 4 million people in major cities may lose access to safe drinking water and 1 million women and girls may lose access to reproductive health and gender-based violence services. COMMISSION ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN This morning, the Secretary-General held a virtual townhall with women from civil society organizations on the sidelines of the Commission on the Status of Women. The Secretary-General heard the women’s ideas and concerns, and he talked to them about Our Common Agenda report, which makes a series of proposals for a safer, more peaceful, equal, and sustainable world. He stressed that this is a feminist agenda, based on equal power, participation and leadership by men and women. Some of its proposals include: repealing all laws everywhere that discriminate on grounds of gender; achieving the equal participation of women in all sectors; investing in women’s economic inclusion and addressing unpaid care work; and having a plan for every country to end all forms of violence against women and girls. UKRAINE The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs say the crisis in Ukraine is developing rapidly, with devastating impact on the humanitarian situation. In the worst-affected cities under attack - including Mariupol and Kharkiv - heavy fighting leaves people isolated and facing severe shortages of food, water, and energy supplies. In Mariupol, tens of thousands of people remain trapped in the city despite reports of some evacuations. Our humanitarian colleagues are particularly concerned about vulnerable groups such as older people and people living with disabilities, who may not be able to flee the conflict. Efforts continue to ensure voluntary safe passage of civilians out of areas with active fighting, as well as movement of humanitarian goods and personnel into areas where needs are most acute. Humanitarian organizations are deploying additional staff across the country and are working to move supplies to warehouses in different hubs to serve people in need. The World Food Programme said that in Kharkiv, 32.5 metric tons of bread were distributed by one of their cooperating partners to about 140,800 people. So far, about 600,000 people have been reached with some form of humanitarian assistance. Today, the UN Refugee Agency said that the number of people crossing international borders out of Ukraine has reached 3.1 million. For her part, the Director-General of UNESCO, Audrey Azoulay, has condemned the killings of Ukrainian producer and fixer, Oleksandra Kuvshynova and Irish journalist and cameraman, Pierre Zakrzewski, in Gorenka, outside Kyiv on Monday. UNESCO notes that both journalists were killed while reporting for Fox News during shelling, which also injured another journalist, who remains in hospital. Full Highlights: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date%5Bvalue%5D%5Bdate%5D=16%20March%202022


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