PRESS BRIEFING BY AMY QUANTRILL, DEPUTY SPOKESPERSON FOR GENERAL ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT VOLKAN BOZKIR

United Nations Headquarters, New York

8 March 2021

 

PRESIDENT CALLS FOR PROGRESS ON GENDER EQUALITY ON INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY

  • International Women’s Day was officially recognized by the United Nations in 1977.
  • The President spoke via video message this morning at the United Nations event to mark the day, organized by UN Women.
  • In his opening remarks the President called on Member States to guarantee women ‘The five Ps’: Personal autonomy; Equal Participation in decision-making and politics; Gender-responsive Policies; Equal Pay and access to the labour market; and an end to impunity for Perpetrators of gender-based violence.
  • The President also spoke at a virtual event organized by the Group of Friends of Gender Parity to discuss how to make progress on gender equality, where he reiterated that women’s empowerment is something that we need to work on every single day.
  • The President has released and will continue to release a series of videos on social media to mark International Women’s Day. This includes messages on gender-based violence, women in healthcare and women’s political participation.
  • The President also filmed a series of conversations on gender equality with five women from his Office. As International Gender Champion, the President was keen to discuss how to achieve gender equality with members of his team and give a platform to some of the women supporting the President this session. They discussed political participation, how to achieve SDG 5 (Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls) and remove the barriers to participation. 

 

WE CAN’T ALLOW CRIME TO DERAIL OUR TRACK TO 2030, PRESIDENT TELLS KYOTO CRIME CONGRESS

  • This Sunday, the President addressed by video message the 14th UN Congress on Crime and Criminal Justice in Kyoto.
  • It is convened by the Government of Japan and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime.
  • In his opening remarks, the President said that the Crime Congresses have been instrumental in the normative development of the rule of law. However, criminal activity persists in every country, and is increasingly transcending borders.
  • He added that, we will not achieve the targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development if we do not take action on the rule of law, crime prevention, and criminal justice.
  • The President will also sent a video message to a related special event on the Global Programme for the Implementation of the Doha Declaration.
  • In his message, the President said that there is much work to do in this Decade of Action to implement sustainable development. He said the work of the Crime Congress’ work on the promotion of the rule of law, and justice has laid the foundation for a better world for all.

 

PRESIDENT CONDEMNS TERRORIST ATTACK IN SOMALIA

  • The President condemned the terrorist attack in Mogadishu on Saturday 6th March.
  • He extended condolences to the families of the victims and the Government of Somalia and wished a speedy recovery to the injured.

 

DEPUTY SPOKESPERSON ANSWERS QUESTIONS ON SECRETARY-GENERAL SELECTION & APPOINTMENT PROCESS

  • In response to a question, the Deputy Spokesperson said that, as of now, the name and curriculum vitae of only one candidate, António Guterres of Portugal, had been jointly circulated by the Presidents of the General Assembly and Security Council to Member States. Any further updates would be available on the President’s website.
  • Replying to a further question, the Deputy Spokesperson confirmed that the President will meet with the President of the Security Council tomorrow where they are expected to discuss this issue. A further update will be provided in due course.