HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STÉPHANE DUJARRIC,
SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
THURSDAY, 8 MARCH 2018
 
ON WOMEN’S DAY, U.N. HIGHLIGHTS WORK OF ACTIVISTS FIGHTING FOR GENDER EQUALITY

• Today is International Women’s Day. The themes this year is “The Time is Now: Rural and urban activists transforming women’s lives” and celebrates the women’s rights activists fighting sexual harassment, violence and discriminations against women.
• In his message for the Day, the Secretary-General said that the United Nations stand with women around the world as they fight to overcome the injustices they face. “Let me be clear: this is not a favour to women,” he said. “Gender equality is a human rights issue, but it is also in all our interests: men and boys, women and girls. Gender inequality and discrimination against women harms us all.”
• The Secretary-General also spoke this morning at special event in the General Assembly Hall to mark the Day organized by UN Women, and emphasized that “gender inequality, discrimination and violence against women harm us all. Until power is fairly shared, the world will remain out of balance.

• Today, the UN and partners were not able to return to Douma in east Ghouta because the movement of the convoy was not authorised, due to security reasons.
• On Monday, the UN and partners were forced to leave after nine hours in Douma due to hours of ongoing shelling in East Ghouta and Damascus, so that 10 of our trucks were fully unloaded and four were partially unloaded. As a result, half of the food for 27,500 people was not delivered.
• The UN continues to receive reports of escalating fighting in East Ghouta and shelling on Damascus, endangering civilians and preventing humanitarian assistance from reaching hundreds of thousands of people in need, including thousands of vulnerable children. The complete assistance to reach a total of 70,000 people in Douma, including medical and health supplies, still needs to be delivered.
• The ongoing hostilities in East Ghouta have reportedly resulted in over 100 deaths in the past 48 hours. Since 24 February, when the Security Council adopted Resolution 2401 demanding a cessation of hostilities, hundreds of people have reportedly been killed and thousands injured due to fighting, air and ground strikes. 
• The UN remains ready to deliver assistance to all people in need in Douma, other areas in east Ghouta and other hard-to-reach and besieged areas as soon as conditions allow.  We continue to call on all parties to immediately allow safe and unimpeded access for further convoys to deliver critical supplies to hundreds of thousands of people in desperate need of humanitarian assistance.

• This morning, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, Tadamichi Yamamoto, briefed members of the Security Council.
• He said that just one week ago, Afghanistan had successfully hosted the second conference of the Kabul Process for peace and security, where all participants endorsed a call for direct talks between the Government and the Taliban without preconditions. He said the Government has laid out a series of concrete proposals for opening talks, and it is now upon the Taliban to come forward and start the direct talks to put an end to the suffering of the Afghan people.
• He also expressed concern about the deepening of divisions in Afghan society and stressed that national unity provides the only basis for the implementation of effective reforms in the country. He added that the upcoming elections provide a further opportunity to ensure that unity and stability prevail, and that all groups are represented.
• Mr. Yamamoto said that the United Nations is working with the Independent Election Commission to ensure women's participation in all stages of the elections as candidates, campaigners and voters, and is also working to ensure the election process can overcome prevailing skepticism.

• The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that fierce clashes continued this week in Sa’ada governorate in northern Yemen. Air strikes and clashes have also intensified in the neighbouring Al Jawf governorate.
• In Sa’ada, humanitarian partners are distributing emergency food assistance to 103,000 families across the governorate.
• Partners are also rehabilitating a water network and installing solar panels to power water pumps in Sa’ada City for 10,000 beneficiaries, and rehabilitating water projects in Haydan for 6,000 beneficiaries.

• Yesterday, Leila Zerrougui briefed the Security Council for the first time as Special Representative of the Secretary-General in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
• She highlighted the progress made in preparation for the presidential and legislative elections in the country, paying homage to the determination of the Congolese people to participate in the political process.
• She stressed that a failure to generate confidence in the full and faithful implementation of the 31 December Agreement will only serve to heighten political tensions, and to fuel the risks of inciting violence for political ends.
• During these times of heightened tensions, MONUSCO remains steadfast in its commitment to support the Congolese authorities to protect those most vulnerable, and most affected, by acts of violence, Ms. Zerrougui said.
• She noted that while national political attention remains centred on the electoral process, the security situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has continued to deteriorate, and the country continues to face one of the world's most serious humanitarian crises, with the highest number of internally displaced persons in need of humanitarian assistance in Africa, at 4.5 million.

• Vladimir Voronkov, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT), and Michèle Coninsx, Assistant Secretary-General and Executive Director of the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED), have just concluded a two-day visit to Iraq with the support of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI). This was the first joint country visit of the two UN offices since the creation of United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism in 2017.
• The joint delegation congratulated the Prime Minister of Iraq on the military victory against Da’esh and commended the Iraqi Government for its continued and long-term resolve in the fight against terrorism. They underscored the importance of comprehensive efforts in accordance with the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy and relevant Security Council resolutions.
• During their meetings, the joint delegation discussed the counter-terrorism priorities of Iraq and reiterated the strong support of the United Nations to the Government of Iraq in its efforts to build a peaceful, stable and prosperous country for the people of Iraq.