Ukraine, Climate, Yemen & other topics- Daily Press Briefing

Briefing by Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.

• Categories: Media / Press Conferences
• Video Length: 01:04:53
• Production Date: 21 March 2022
• Asset Language: English
• Personal Subject: DUJARRIC, STEPHANE
• Subject Topical: CLIMATE CHANGE; INTERNATIONAL DAYS; UNITED NATIONS BUDGET; WATER
• Geographic Subject: CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC; LEBANON; SYRIA; UKRAINE; YEMEN
• MAMS Id: 2720628
• Parent Id: 2720628

Description

This morning, the Secretary-General delivered, via video message, the keynote speech at the Economist’s Sustainability Summit. His addressed focused on “Keeping 1.5 Alive.”

We, along with our partners, remain deeply concerned over the impact of reported fighting on civilians trapped in cities in eastern, northeastern and southern Ukraine, including in Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, Izyum, Donetsk, Mykolaiv, and Mariupol.

We strongly condemn the recent attacks on several energy and other civilian facilities in Saudi Arabia, which reportedly caused material damage and have been claimed by the Houthis. Attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure are prohibited by international humanitarian law.

The Seventh Session of the Syrian-led, Syrian-owned, UN-facilitated Constitutional Committee convened in Geneva today.

I want to read into the record a statement on a recent judgement issued by the Appeals Chamber of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon. The Secretary-General takes note of the judgement delivered by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon in which Hassan Habib Merhi and Hussein Hassan Oneissi were convicted in relation to the 14 February 2005 attack in Beirut that killed former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and 21 other people and injured 226 more people. Mr. Merhi and Mr. Oneissi remain at large.
 
Turning to the Central African Republic, our colleagues at the UN peacekeeping mission there are telling us that, over the weekend, key opposition parties have withdrawn from the Republican dialogue, which began earlier today.

Our colleagues at the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Paris today released a report that says that groundwater, which accounts for 99 per cent of all liquid freshwater on Earth, is being undervalued, mismanaged and even abused.

Quite a few International Days to flag: Today is International Day of Nowruz. Today is also World Down Syndrome Day, World Poetry Day and the International Day of Forests. Today is also International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.
 
Lastly, we say a big gracias to our friends in Bogota, as Colombia became the 75th Member State of these proud United Nations to pay their budget dues in full.

For further details please see SOURCE below.
Office of the Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General