International Women’s Day 2026 (IWD 2026), under the theme “Rights. Justice. Action. For ALL Women and Girls”, marks a moment to amplify our collective determination. No matter how deeply rooted the sexism or how discouraging the politics, we refuse to step back or abandon our mandate. Instead, we climb together – for the rights and empowerment of all women and girls.
This year’s United Nations observance of International Women’s Day will take place on 9 March and focus on equal justice, purposefully aligning with the 70th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70) (from 9 to 19 March).
Journalism is essential to human rights and democracy, yet it can be a dangerous—and too often deadly—profession. Since 2023, there has been an unprecedented surge in the killing of journalists and media workers, with over 240 Palestinian journalists losing their lives in Gaza alone. With restrictions to international media access in Gaza, Palestinian journalists have become the eyes and ears of the world, documenting critical truths at great personal risk.
Speakers:
Biesan Abu-Kwaik, Al Jazeera UN Correspondent
Jodie Ginsberg, Chief Executive, Committee to Protect Journalists
Moderator:
Melissa Fleming, UN Under-Secretary General for Global Communications
Video message by António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, for International Women’s Day 2026.
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António Guterres, UN Secretary-General: Women’s rights are human rights. And investing in women and girls is one of the surest ways to make the world a better place.
Michelle Yeoh, UNDP Goodwill Ambassador: When women are involved in negotiating peace, agreements last longer.
Muniba Mazari, UN SDG Advocate: Women in tech make digital tools more inclusive.
Dia Mirza, UN SDG Advocate and UNEP Goodwill Ambassador: Women in government are more likely to pass climate friendly policies.
Amina Mohammed, UN Deputy-Secretary-General: When women have access to decent jobs and fairer workplaces, our economies grow.
Muzoon Almellehan, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador: And educating girls can unlock the brain power we need to tackle every challenge on Earth.
Angélique Kidjo, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador: Girls can do anything, and they deserve the chance.
Sima Bahous, UN Women Executive Director: We need rights, equality and empowerment for all women and girls.
Michelle Yeoh, UNDP Goodwill Ambassador: And we need women everywhere to be free from violence and fear.
Marta Vieira da Silva, UN Women Goodwill Ambassador: In sports.
Rosemary DiCarlo, Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs: In politics.
Maj. Nesrine Somai, UN Peacekeeper: In peace, and peace-making.
Frida Amani, UNEP Advocate: In healthcare.
Angélique Kidjo, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador: In science.
Dia Mirza, UN SDG Advocate and UNEP Goodwill Ambassador: And in the stories we tell on screen.
Frida Amani, UNEP Advocate: Just look at the young women leading the climate movement across the globe.
Angélique Kidjo, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador: Women and girls are claiming their power.
Marta Vieira da Silva, UN Women Goodwill Ambassador: When we invest in women, in girls, life gets better for men and boys too.
Kaliya, UNFPA Honorary Ambassador, Kazakhstan: Life gets better for people with disabilities.
Muzoon Almellehan, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador: For care workers.
Dia Mirza, UN SDG Advocate and UNEP Goodwill Ambassador: For the planet.
Frida Amani, UNEP Advocate: For children.
Amina Mohammed, UN Deputy-Secretary-General: For parents.
Angélique Kidjo, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador: For justice.
Kaliya, UNFPA Honorary Ambassador, Kazakhstan: For me.
Victoria Fernandez, UN Staff Member: For me.
Michelle Yeoh, UNDP Goodwill Ambassador: For me.
Angélique Kidjo, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador: For me.
Sima Bahous, UN Women Executive Director: And for me too.
ALL: For me.
António Guterres, UN Secretary-General: Women and girls are changing the world. It’s time to change the world for women and girls.
The major commercial shipping crisis caused by the war which has practically halted all vessel movement in the Strait of Hormuz south of Iran is already impacting UN agencies and partners seeking to dispatch lifesaving relief to Gaza and Sudan, among other emergencies. The narrow channel carries nearly one-fifth of global oil along with large volumes of commercial goods.
Secretary-General of International Maritime Organization (IMO), Arsenio Dominguez, provides an update on the current situation.
Rural people are the backbone of food systems worldwide, yet they continue to face persistent challenges — from climate shocks to structural barriers that limit opportunity. Across Africa, investing in rural people — especially women — holds enormous potential to drive food security, reduce poverty, and advance gender equality. This conversation will highlight IFAD’s approach to investing in rural communities in Africa and beyond.
Speakers:
Alvaro Lario, President, International Fund of Agricultural Development (IFAD)
Moderator:
Monicah W. Ndung’u, Chief of Corporate Affairs, Marketing & Partnerships Office, Nation Media Group
The Middle East conflict has reached "a moment of grave peril," UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher warned, cautioning that crises are escalating beyond the control of those who started them.
Tom Fletcher, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, told reporters in New York that the region’s overlapping emergencies were becoming dangerously interlinked, fueled by what he described as “staggering amounts of money, reportedly a billion dollars a day, funding this war spent on destruction.”
Fletcher called for immediate de-escalation and an end to hostilities, warning that “civilians are facing those consequences across the Middle East; homes, hospitals, and schools are being hit across the region.” UNICEF has reported more than 190 children killed since the escalation began, including over 180 in Iran, seven in Lebanon, three in Israel and one in Kuwait.
In Iran authorities report more than 1,000 deaths and damage to over 100 civilian sites. Around 100,000 people have been internally displaced in the past week. In Lebanon, more than 100 people have been killed and hundreds injured, with roughly 100,000 people sheltering across hundreds of sites, a country where, even before the current escalation, the World Food Programme reported 874,000 people already lacked adequate food.
In Gaza, Fletcher said aid delivery remains critically constrained. Israel closed all crossings a week ago, preventing humanitarian stocks from being replenished, and while the Abu Salem-Kerem Shalom crossing has since reopened, others including Rafah remain shut. “We’ve been able to bring in less than 1,000,000l of fuel this week,” he said "well below the more than 2,000,000l of fuel that we need as a bare minimum to keep services running.” Medical evacuations remain suspended, and he said key NGO partners continue to face “unacceptable restrictions on their work.”
On Afghanistan, Fletcher reported that fighting near the Pakistan border has killed dozens of civilians, including women and children, with more than 16,000 families fleeing their homes. Border closures have left over 160 aid containers stranded, and flight suspensions are further hampering access.
Fletcher outlined three knock-on risks he said he feared most. First, economic disruption: “when maritime corridors such as the Strait of Hormuz are disrupted, food prices will rise, health systems will be squeezed, and basic commodities, including our humanitarian supplies, will become much harder to access.”
Second, diminished global attention for other crises – in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, South Sudan and Ukraine – where, he stressed, conflicts have not ended.
Third, further erosion of international humanitarian law, with resources flowing toward weapons rather than the diplomatic and financial tools needed to protect lives.
He closed by paying tribute to aid workers operating in active conflict zones. “Humanitarian action is always harder in times of war, but this is of course when it is most needed,” Fletcher said. “The humanitarian movement will once again meet this moment.”
Noon Briefing by Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.
Highlights:
International Women’s Day
Senior Personnel Appointment
Middle East
Lebanon
Iran
Azerbaijan
Occupied Palestinian Territory
Afghanistan/Pakistan
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Jamaica
Food Price Index
Financial Contribution
INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY
On Sunday, we will mark International Women’s Day under the theme “Rights. Justice. Action. For ALL Women and Girls.” Despite progress, women worldwide still hold just 64 per cent of the legal rights enjoyed by men, and discriminatory laws continue to shape every aspect of women’s lives.
In a message for the Day, the Secretary-General stresses that by fighting discriminatory laws and practices, and defending the progress already achieved, we can ensure the dignity, opportunity and freedom all women deserve.
The 70th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70) will take place next week from 9 to 19 March here at headquarters obviously. Key events include an opening session in the General Assembly Hall, where the Secretary-General will deliver remarks. We will share those remarks either today or over the weekend.
There will be numerous side events organized by governments, various UN entities and of course civil society.
One event I want to highlight, organized by the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, will take place on Monday at 4:45 p.m. in Conference Room 2. You are all invited to join [Special Representative] Pramila Patten, and the UN Team of Experts on the Rule of Law for the launch of a Global Network on Conflict-Related Sexual Violence prosecutions. This is aimed at strengthening justice and accountability for survivors. This is as an issue that is affecting women and girls in conflicts around the world.
There is also an ongoing photo exhibition in the UN lobby highlighting justice and accountability efforts for survivors of conflict-related sexual violence.
SENIOR PERSONNEL APPOINTMENT
Senior personnel announcement to share with you. The Secretary-General is appointing Monica Kathina Juma of Kenya as Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) as well as Director-General of the United Nations Office at Vienna (UNOV).
She succeeds Ghada Fathi Waly of Egypt, to whom the Secretary-General is grateful for her dedicated service to UNODC and the United Nations.
The Secretary-General also wishes to extend his appreciation to John Brandolino, Director of the Division for Treaty Affairs at UNODC, who will continue to serve as Acting Executive Director of UNODC until Ms. Juma assumes her position.
She is currently serving as the National Security Adviser to the President of the Republic of Kenya and Secretary to Kenya’s National Security Council, a post she has held since 2022. She is a strategic senior leader with a depth of expertise, experience and knowledge spanning public policy making, execution and academia across critical areas of security, diplomacy and governance.
Previously, she held the role of Cabinet Secretary in strategic Ministries of Kenya, specifically the Ministry of Energy (2021-2022)
MIDDLE EAST
Turning to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, the Spokesman read a statement from the Secretary-General, which we will share with you in writing momentarily.
All the unlawful attacks in the Middle East and beyond are causing tremendous suffering and harm to civilians throughout the region. These attacks pose a grave a risk to the global economy, particularly to the most vulnerable people.
The situation could spiral beyond anyone’s control, the Secretary-General says.
He adds that it is time to stop the fighting and get to serious diplomatic negotiations, as the stakes could not be higher.
LEBANON
In Lebanon, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs tell us that widespread displacement orders are placing already affected civilians under increasing strain. Ongoing airstrikes across the country are killing an injuring dozens of people.
Across the country, more than 100,000 people are now sheltering in collective centres. Many more people are on the move. Health services in affected areas remain disrupted. We have received reports that hospitals in South Beirut were forced to suspend operations and evacuate patients on March 5th and remain non-operational today.
Humanitarian partners, working closely with national and local authorities, are scaling up assistance in shelters and host communities. Since March 2nd, they have distributed more than 120,000 meals.
Full Highlights: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date=2026-03-06
Intensifying hostilities across the Middle East have triggered significant population movement, while clashes along the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan have forced thousands of families to flee. Overall, more than 330,000 people have been forcibly displaced, mostly within their own countries.
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is already supporting displaced populations and preparing to scale up its assistance as needed. We are also urgently calling for dialogue and de-escalation as violence intensifies.
