Catherine Bragg, Assistant Secretary-General and United Nations Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator, today again reiterated that the United Nations system stands ready to support in every way possible the Chilean Government’s efforts to recover from the devastation of the earthquake the country suffered four days ago.

Ahead of International Women’s Day, commemorated annually on 8 March, the United Nations top adviser on gender issues said today that the occasion provided an opportunity to celebrate women’s advancement since the adoption of the landmark 1995 Beijing Platform for Action, and emphasize the need for continued vigilance to help all countries promote gender equality and women’s empowerment.

The flexibility shown so far in intergovernmental negotiations on Security Council reform was reason for optimism that the process would go forward, the delegate chairing the process said at Headquarters today.

Constant assessment and improvement of institutions were critically important for the empowerment of women, Ghana’s Minister for Women and Children's Affairs said today.

The Secretary-General today addressed the Commission on the Status of Women high-level event marking International Women’s Day. He said that as a son and husband, a father and grandfather to girls, and as United Nations Secretary-General, it is his duty to fight for gender equality and women’s empowerment, which are fundamental to the very identity of the United Nations.

Women office-holders were making steady progress in the political arena, but not nearly enough, said Anders B. Johnsson, Secretary-General, Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), at the launch of a poster-sized map entitled “The World Map of Women in Politics 2010”, issued by the IPU today alongside findings from a recent survey on progress and setbacks of women in parliament.

The Secretary-General will be travelling to Chile this evening. He wants to express solidarity and sympathy with the people and Government of Chile following the earthquake on 27 February. He will also assess the humanitarian assistance effort and the scale of the disaster for himself. He is expected to meet on Friday with President Bachelet and President-elect Piñera, as well as senior Government officials in charge of national disaster and emergency humanitarian assistance.

Starting today, travellers in the United States purchasing tickets, booking a hotel room or renting a car online can save a child from malaria with five clicks of the mouse, organizers of the new micro-contribution initiative “MASSIVEGOOD” said today.

Having suffered an earthquake of “historical proportions”, Chile was returning to normality though it faced huge reconstruction needs, Heraldo Muñoz, the country’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, said at a Headquarters press conference today. “Chile’s standing up; we’re recuperating slowly,” said Mr. Muñoz, who was joined by Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, and Amir Dossal, Executive Director of the United Nations Office for Partnerships.

The Secretary-General has arrived in Santiago, on a visit to Chile to show solidarity with the Chilean people as they deal with the destruction caused by the earthquake on 27 February. He said on arrival that the United Nations stands ready to help provide any assistance that the Chilean Government requests, immediate and long term.