
“The newest member of the UN family has been born today,” UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the assembly after it passed the resolution setting up the new UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, to be known as UN Women. “This is truly a watershed day,” Ban added.
The new body will merge four of the UN agencies and offices: UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), e Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW), Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues and UN International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (UN-INSTRAW).
“By bringing together four parts of the UN system dedicated to women’s issues, member states have created a much stronger voice for women and for gender equality at the global level,” Ban said. “It will now be much more difficult for the world to ignore the challenges facing women and girls or to fail to take necessary action,” he added.
UN Women is the result of years of negotiations among member states and advocacy by global women’s movements. Set to become operational next January, it will drive the world body’s efforts to promote women’s rights. UN Women is set to have an annual budget of at least US$500 million double the current combined resources of the four agencies it will comprise.
Ban acknowledged that many member states were facing resource constraints due to the global economic downturn, but he expressed confidence that the new office would receive strong financial support.
“Today’s action will do more than simply consolidate UN offices,” Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro told reporters. “It will consolidate the UN strengths,” she added.
Migiro noted that while the UN has made significant strides, it has also faced serious challenges, such as inadequate funding and fragmentation. One of the main goals of UN Women will be to support the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) and other inter-governmental bodies in devising policies. It will also aim to help member states implement standards, provide technical and financial support to countries which request it, and forge partnerships with civil society. Within the UN, it will hold the world body accountable for its own commitments on gender equality.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 4th, 2010.
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