14 SEPTEMBER 2009

The birth of a new UN agency for women?

A resolution that will enable the creation of a new UN gender equality entity was given unanimous support by the UN General Assembly on 14 September. Campaigners have called this an historic breakthrough for women’s rights globally. It is hoped that this new agency will coordinate the various parts of the UN system working on gender and streamline the UN's work in this area, thereby enabling the Organisation to better promote and protect the rights and well-being of women worldwide.

Despite a series of setbacks, agreement on the subject has been achieved in a relatively short time-frame, since the idea was first mooted three years ago under former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

What next?
Campaigners, including GEAR and VSO, are now urging the present Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to expedite the appointment of an Under-Secretary-General to lead the new UN agency.

UNA-UK has supported the creation of a new UN agency for women to give women's issues a much higher profile, importance and effective voice in the UN system, and to strongly encourage all UN member states to implement Security Council resolutions 1325 and 1820. We are also calling on the international community to ensure that this new agency is adequately funded and that its establishment does not relieve other international agencies of the need to mainstream women's issues in their work.