WUNRN
GEAR - UN Gender Equality
Architecture Reform - UN Gender Entity
GEAR Campaign CSW Report +
Dear
GEAR Campaign Supporters,
The recent meeting of the 54th Session of the UN Commission on the Status of
Women (CSW) advanced the GEAR Campaign goal of continuing civil society
pressure on governments to move forward in passing the resolution that creates
the entity during this session of the General Assembly (which ends in
September). At the CSW, over 60 countries (list to be available soon)
from all regions spoke in support of the new gender architecture in their
speeches. Governments initiated a resolution that was co-sponsored by 180
countries and introduced by the Joint Coordinating Committee of the Non-Aligned
Movement and Group of 77/China (JCC) supporting the creation of the entity –
indicating the wide spread assumption that this will happen. (The resolution is
attached.)
The UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, called on governments to take action to
create the entity without further delay, and the NGO Action of holding up a
“GEAR UP NOW!” sign in the balcony on the day of his speech as part of the
UN official observance of International Women’s Day on March 3rd was greeted
with enthusiastic applause. The sessions on the new entity were packed,
and many other sessions that addressed UN structural issues assumed the new
architecture as part of the future UN landscape. All the NGO regional
groups at CSW used this period to advocate for GEAR and specifically for a
strong operational capacity in the new entity.
The General Assembly (GA) held several informal discussions on the System-Wide
Coherence process (including gender architecture) before the CSW and has
scheduled more March-June during which time, it is anticipated that a SWC
resolution launching the new women’s agency will be drafted. Now, the
GEAR Campaign’s greatest concern is not whether the entity will be created but
WHAT will be created. We expect the resolution to be passed by the end of
this GA session in time for the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) Summit
review in September, but there are still a number of important details to be
resolved. In order for the entity to be effective as a driver for the UN
system on women’s rights and empowerment, it must have a robust country level
operation that is more than just advisory to the UN system. This requires
that it be both a coordinating body for the UN’s work on women with the capacity
to hold the system accountable for gender mainstreaming as well as able to
engage in its own programmatic work and to support governmental and NGO work at
all levels.
We remain concerned about the money to enable the entity to be effective.
Member states should pledge core, predictable, and multi-year voluntary
funds now with a goal of growing to $US1 billion and beyond over time.
There has not been enough progress on financial commitments to date.
Further, we want the resolution creating this entity to recognize that
civil society has played a vital role in work on women’s rights and that it is
critical to partner with us and tap into the expertise and insights of a
diverse and wide-ranging NGO constituency, particularly women’s organizations.
We would like to see the Secretary-General initiate a transparent recruitment
process for the Under Secretary General to lead the entity immediately.
We are encouraged that there are many rumors floating about names for this
position which suggests the inevitability of the creation of the entity, but we
would like a clear and accessible process begun soon to ensure a strong
committed woman is appointed to this critical job. The GEAR statement
articulating these concerns is attached as a flyer with talking points which we
hope will be used by GEAR supporters in the coming two months to advocate for
this kind of entity.
Finally, we have attached a new document from the
Deputy Secretary General’s (DSG) office, “Establishment of a New Composite
Entity for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment: Key Messages, Background
and Current Status.” This document answers many of the questions that we
planned to address in a GEAR Q&A. It is a public document that we
think is very useful in clarifying many points about what the entity is
intended to do. While we agree with most of its points, it is also clear
from this document why we need to continue to advocate with governments and the
UN for a stronger operational presence of the entity on the ground that goes
beyond what UNIFEM has now as well as for the money to make this possible and
for greater civil society engagement.
In the coming weeks, we urge you to continue to advocate for a resolution that
creates the women’s entity with these characteristics – using both the DSG’s
paper and the attached GEAR talking points.
Center for Women's Global Leadership (CWGL) and Women's Environment and
Development Organization (WEDO)
On behalf of the GEAR Campaign Working Group
GEAR Campaign Working Group:
Global Focal Points: Association for Women’s Rights in Development (AWID),
Center for Women’s Global Leadership (CWGL), Development Alternatives with
Women for a New Era (DAWN), International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF)
and Women’s Environment and Development Organization (WEDO)
Regional Focal Points: African's Women Development and Communication Network
(FEMNET), Asia Pacific Women’s Watch (APWW), Collective for Research and
Training on Development-Action (CRTD-A), European Women’s Lobby (EWL),
femLINKpacific, Foundation for Studies and Research on Women (FEIM), Servitas
Cameroon and South Asian Campaign for Gender Equality (SACGE)/SAATHI
New York UN Lobbying Strategy Group: AIDS-Free World, Amnesty International
(AI), Bahá'í International Community, UN Office, Care International, Center for
Women’s Global Leadership (CWGL), ENLACE and Feminist Task Force - Global Call
to Action Against Poverty (GCAP), Equality Now, Global Network of Women
Peacebuilders, Huairou Commission, Human Rights Watch (HRW), InterAction, International
Planned Parenthood Federation/Western Hemisphere Region (IPPF/WHR),
International Service for Human Rights, International Women’s Health Coalition
(IWHC), International Women’s Tribune Centre (IWTC), MADRE, FIMI, Women’s
Environment and Development Organization (WEDO), World Federalist Movement
(WFM) and Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF)
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