WUNRN
UN News Centre
UN WOMEN FIRST CHIEF VOICES OPTIMISM
AS SHE BEGINS HER NEW POST
15 September 2010 – The newly
announced head of United Nations Women (UN Women) said today that she would
bring all of her experience and good relations with heads of State and
government to help fight discrimination and boost opportunities for women and
girls worldwide.
Michelle Bachelet, the former president of Chile, told UN Radio that she would deploy her skills and experience “to produce all the agreements [and] all the synergies” within the UN system and with Member States to run the new entity, tasked with accelerating the progress of women and girls.
“Even
though there are some countries where women’s rights are in excellent
condition, in many parts of the world… women have a very difficult situation,”
she said.
“They
don’t have the same opportunities as men regarding the most essential human
rights. Women are discriminated [against]. Their rights are violated. There are
still some places where women are mutilated. There are places where women can
receive terrible punishments.”
She
also noted that, of all the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), those relating
to women had shown the worst performance to date.
Addressing
this issue, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said yesterday that women and
children would be “at the very core of our final push” to realize those goals
during next week’s UN Summit on the MDGs, to be held at UN Headquarters in New
York.
Ms.
Bachelet said she saw cause for optimism about the new entity’s prospects for
success. In establishing UN Women by a unanimous vote earlier this year, Member
States were affirming the necessity of meeting the needs of the world’s women.
“When
they voted, they were making a commitment,” she said, adding they were
supporting the idea that women’s issues were relevant and belonged on the
political agenda.
UN
Women is the merger of the UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), the Division for the
Advancement of Women (DAW),
the Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues, and the UN International
Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (UN-INSTRAW).
UN
Women was established on 2 July by a unanimous vote of the General Assembly to
oversee all of the world body’s programmes aimed at promoting women’s rights
and their full participation in global affairs. One of its goals will be to
support the Commission on the Status of Women 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.
In
carrying out its functions, UN Women will be working with an annual budget of
at least $500 million – double the current combined resources of the four
agencies it comprises.
In
announcing her appointment, Mr. Ban said yesterday that “Ms. Bachelet brings to
this critical position a history of dynamic global leadership, highly honed
political skills and uncommon ability to create consensus and focus among UN
agencies and many partners in both the public and private sector.”
As
Many
voices have praised her appointment to the post, including Thoraya Ahmed Obaid,
Executive Director of the UN Population Fund (UNFPA).
“Her
integrity, exceptional leadership and political skills will guide UN Women to
become a global force for gender equality and women’s rights worldwide,” Ms.
Obaid said. “All of us in UNFPA look forward to working with her and her team
to advance women's health and rights and to achieve the Millennium Development
Goals.”