WUNRN
http://thecommonwealth.org/about-us
The Commonwealth
The Commonwealth is a voluntary association of 53 independent and equal sovereign states (many formerly part of the British Empire). It is home to 2.2 billion citizens, of which over 60% are under the age of 30. The Commonwealth includes some of the world’s largest, smallest, richest and poorest countries, spanning five regions. Thirty-one of its members are small states, many of them island nations. Commonwealth countries are supported by an active network of more than 80 intergovernmental, civil society, cultural and professional organisations.
Commonwealth Charter: http://thecommonwealth.org/sites/default/files/page/documents/CharteroftheCommonwealth.pdf
Member Countries: http://thecommonwealth.org/member-countries
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
http://thecommonwealth.org/about-us/gender
Commonwealth - Gender
Gender
is a section in the Office of the Secretary-General at the Commonwealth
Secretariat. We work to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment in
all social, economic and political spheres.
Commonwealth Gender Equality Policy:
We
provide technical assistance to member countries to support skills training and
capacity building initiatives, monitoring and evaluation and high level
advocacy, research and knowledge generation and lead the way for building
consensus on key global gender priorities for the Commonwealth. Our work
reflects the highest level of political priority accorded to gender equality by
the Commonwealth, and ensures that gender mainstreaming is embedded at all
management levels and in all aspects of the Secretariat’s work.
Our work centers on key aspects of human development
towards the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, Post-2015
Sustainable Goals, and global commitments on gender equality and overall
empowerment of women.
We lead on gender mainstreaming within the Secretariat and
throughout the member states of the Commonwealth.
The
Gender Section has three inter-linked functions:
1. *To
implement the Secretariat’s gender work, designed to promote women’s
rights and gender equality in Commonwealth countries through advocacy, policy
advice, capacity building, and technical assistance.
2.
3. *To
convene triennial meetings of Commonwealth Ministers responsible for
Women’s Affairs, annual meetings of Commonwealth Women’s National Machineries
and the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting Women’s Forum.
4.
5. *To lead and coordinate systems and mechanisms for effective gender mainstreaming within the Secretariat, including advice for staff on gender issues and tools development.