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The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, also known as UN Women, is a
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...
entity working for
gender equality Gender equality, also known as sexual equality or equality of the sexes, is the state of equal ease of access to resources and opportunities regardless of gender, including economic participation and decision-making; and the state of valuing d ...
and the empowerment of women. UN Women advocates for the rights of women and girls, and focuses on a wide array of issues, including
violence against women Violence against women (VAW), also known as gender-based violence and sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), are violent acts primarily or exclusively committed against women or girls, usually by men or boys. Such violence is often c ...
and violence against LGBTIQ+ people. UN Women was established by the merger of the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM, established in 1976) and other entities, and became operational in January 2011. Former
President of Chile The president of Chile ( es, Presidente de Chile), officially known as the President of the Republic of Chile ( es, Presidente de la República de Chile), is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of Chile. The president is re ...
Michelle Bachelet was the inaugural executive director, and Sima Sami Bahous is the current executive director. As with UNIFEM previously, UN Women is a member of the
United Nations Development Group The United Nations Sustainable Development Group (UNSDG), previously the United Nations Development Group (UNDG), is a consortium of 36 United Nations funds, programs, specialized agencies, departments and offices that play a role in development ...
.


History

In response to the
UN General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Curr ...
resolution 63/311, in January 2010 the
Secretary-General Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...
presented the report A/64/588, entitled ''Comprehensive Proposal for the Composite Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women''. In his report, the Secretary-General resolved that, rather than relieving other parts of the United Nations system of their responsibility for contributing to the promotion of
gender equality Gender equality, also known as sexual equality or equality of the sexes, is the state of equal ease of access to resources and opportunities regardless of gender, including economic participation and decision-making; and the state of valuing d ...
and women's empowerment, the new entity should seek to sharpen the focus and impact of the gender equality activities of the entire United Nations system. Additionally, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon estimated that approximately $125 million per annum were needed for operating costs and "start-up" capacity at the country, regional, and headquarters levels. Moreover, an additional $375 million per annum were needed in the initial phase to respond to country level requests for programmatic support. After years of negotiations between
UN member states The United Nations member states are the sovereign states that are members of the United Nations (UN) and have equal representation in the UN General Assembly. The UN is the world's largest intergovernmental organization. The criter ...
, women's groups, and civil society, on 2 July 2010 the General Assembly unanimously adopted the resolution 64/289, thus creating UN Women by merging the Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW); the
International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women The International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW ) was a subsidiary of the United Nations General Assembly. It was established upon recommendation of the World Conference on the International Women's Year 1 ...
(INSTRAW, established in 1976); the Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women (OSAGI, established in 1997), and the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM, established in 1976). Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced at the founding of the movement that he is "grateful to Member States for having taken this major step forward for the world's women and girls. UN Women will significantly boost UN efforts to promote gender equality, expand opportunity, and tackle discrimination around the globe." On 14 September 2010, it was announced that former President of Chile Michelle Bachelet was appointed as head of UN Women. Various countries supported the creation of the body and welcomed Bachelet as chief. During General Debate at the opening of the 65th General Assembly of the United Nations, world leaders commended the creation of the body and its intention to "empower women", as well as welcoming Bachelet's position as the inaugural head. On 11 March 2011, John Hendra of Canada and Lakshmi Puri of India were appointed as first deputy executive directors at the level of UN Assistant Secretary-General. The provisions set forth by resolution 63/311 on system-wide coherence, adopted by the General Assembly on 2 October 2010, constituted the blueprint for UN Women. Seeking to strengthen the United Nation's institutional arrangements for gender equality and women empowerment, resolution 63/311 supported the consolidation of four distinct parts of the UN system that focused exclusively on gender equality and women's empowerment into a composite entity to be led by an Under-Secretary-General. Moreover, the resolution requested that the Secretary-General produce a proposal specifying the mission statement of the composite entity and its organizational arrangements, including an organizational chart, funding, and the executive board to oversee its operational activities. The actress Melania Dalla Costa is testimonial for the 2019
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...
(
UNICRI The United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI) is one of the five United Nations Research and Training Institutes. The Institute was founded in 1968 to assist the international community in formulating and impl ...
) campaign ‘I am no longer myself’ against violence towards women, to be held on the November 25th International Day for the elimination of violence against women. The campaign was handled by photographer Dimitri Dimitracacos.


Structure and functioning

Resolution 64/289 determined that the entity should be headed by an Under-Secretary-General, to be appointed by the Secretary-General in consultation with member states, for a term of four years, with the possibility of renewal for one term. The organization is governed by a multi-tiered intergovernmental governance structure in charge of providing normative and operational policy guidance. The General Assembly, Economic and Social Council, and the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) constitute the governance structure that sets forth the normative policy guiding principles of the Entity. The intergovernmental governance structure in charge of providing operational policy guidance to UN Women includes the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council and the organization's Executive Board. The latter consist of forty-one members, elected by the Economic and Social Council for a term of three years and distributed as follows: * Ten from the Group of African States * Ten from the Group of Asian States * Four from the Group of Eastern European States * Six from the Group of Latin American and Caribbean States * Five from the Group of Western European and Other States * Six from contributing countries. Four seats will be selected by and from the top ten largest providers of voluntary core contributions to UN Women. The remaining two seats will be allocated to two developing countries not members of the Development Assistance Committee of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (DAC/OECD). These two countries will be selected by the developing countries not members of the Development Assistance Committee among the top ten providers of voluntary core contributions to the entity. The resources required to fund all normative processes are obtained from the Entity's regular budget and approved by the General Assembly, whereas the budget for service operational processes and activities at all levels are funded from voluntary contributions and approved by the Executive Board of UN Women.


Current Executive Board composition

The 2020 Executive Board consists of: * Africa: Angola, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Morocco, Nigeria and Sierra Leone. * Asia-Pacific: Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Lebanon, Mongolia, Nepal, Republic of Korea and Saudi Arabia. * Eastern Europe: Georgia, Hungary, Lithuania and Russia. * Latin America and the Caribbean: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba and Mexico. * Western Europe and other States: Belgium, Canada, Germany, New Zealand, Switzerland. * Contributing countries: Finland, Senegal, Sweden, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States.


Mandate

The mandate and functions of UN Women consist of the consolidated mandates and functions of the Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women, the Division for the Advancement of Women, the United Nations Development Fund for Women, and the International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women. In addition, the entity must lead, coordinate, and promote the accountability of the United Nations system in its work on gender equality and women's empowerment. The goal of UN Women is to "enhance, not replace, efforts by other parts of the UN system (such as
UNICEF UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to c ...
,
UNDP The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)french: Programme des Nations unies pour le développement, PNUD is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human dev ...
, and
UNFPA The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), formerly the United Nations Fund for Population Activities, is a UN agency aimed at improving reproductive and maternal health worldwide. Its work includes developing national healthcare strategies a ...
), which will continue to have a responsibility to work for gender equality and women's empowerment in their areas of expertise." In accordance with the provisions of resolution 64/289, UN Women will work within the framework of the UN Charter and the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, including its twelve critical areas of concern and the outcome of the twenty-third special session of the General Assembly, as well as other applicable UN instruments, standards and resolutions that address gender equality and the empowerment and advancement of women. UN Women's main thematic areas of work include: * Leadership and political participation * Economic empowerment * Ending
violence against women Violence against women (VAW), also known as gender-based violence and sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), are violent acts primarily or exclusively committed against women or girls, usually by men or boys. Such violence is often c ...
* Humanitarian action * Peace and security * Governance and national planning * The
2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) or Global Goals are a collection of 17 interlinked objectives designed to serve as a "shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future".United Nations (2017) R ...
*
HIV and AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ...
In late 2013, a series of ads, developed as a creative idea for UN Women by Ogilvy & Mather, used genuine Google searches to reveal the widespread prevalence of
sexism Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but it primarily affects women and girls.There is a clear and broad consensus among academic scholars in multiple fields that sexism refers pri ...
and discrimination against women The ads featured the faces of four women and where their mouths should be were Google auto-complete suggestions. The suggestions were all sexist or misogynist. A similar campaign was also run to raise awareness for
gay rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Notably, , ...
. UN Women promotes the rights of
LGBTIQ Intersex people are born with sex characteristics (such as genitals, gonads, and chromosome patterns) that "do not fit the typical definitions for male or female bodies". They are substantially more likely to identify as lesbian, gay, bisex ...
people. UN Women advocates an
intersectional feminism Intersectionality is an analytical framework for understanding how aspects of a person's social and political identities combine to create different modes of discrimination and privilege. Intersectionality identifies multiple factors of adva ...
. Also in late 2013, UN Women launched a constitutional database that examines
constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these pr ...
s through a gender lens. The first of its kind, this database maps the principles and rules that guarantee, deny, or protect the rights of women and girls around the world. This tool for gender equality and human rights activists is annually updated and searchable, and provides a comprehensive overview of the current status of provisions relevant to women's rights and gender equality across various countries throughout the world. Users can search though the database by keyword, and legal provisions are grouped into 16 categories that were carefully defined by reviewing the constitutions from a human rights perspective. UN Women is one of the lead agencies in coordinating
International Women's Day International Women's Day (IWD) is a global holiday celebrated annually on March 8 as a focal point in the women's rights movement, bringing attention to issues such as gender equality, reproductive rights, and violence and abuse against wo ...
events as well as the Commission on the Status of Women. The year 2015 has marked a number of significant milestones, such as the 20th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women and adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, which was the focus of the 59th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW59) from 9–20 March 2015, where global leaders took stock of progress and remaining challenges for implementing this landmark agreement for gender equality and women's rights. UN Women played an active role in major intergovernmental negotiations and processes including the Financing for Development Conference in
Addis Ababa Addis Ababa (; am, አዲስ አበባ, , new flower ; also known as , lit. "natural spring" in Oromo), is the capital and largest city of Ethiopia. It is also served as major administrative center of the Oromia Region. In the 2007 census, t ...
in July 2015, the outcome of which was strong on the need to adequately fund gender equality and incorporate it in development planning, as well as the negotiations and successful adoption of the new post-2015 development agenda on 25 September 2015. The new global development roadmap includes a stand-alone goal on gender equality and women's empowerment (Sustainable Development Goal 5), and mainstreams these priorities throughout all 17 goals.Women and the Sustainable Development Goals
UN Women, November 5, 2015


Goals

UN Women is empowered to: * support intergovernmental bodies, such as the Commission on the Status of Women, in their formulation of policies, global standards, and norms * help UN member states implement the above standards, standing ready to provide suitable technical and financial support to those countries that request it and to forge effective partnerships with civil society * enable member states to hold the UN system accountable for its own commitments on gender equality, including regular monitoring of system-wide progress


See also

*
Women's rights Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countri ...
* UN Women Goodwill Ambassador * United Nations: **
Special measures for gender equality in the United Nations The United Nations Secretariat, in September 1999, promulgated Administrative Instruction (AI) on "Special Measures for the Achievement Of Gender Equality" (ST/AI/1999/9 also Gender Equality A/I), to strengthen and expedite measures to achieve gend ...
(UN) ** Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) **
Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (abbreviated as DEDAW) is a human rights proclamation issued by the United Nations General Assembly, outlining that body's views on women's rights. It was adopted by the General A ...
** Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women *
Women's Empowerment Principles
(WEPs) ** EGM: prevention of violence against women and girls **
Global Implementation Plan to End Violence against Women and Girls The Global Implementation Plan to End Violence Against Women and Girls was a recommendation from the multi-agency Expert Group Meeting (EGM) on the prevention of violence against women and girls. The meeting was convened as part of the United N ...
**
HeForShe HeForShe, often referred to as He for She, is a solidarity movement for the advancement of gender equality, initiated by the United Nations. Grounded in the idea that gender inequality is an issue that affects all people, socially, economical ...
**
NGO Committee on the Status of Women, New York The NGO Committee on the Status of Women, New York (NGO/CSW/NY) is one of three women's committees of the Conference of NGOs in Consultative Relationship with the UN ( CoNGO). Established in 1972, it provides an open forum for women's voices to be ...
(NGO CSW/NY) ** United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) ** United Nations International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW) **
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (S/RES/1325), on women, peace, and security, was adopted unanimously by the UN Security Council on 31 October 2000, after recalling resolutions 1261 (1999), 1265 (1999), 1296 (2000), and 1314 (200 ...
(UNSRC 1325) * Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul Convention) *
Gender Equality Architecture Reform The Gender Equality Architecture Reform (GEAR) Campaign was a network of over 300 women's, human rights and social justice groups around the world. The GEAR campaign urged UN Member States and the UN Secretariat to move swiftly forward to create a ...
(GEAR)


References


External links


Official Website

General Assembly Resolution 64/289
{{DEFAULTSORT:Un Women United Nations organizations based in North America United Nations Development Group Women's rights organizations Organizations established in 2010 Organizations based in New York City International women's organizations 2010 establishments in New York City