[Ict4women] Women's GlobalNet #341: UN General Assembly Set to Advance Process on New Gender Entity

[Sophia Huyer]

IWTC WOMEN'S GLOBALNET #341
ACTIVITIES & INITIATIVES OF WOMEN WORLDWIDE

UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY SET TO ADVANCE PROCESS ON NEW GENDER ENTITY
September 11, 2008
Mavic Cabrera Balleza

1. MEMBER STATES EXPECTED TO DECIDE ON NEW GENDER ENTITY PROPOSED AS  
PART
     OF UN SYSTEM-WIDE COHERENCE

2. COUNTRY POSITIONS

3. NGO POSITIONS

4. INSTITUTIONAL OPTIONS TO STRENGTHEN THE UNITED NATION'S WORK ON  
GENDER
     EQUALITY
1.MEMBER STATES EXPECTED TO DECIDE ON NEW GENDER ENTITY PROPOSED AS  
PART OF UN SYSTEM-WIDE COHERENCE
At an informal consultation about the UN's work on gender equality and  
women's empowerment, Member States were asked to decide next steps,  
before the end of the 62nd General Assembly session on September 15,  
2008, including the institutional option or combination of options  
they wished to pursue with regards to the gender entity. Countries  
that spoke at the September 8 consultation indicated an emerging  
consensus on moving forward with the last of the four options under  
consideration - Option 4/ D, which proposes the creation of a  
composite entity of the four existing women-specific agencies, i.e the  
United Nations Development Fund for Women, Office of the Special  
Advisor on Gender Issues, the Division for the Advancement of Women,  
and the International Research and Training Institute for Women.

Even as this option emerged as the most popular, countries requested  
the Secretary General to develop the option further and present a  
concrete proposal to the 63rd General Assembly session which opens on  
September 16, 2008. The framework resolution moving the System Wide  
Coherence process forward in the 63rd GA session and requesting the  
Secretary General to further develop Option 4/D is expected to be  
adopted during this week.

The other three options being considered as possibilities to  
strengthen the UN's work on gender equality and the empowerment of  
women are (A) maintaining the status quo -women-specific agencies  
operating as they are now; (B) creating an autonomous fund/programme;  
and (C) creating a department within the Secretariat. All options were  
explored and analyzed in paper that was circulated in the General  
Assembly by the UN Deputy Secretary General (DSG) in July 2008 (see  
section 4 for a fuller explanation).

2. COUNTRY POSITIONS
France, on behalf of the European Union, endorsed the co-chairs  
recommendations and supports the creation of a new structure, headed  
by an Under-Secretary General. The EU believes that Options D best  
addresses gaps and challenges, but further discussions are needed.

Iceland, on behalf of the Nordic countries, stressed the need for  
Member States to take concrete steps and that Option D is the best  
option.

On behalf of the CANZ group (Canada, Australia and New Zealand),  
Canada stated that the Composite entity option was more promising and  
a decision should be made in the next GA session.

Korea expressed its full support for strengthening the gender equality  
architecture in the UN, and voiced that the Fund/programme and the  
Composite entity were the two options that could be effective.

A number of African and Latin American countries including Kenya,  
Mozambique and Rwanda; Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Columbia, Ecuador,  
Paraguay and Uruguay also spoke in support of strengthening the gender  
equality architecture, and some specifically supported Option D.

3. NGO POSITIONS
Prior to the September 8 consultation, a number of NGOs have stated  
their preference for option D highlighting its combination of the  
normative with the operational role and its potential to have a strong  
presence at the country level. They however stressed that it should be  
led by an Under Secretary General to guarantee representation at the  
highest decision-making level of the UN. Some NGOs and women's groups,  
including European Women's Lobby, OXFAM/novib, WIDE, WOMANKIND and GAD  
network UK, demanded that in order to set in place a fully  
operational, programmatic and efficient women's agency the new agency  
must be funded to the minimum of $1 billion USD and lobby for this  
budget to double to $2 billion in 5 years.

4. INSTITUTIONAL OPTIONS TO STRENGTHEN UN WORK ON GENDER EQUALITY &  
EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN
The four options under consideration were based on the paper,  
Institutional Options to Strengthen United Nations Work on Gender  
Equality and the Empowerment of Women, prepared by the office of the  
Deputy Secretary General. This paper was sent to the President of the  
General Assembly on July 23 and circulated to Member States on July 28  
in response to the request of the General Assembly to address the gaps  
and challenges in the work of the United Nations system on gender  
equality.  The paper presents four options:

1/A. Maintaining the status quo - This option would not entail any  
structural change in the UN's gender equality architecture.

2/B. Creating an autonomous fund/programme - involves the  
establishment of an autonomous programame that would consolidate the  
Office of the Speacil Adviser toe the Secreatray Genereal on Gender  
Issues, dvision for the Advancement of Women, UNIFEM, and  INSTRAW

3/C. Creating a department within the Secretariat - In this option, a  
Department will be created within the UN Secreatriat to perform the  
functions including leadership in country-driven programming, gender  
mainstreaming and capacity building and provision of support to UN  
bodies such as the commission on the Status of Women and the Economic  
and Social Council

4/D. Creating a composite entity - requires the creation of a new  
governing body (or bodies) reporting to the General Assembly. It would  
be headed by a USG who is a full member of the Secretary General's  
policy committee.

For a copy of the full copy of the paper prepared by the office of the  
Deputy Secretary General visit http://www.wedo.org/library.aspx?ResourceID=279 
. The analysis paper on this options prepared by the Gender Equality  
Architecture Reform (GEAR) campaign is available at http://gear.collectivex.com/discussion/topic/show/86809
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