UN Women ONU Femmes ONU Mujeres |
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| Org type | UN entity |
| Head | Michelle Bachelet |
| Established | 2010 |
| Headquarters | New York City, United States |
| Website | www.unwomen.org |
The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, also known as UN Women, is a United Nations entity working for the empowerment of women and girls.
UN Women became operational in January 2011.[1] Former president of Chile Michelle Bachelet is the inaugural Executive Director. As with UNIFEM previously, UN Women is a member of the United Nations Development Group.[2]
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In response to the UN General Assembly resolution 63/311, in January 2006 the Secretary-General 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 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. [3]
After years of negotiations between UN Member States, women’s groups and civil society, on 2 July 2010 the United Nations General Assembly unanimously adopted 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 (INSTRAW, established in 1976); the Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues 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."[4]
On September 14, 2010, it was announced that former President of Chile Michelle Bachelet was appointed as head of UN Women.[5] Various countries supported the creation of the body and welcomes Bachelet as chief.[6] 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.[7]
The provisions set forth by resolution 63/311 on system-wide coherence, adopted by the United Nations 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 of the United Nations 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. [8]
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:
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 fot service operational processes and activities at all levels are funded from voluntary contributions and approved by the Executive Board of UN Women.[9]
The Executive Board, elected on 10 November 2010, consists of:
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 to the aforementioned mandates, the entity must lead, coordinate and promote the accountability of the United Nations system in its work on gender equality and women empowerment. The goal of UN Women is to enhance, not replace, the efforts by other parts of the UN system such as UNICEF, UNDP, and UNFPA, all of which will continue to work for gender equality and women’s empowerment in their areas of expertise.” [1]
In accordance with the provisions of resolution 64/289, UN Women will work within the framework of the Charter of the United Nations, 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 United Nations instruments, standards and resolutions that address gender equality and the empowerment and advancement of women.[9]
UN Women is empowered to:
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