GOOD NEWS -GOOD NEWS TO ALL  WOMEN !

2 July 2010

“The newest member of the UN family has been born today,” Mr. Ban told the Assembly after it passed the resolution setting up the new UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, to be known as UN Women. The new body will merge four of the world body’s agencies and offices: UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), the Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW), the Officeof the Special Adviser on Gender Issues, and the UN International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (UN-INSTRAW).

“By bringing together four parts of the UN system dedicated to women’s issues, Member States have created a much stronger voice for women and for gender equality at the global level,” said the Secretary-General. “It will now be much more difficult for the world to ignore the challenges facing women and girls – or to fail to take the necessary action,” he added. UN Women is the result of years of negotiations among Member States and advocacy by the global women’s movement. Set to become operational next January, it will drive the world body’s efforts to promote women’s rights. UN Women is set to have an annual budget of at least $500 million – double the current combined resources of the four agencies it will comprise. Mr. Ban acknowledged that many Member States are facing resource constraints due to the global economic downturn, but expressed confidence that the new office will receive strong financial support. 

One of the main goals of UN Women will be to support the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) and other inter-governmental bodies in devising policies. The new body 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. “UN Women will give women and girls the strong, unified voice they deserve on the world stage,” Ms. Migiro said, calling today a “positive and exciting moment” for the entire UN family. Based in New York, UN Women will be headed by an Under-Secretary-General, to be appointed by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.   

                                                                                                        
Celine Paramundayil

The fifty-fourth session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW 54) took place from March 1 – 12, 2010 at UN Headquarters, New York.  Beijing + 15, 15-year review of the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (1995) and the outcome of the twenty-third special session of the General Assembly (2000) is part of the agenda. 

2010 Global Forum for Women took place at the Salvation Army, New York Headquarters on Feb 27-28, 2010.  MMS representatives  participated in both the events.  About 3,700 women from all over the world  descended in New York to participate in these events.

2 - 13 March 2009 New York: 53rd Session of the Commission on the Status of Women

The Commission on Status of Women began March 2 and will go on till March 13, 2009. This theme is “The equal sharing of responsibilities between women and men, including care giving in the context of HIV/AIDS.” About 5000 women had pre-registered for this event and about 3000 are expected to attend.  The UN is overflowing with women, women can be seen everywhere, with hundreds of parallel events taking place all over. 

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