Pacific Governments In The Right Gear At The UN

Pacific Governments In The Right Gear At The UN

A Femlinkpacific Report By Sharon Bhagwan Rolls

3 April 2009

This week, women’s NGOs have been keeping our fingers crossed in anticipation that as UN member states prepare to finally commit to Gender Equality Architecture Reform (GEAR) we will soon see the UN system more accountable to gender equality commitments and also more responsive to country-level needs and effectively resourced, through an appropriate combination of assessed and voluntary funding – and with our own Under Secretary General.

A series of informal consultations were held at the United Nations Headquarter in New York this week in the lead up to the 63rd session of the General Assembly where it is expected that UN member states will finally conclude what seems like decades of debate and discussion for the creation of a new consolidated and stronger United Nations (UN) entity for women will greatly advance gender equality, the empowerment of women and women’s human rights throughout the world.

And in a collective statement by Pacific Forum members at the UN has rendered support for the establishment of a strengthened single UN entity dedicated to the advancement of women and to also support implementation of UN Security Council resolutions 1325 and 1820 (Women, Peace and Security).

That was the commitment delivered by the Papua New Guinea representative to the United Nations Ambassador Robert Aisi at the informal consultations on System-wide Coherence on Monday 30 March which was convened at the United Nations to discuss the paper entitled “Further Details on Institutional Options for Strengthening the Institutional Arrangements for Support of Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women”.

During the recent Commission of the Status of Women meeting Pacific NGOs in New York we indicated our collective hope that our governments would reiterate the September 2008 General Assembly resolution when member states adopted by consensus a resolution that will officially move forward the gender architecture discussion into the next GA session.

This meant that states had agreed to take next steps toward strengthening the UN system in relation to gender equality and women’s empowerment. States also called for the Secretary General to provide a further, detailed modalities paper in respect to the options set out in the Deputy Secretary-General’s paper…focusing in particular on the 'Composite Entity' option with a view to facilitating substantive action by the General Assembly within the 63rd session. The Composite model (which was formerly called the hybrid or option D) is the one supported by the GEAR Campaign as the most promising; it could potentially create a new women’s entity that, if developed as GEAR supporters have been advocating for, would have strong country presence, significant funding capacity, high level leadership and a strategic normative and policy making function

The NGO led GEAR campaign, which now comprises of over 275 organisations in more than 50 countries, believes that the creation of a new consolidated and stronger United Nations (UN) entity for women will greatly advance gender equality, the empowerment of women and women’s human rights throughout the world.

Since the UN Decade for Women (1975 to 1985) there have been significant commitments made for the advancement of women towards gender equality and women’s empowerment. These include the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the Beijing Platform for Action (BPFA), Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women Peace and Security, and the Millennium Declaration and Development Goals (MDGs) yet the UN still lacks a strong driver at the leadership level, both at Headquarters and at the country level, as well as a systematic and effective mechanism to deliver on many of the essential commitments made, including those concerning the equal sharing of responsibilities between women and men and caregiving in the context of HIV/AIDS. The UN has several small under-resourced agencies focused exclusively on women’s issues. Other larger agencies make critical contributions to women’s human rights and gender equality, but this is usually a small part of their mandate.

And in response to this critical need the Pacific Statement calls for a UN entity to be led by an Under Secretary General and combine normative and operational functions consistent with the proposed composite model:

“We are pleased to be here today to participate in these important discussions on gender architecture reform. We recognise the vital role of the United Nations in advancing gender equality in our region. We therefore welcome the report of the Secretary-General which provides further details on options for gender architecture reform,” said Aisi

Pacific Forum members have also recognised the contributions women’s NGOs have played in advancing many of the gender equality commitments in our region and highlighted the need for ongoing positive partnerships and collaboration:

“Civil society, especially women’s organizations, has played an important role assisting the UN and Member States to recognize and address global challenges relating to gender equality and women’s empowerment. It is critical to build on this important role by bringing diverse women’s voices into all aspects of the new women’s entity at the national, regional and international levels in order to improve results for women on the ground.”

The Pacific Forum members have also taken the opportunity to remind other UN member states that a stronger gender equality architecture within the UN system should also address the needs of smaller member states, who need ongoing development partner support to implement agreed gender equality commitments:

“As you are aware, some Pacific Island countries are off-track in meeting internationally agreed gender targets such as in the areas of women’s representation in parliament and maternal mortality. Women’s economic empowerment and violence against women are also significant issues of concern for us. The Pacific has a narrower donor landscape compared with other regions and resourcing for gender equality remains a challenge.”

Pacific Forum members are therefore hoping that the UN reform process will lead to increased UN engagement and support for gender equality in the Pacific region: “It is important that increased attention to gender issues be integral to the growth in UN agency presence, coordination and collaboration at regional and country level. The Pacific Islands also encourage any new gender architecture arrangements to enable enhanced engagement with regional organisations and to strengthen existing gender machineries of government at national level. We also consider it important the entity has a central role to play assisting with the implementation of Security Council Resolutions 1325 and 1820 on women, peace and security.”

Ultimately strengthening the UN’s gender equality machinery is a crucial part of developing and implementing gender-responsive policies that adequately address the most pressing problems facing women around the world, including those related to poverty, development, human rights and peace and security as well as the effects of HIV and AIDS.

It is anticipated that a new, stronger UN entity for women will better enable the UN system and Governments to deliver on the promises made to advance gender equality and women’s human rights at the global and country levels.

This is the ripple effect which is truly needed so that women and girls of the world can finally have a UN system that does really work for us.

And so these are the essential requirements for the UN’s Gender Equality Architecture Reform process:

• Headed by an Under-Secretary-General to ensure representation and decision-making at the highest level in both policy development and program operations at the global and country levels. The new Under-Secretary-General post would provide higher level leadership in executive decisions, than exists at present, to more effectively drive the gender equality and women’s empowerment agenda.
•
• Universal field presence and a strong policy and programmatic mandate essential to effectively improve the lives of women on the ground and worldwide.
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• Substantial and predictable resources to ensure the capacity to meet expectations and deliver results at all levels. It must be funded initially at a minimum level of $1 billion USD, with increases over time.
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• Accountability at both national and international levels, including through meaningful involvement of civil society, particularly women’s non-governmental organisations.
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• Promotion of gender mainstreaming by the integration of gender equality and women’s human rights throughout the UN system, and especially in the UN Country Pilots and in all UN reform processes.
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• Systematic and transparent civil society participation in the creation and monitoring of any newly established entity by:
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o Securing direct communication with the relevant UN Working Group now developing proposals; and an opportunity to review and contribute to the United Nations Secretariat’s relevant studies and papers at all stages of drafting processes;

o Ensuring timely and direct access to information and documents, with time to share them with GEAR colleagues in all regions;

o Facilitating an open, inclusive, and transparent process to build legitimacy with stakeholders, particularly women’s organisations in countries around the world, in this process.

• Strong commitment and leadership by the UN Deputy Secretary-General that will allow timely and effective action during the current sixty-third session of the General Assembly.

ENDS

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