New York, August 20, 2010- From September 20th-22nd (Monday to Wednesday), the United Nations High-level Plenary Meeting on the Millennium Development Goals will be held at UN Headquarters in New York.

In preparation, WEDO has put together a “Quick Guide to the 2010 MDG Summit” to provide you with essential information about the meeting and civil society participation.

Please check back here over the next few weeks for further information and updates.

New York, August 3 2010 — Representatives of the GEAR (Gender Equality Architecture Reform) Campaign, including Rachel Harris (WEDO), Charlotte Bunch (CWGL – Center for Women’s Global Leadership) and Bani Dugal (BIC -Baha’i International Community), talk about the GEAR Campaign’s role in the recent UN Resolution establishing UN Women/ONU Femmes.

Watch the video.

New York, July 9 2010 — It’s official! Christiana Figueres began her tenure as Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) yesterday, July 8.

WEDO, along with our partners and allies, looks forward to working closely with Ms. Figueres and the UNFCCC to secure a just and gender-responsive climate agreement.

See the UNFCCC announcement, “Christiana Figueres takes the helm at UNFCCC” (http://unfccc.int/2860.php)

New York, July 1 2010 – The Gender Equality Architecture Reform (GEAR) Campaign celebrates the United Nations General Assembly resolution, agreed to on 30 June and to be formally adopted by the General Assembly on Friday, 2 July, to establish “UN Women”—the new gender equality entity at the UN. This move has been sought by women’s organizations and other civil society organizations around the world since the UN established a System-Wide Coherence Panel for UN Reform in 2006.
 
Charlotte Bunch of the Center for Women’s Global Leadership (CWGL) at Rutgers University, a founding member of the GEAR Campaign, stated, “We have high expectations for this new agency to be a solid foundation for advancing the human rights of women as central to global policy efforts to reduce poverty and move toward greater realization of peace and democracy in the world.   The coalition of women’s groups and other social justice, human rights and development organizations that played a pivotal role in this effort will now turn its efforts toward ensuring that the new body has the human and financial resources necessary to succeed.” 
 
Particularly notable in the resolution are the paragraphs regarding the importance of civil society participation in the new entity.  The body must have increased operational presence at the country level including engagement with women’s groups and other civil society organizations invested in gender equality and the empowerment of women.
The GEAR Campaign’s global, regional, and national networks will be contacting UN representatives at all levels to work with the transition process and the new Under Secretary-General, once appointed, to ensure they are connected with organizations on the ground ready to provide their  expertise and support.
 
As Patricia Licuanan of the Philippines, GEAR focal point in Asia and previous Chair of the Commission on the Status of Women at the time of the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing says: “The new gender equality entity will assist countries in their efforts to carry out commitments made in Beijing. Working through the One UN system, we hope to see UN Women taking the lead in engendering the programs of the UN at the country level.”     
 
As the new entity is developed, GEAR supporters will continue to advocate for four major elements critical to its implementation:

• Meaningful, systematic and diverse civil society participation at all levels
• Strong, country-level operational capacity and universal coverage
• Ambitious funding with stable and predictable resources aimed at reaching $1 billion within a few years
• Strong leadership at the top with an Under Secretary-General who combines a global vision with gender equality expertise on the ground

“We know that this is only the beginning,” stated Rachel Harris of the Women’s Environment and Development Organization (WEDO).  “We must continue to ensure that we are building a United Nations that really works for all women!”
 
Background
The GEAR Campaign is a network of over 300 women’s, human rights and social justice groups around the world that have been working for four years to gain UN Member State and UN Secretariat approval for creation of a larger more coherent coordinated UN agency that can advance further the UN’s   mandate of working for gender equality as a crucial component of development, human rights, humanitarian concerns, peace and security.
 
The new Gender Equality Entity to be headed by an Under-Secretary General, will consolidate the four existing UN bodies on women, increase operational capacity at the country level and have gain increased funding for work on women’s empowerment and advancement. The UN currently has four separate entities dedicated to women’s issues which will be combined in the new entity: the UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), the Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW), the International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW), and the Office of the Special Adviser to the UN Secretary-General on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women (OSAGI).  Bringing these together and coordinating their work more with gender mainstreaming throughout the UN system should the UN and governments to deliver more effectively on their obligations and many commitments to advance gender equality, women’s empowerment and women’s human rights.

For more information please go to the GEAR Campaign website – www.gearcampaign.org – or contact the GEAR Campaign at: gearcampaign@gmail.com

Contact: Charlotte Bunch, 732-642-5271 or cbunch@igc.org, Bani Dugal, 646-404-4210 or bdugal@bic.org, Rachel Harris, 301-535-9702 or rachel@wedo.org

Click here to download the Press Release

Charlotte Bunch, speaking on behalf of WEDO and the GEAR Coalition

 New York, June 29 2010 – From June 14^th- 15^th, government representatives as well as non-governmental, civil society, and private sector representatives gathered at the UN Headquarters in New York to take part in an informal interactive hearing to provide input to the preparatory process for the September 2010 ‘MDG Summit’.

The hearings touched upon the main initiatives currently being undertaken at WEDO, namely: global governance reform to advance gender equalty and women’s empowerment, promoting women’s political participation, and engaging in global climate change advocacy.

Speaking on behalf of WEDO and the GEAR Campaign during the first session of the hearings, Ms. Charlotte Bunch of the Center for Women’s Global Leadership (CWGL) highlighted the urgency in establishing a new gender entity. “If Heads of State and Senior UN leadership move the new women’s agency forward this year with significant high level leadership and financial support, the gender equality agenda could be advanced at the local level over the next five years, which would significantly advance progress on the MDGs.“ 

Ms. Bunch set a precedent as several other speakers reinforced the need for a strong gender entity at the UN by emphasizing the central role of gender equality and women’s empowerment in achieving progress towards the Millennium Development Goals.  

Speaking on MDG 1- Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger, Ms. Farah Kabir from ActionAid underscored that, “Investing in women smallholder farmers is the key to halving hunger and results in twice as much growth as investment in any other sector.” 

Representatives of the private sector connected the importance of advancing gender equality in the labour market to achieving the MDGs. Marie Gad from BUSINESSEUROPE stated; “There is a clear correlation between the female to male ratio in economic activities and the number of people living in poverty. Countries with higher levels of females in the labour market have thus not only achieved higher income levels, they have also managed to reduce the number of people living below the poverty line.” She emphasized that much needed to be done to remove the social structures and judicial obstacles which prevent women from becoming successful entrepreneurs and business leaders.

Ms. Martha Sanchez Nestor,  of Alianza de Mujeres Indigenas de Centroamerica y Mexico, put foward specific recommendations for recognising the unique contributions of indigenous women in advancing the MDGs. “Learning the models of intercultural services for the human rights of indigenous women we propose to improve the recognition and respect for the traditional medicine of the indigenous peoples, the role of midwives, the indigenous cosmovision, and the potential for indigenous women leaders to eliminate gaps of economic, social, cultural, civil, and political inequalities in their countries.” 

Ms. Constance Okollet, of the Osukuru United Women’s Network spoke on behalf of Climate Wise Women about the importance of women’s participation in combating climate change as a key factor in achieving the MDGs. Speaking about the unique position of women in her community, Constance shared; “Most of the responsibilities in homes are carried out by the women. This includes food production and preparation, caring for children (and husbands!) and families, as well as raising cash through farming and petty trade. These responsibilities have been made much worse due to climate change. This is because the women have to work many times harder to sustain their families.” Ms. Okollet asserted that women must play an integral role in developing solutions for adaptation and mitigation to climate change and emphasized that; “However much we talk about the structures and resources needed to take countries out of poverty, without talking about climate change it is all meaningless.”

Click here to view full statements from all speakers and respondents at the hearings 

For more information on the GEAR Campaign please go to campaign website – www.gearcampaign.org – contact the GEAR Campaign at: gearcampaign@gmail.com or Rachel Harris of WEDO at +1 212 873 0352 x211.

New York, June 17 2010– The Gender Equality Architecture Reform (GEAR) Campaign, which WEDO co-coordinates, today presented the President of the UN General Assembly, Dr. Ali Abdussalam Treki with its global petition and pressed for the UN to establish a strong new agency for women by July 2010. The petition, signed by 34,555 women and men from 165 countries and territories and bound with the Campaign’s slogan “GEAR UP!” was handed over to Dr. Treki, whilst all 192 UN member states of the General Assembly were meeting to negotiate a draft resolution that would establish the agency.

“The supporters of the new gender entity are not only from women’s organizations but also are from social justice, human rights and development organizations,” said Charlotte Bunch of the Center for Women’s Global Leadership, “all demand a UN that works for women.”

Seydi Gassama of Amnesty International Senegal added: “It was important to me to meet the General Assembly President today to prove that this is a concern not only for women, but for all human rights defenders.”

Bani Dugal of the Bahá’í International Community concluded: “Now is the time to adopt a resolution that will launch the new women’s entity with increased operational capacity, civil society participation, ambitious funding and a strong leader”.

Responding to the petition, Dr. Treki stressed that the situation for women continued to require urgent action, including changes to discriminatory laws and practices that held back advancements in gender equality and women’s empowerment. He expected outstanding differences among member states soon to be resolved and hoped the new entity would be established by the end of the month.

Background: The GEAR Campaign, a global network of 314 women’s, human rights and social justice groups, was represented at the meeting with the President of the General Assembly by Charlotte Bunch of the Center for Women’s Global Leadership, Rachel Harris of the Women’s Environment and Development Organization, Bani Dugal of the Bahá’í International Community, Antonia Kirkland of Equality Now, Seydi Gassama of Amnesty International, and Jan Peterson of the Huairou Commission.

The UN currently has four small entities dedicated to women’s issues: the Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), the Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW), the International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW), and the Office of the Special Adviser to the UN Secretary-General on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women (OSAGI). The work of all four entities is fragmented within the UN system. All lack the necessary status, funding and country presence to enable the wider UN system and national authorities to better deliver on their numerous obligations and commitments to advance gender equality, women’s empowerment and women’s human rights. These include the Beijing Platform for Action, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, Security Council Resolutions on Women, Peace and Security, and the Millennium Development Goals.

In September 2009, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution (A/RES/63/311) supporting the consolidation of the UN’s four gender equality entities into a composite women’s entity, to be headed by an Under Secretary-General. The GEAR Campaign and petitioners have stressed that the new entity must have:

• World coverage and the necessary country presence and strong policy and programmatic mandate to effectively improve the lives of women worldwide;
• Accountability mechanisms in place at both national and international levels, including through meaningful involvement of civil society, particularly women’s groups;
• Substantial and predictable resources to ensure the capacity to meet expectations and deliver results at all levels;
• And, an Under-Secretary-General, appointed in 2010, in order to lead the agency.

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Download the full Press Release

For more information please go to the GEAR Campaign website – www.gearcampaign.org – contact the GEAR Campaign at: gearcampaign@gmail.com or Rachel Harris of WEDO at +1 212 873 0352 x211

New York, March 22 — Read on for GEAR’s report on the CSW, including the resolution on the new entity, the GEAR Statement, key messages and facts about the entity from the Deputy Secretary General’s (DSG) office and a photo of the campaigners in action.

GEAR CSW Report, March 22, 2010

The recent meeting of the 54th Session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) advanced the GEAR Campaign goal of continuing civil society pressure on governments to move forward in passing the resolution that creates the entity during this session of the General Assembly (which ends in September).  At the CSW, over 60 countries (list to be available soon) from all regions spoke in support of the new gender architecture in their speeches.  Governments initiated a resolution that was co-sponsored by 180 countries and introduced by the Joint Coordinating Committee of the Non-Aligned Movement and Group of 77/China (JCC) supporting the creation of the entity – indicating the wide spread assumption that this will happen. (The resolution is attached.)

The UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, called on governments to take action to create the entity without further delay, and the NGO Action of holding up a “GEAR UP NOW!” sign in the balcony on the day of his speech (http://www.ippfwhr.org/en/node/1401) as part of the UN official observance of International Women’s Day on March 3rd was greeted with enthusiastic applause.  The sessions on the new entity were packed, and many other sessions that addressed UN structural issues assumed the new architecture as part of the future UN landscape.  All the NGO regional groups at CSW used this period to advocate for GEAR and specifically for a strong operational capacity in the new entity.

The General Assembly (GA) held several informal discussions on the System-Wide Coherence process (including gender architecture) before the CSW and has scheduled more March-June during which time, it is anticipated that a SWC resolution launching the new women’s agency will be drafted.  Now, the GEAR Campaign’s greatest concern is not whether the entity will be created but WHAT will be created.  We expect the resolution to be passed by the end of this GA session in time for the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) Summit review in September, but there are still a number of important details to be resolved.  In order for the entity to be effective as a driver for the UN system on women’s rights and empowerment, it must have a robust country level operation that is more than just advisory to the UN system.  This requires that it be both a coordinating body for the UN’s work on women with the capacity to hold the system accountable for gender mainstreaming as well as able to engage in its own programmatic work and to support governmental and NGO work at all levels.

We remain concerned about the money to enable the entity to be effective.  Member states should pledge core, predictable, and multi-year voluntary funds now with a goal of growing to $US1 billion and beyond over time.  There has not been enough progress on financial commitments to date.  Further, we want the resolution creating this entity to recognize that civil society has played a vital role in work on women’s rights and that it is critical to  partner with us and tap into the expertise and insights of a diverse and wide-ranging NGO constituency, particularly women’s organizations.

We would like to see the Secretary-General initiate a transparent recruitment process for the Under Secretary General to lead the entity immediately.  We are encouraged that there are many rumors floating about names for this position which suggests the inevitability of the creation of the entity, but we would like a clear and accessible process begun soon to ensure a strong committed woman is appointed to this critical job.  The GEAR Statement articulating these concerns is attached as a flyer with talking points which we hope will be used by GEAR supporters in the coming two months to advocate for this kind of entity.

Finally, we have attached a new document from the Deputy Secretary General’s (DSG) office, “Establishment of a New Composite Entity for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment: Key Messages, Background and Current Status.”  This document answers many of the questions that we planned to address in a GEAR Q&A.  It is a public document that we think is very useful in clarifying many points about what the entity is intended to do.  While we agree with most of its points, it is also clear from this document why we need to continue to advocate with governments and the UN for a stronger operational presence of the entity on the ground that goes beyond what UNIFEM has now as well as for the money to make this possible and for greater civil society engagement.

In the coming weeks, we urge you to continue to advocate for a resolution that creates the women’s entity with these characteristics – using both the DSG’s paper and the attached GEAR talking points.

Center for Women’s Global Leadership (CWGL) and Women’s Environment and Development Organization (WEDO)
On behalf of the GEAR Campaign Working Group

GEAR Campaign Working Group

Global Focal Points: Association for Women’s Rights in Development (AWID), Center for Women’s Global Leadership (CWGL), Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era (DAWN), International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) and Women’s Environment and Development Organization (WEDO)

Regional Focal Points: African’s Women Development and Communication Network (FEMNET), Asia Pacific Women’s Watch (APWW), Collective for Research and Training on Development-Action (CRTD-A), European Women’s Lobby (EWL), femLINKpacific, Foundation for Studies and Research on Women (FEIM), Servitas Cameroon and South Asian Campaign for Gender Equality (SACGE)/SAATHI

New York UN Lobbying Strategy Group: AIDS-Free World, Amnesty International (AI), Bahá’í International Community, UN Office, Care International, Center for Women’s Global Leadership (CWGL), ENLACE and Feminist Task Force – Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP), Equality Now, Global Network of Women Peacebuilders, Huairou Commission, Human Rights Watch (HRW), InterAction, International Planned Parenthood Federation/Western Hemisphere Region (IPPF/WHR), International Service for Human Rights, International Women’s Health Coalition (IWHC), International Women’s Tribune Centre (IWTC), MADRE, FIMI, Women’s Environment and Development Organization (WEDO), World Federalist Movement (WFM) and Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF)

A pdf version of this letter/report is available here.

New York, March 18 — The GEAR Campaign has compiled a document with links to recent coverage in the French speaking press of the new women’s entity at the UN and GEAR’s efforts in that regard. It’s exciting to see the campaign’s reach extending around the world. If you don’t read French, the document also includes a brief summary of each article in English. Click here to read more.

New York, March 1 — The GEAR (Gender Equality Architecture Reform) Campaign for the new women’s entity at the UN has produced a spoof newspaper, The New Times for Women, to promote the campaign’s vision for the new ‘super agency’. The Europe Working Group led the project, launched at the opening of the Commission on the Status of Women meeting, and will be distributing thousands of copies at the UN during CSW this week. The paper’s editor Anna Elomäki said, “With this newspaper we want to raise awareness and call for immediate political action by governments and the UN Secretary-General.”

New York, March 1 — Women’s rights and anti-poverty organizations gathered in New York ahead of the annual meeting of the United Nations’ Commission on the Status of Women called on governments to deliver on past promises to create a UN-led women agency. Following years of discussions and pressure from activists, governments agreed in September 2009 to create a new women’s agency. Since then, no concrete actions have been taken, campaigners say, such as the appointment of a high-profile person to lead the agency or a timetable on when it will be put in place.

To read the full press release, Signed but not sealed, women’s rights activists tell UN, click here.