Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch.com) - Key details such as who will lead it and where it will be located are not yet out, but the United Nations General Assembly, meeting in New York Friday afternoon 2 July is expected to adopt a resolution merging four existing UN bodies into a new one, to promote gender equality. The new agency will be operational 1 January 2011. The draft resolution, according to AP, which has obtained a copy, calls for governments to end discrimination against women and close the gender gap in 12 critical areas including health, education, employment, political participation and human rights.
The four bodies that will be combined into the new agency are: the UN Development Fund for Women (Unifem); the Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues; the UN Division for the Advancement of Women; and the International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (Instraw). The new agency will work closely with several existing large UN agencies that are active in areas that touch on women’s rights, including the UN Development Programme, Unicef and the UN Population Fund, all of which have offices in Geneva.
The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women will be known as UN Women and is expected to have a budget in the area of $500 million dollars: 125 million dollars for basic support capacity at the country, regional and headquarters level, and 375 million dollars for country-specific UN programme support, according to IPS news agency.
“In contrast, the 2008 funding available to the four existing gender entities was $6.2 million dollars from the regular budget of the United Nations and 218.5 million dollars from voluntary contributions,” writes IPS, noting that although the new funds are more than double existing ones, the amount is only half of the $1 million demanded by groups who have worked to push for the new agency.
UN film on violence against women, Kenya
Links to other sites: Canadian Press, Gear, UN Women Watch
Allison Wilbur, quilter, Douglas Griffiths of the US Mission in Geneva and Barbara Lee, US House of Representatives, at exhibit opening 12 November
Dawn Maria Piasta from Canada with her quilt, Geneva Quilt Challenge at the UN
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – A warming exhibit, in every sense, has opened at the UN Palais building in Geneva, with a display of American quilts made specially to promote the work of Geneva-based Global Fund for Malaria, Aids and Tuberculosis. The show, “Making a healthier world for our children”, is organized by Geneva’s US Mission to coincide with the annual United Nations Women’s Guild fundraising bazaar, which pulls in thousands of visitors.
