UN Comes One Step Closer to Creating New Women’s Super Agency

June 11, 2009
By Samantha Singson

(NEW YORK – C-FAM) At United Nations (UN) headquarters this week, member states moved another step closer to setting up a new women's "super-agency." Last month, nations had pushed back when UN staff insisted governments approve a new office without providing details on its budget, structure, staffing, or mandate. At this week’s meeting, Member States were presented with a "consolidated response" paper from the UN Secretariat which detailed the staffing and cost projections of a new UN "gender entity."

For almost three years, the UN has discussed reforming its "gender architecture" by creating a centralized office which would be "the leader and voice on gender equality and the empowerment of women" and which would be "adequately resourced and with authority and capacity to drive and hold the United Nations system accountable." In her presentation to UN delegates on the new gender office, UN Secretary General's Advisor on Gender Issues Rachel Mayanja stated that the aim of the new gender office was to have "global coverage." the rest