UN creates unified organisation for women, gender equality

The UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, known simply as UN Women, will merge four existing groups that have been working to improve the lives of women and girls.

One of the groups, the Division for the Advancement of Women, began work in 1946. The others are an institute on research and training for the advancement of women, the office of the special adviser on gender issues and the UN Development Fund for Women.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said the creation of UN Women will "significantly boost UN efforts to promote gender equality, expand opportunity and tackle discrimination around the globe".

Asha-Rose Migiro, the UN deputy secretary general, said UN Women will provide women and girls a "strong, unified voice" to advance the goals of equality, development and peace, issues that are of high concern for the millions of them in poor countries.

UN Women will begin work in January and will be headed by a UN under-secretary general. UN members have agreed to contribute $500 million as a minimum investment to the new organisation.

The New York-based Human Rights Watch praised the decision, saying UN Women would have a "substantially enhanced capacity" to deal with demands from women and girls that have not been met so far.

"At the UN, funding and a seat at the table in policy discussions are good indicators of the importance given to an issue," said Marianne Mollmann, women's rights advocate at Human Rights Watch. "The General Assembly's action means women will be full participants in the discussion."

"The creation of this agency is a testament to the resilience of women's rights activists, who were convinced the UN could and should do more," she said.

AIDS-Free World, a non-governmental organisation, said: "Even as we recognise the enormous potential of UN Women, our excitement is tempered by serious concerns about its development."

The group criticised the UN secretary general for not embarking on a selection process for a UN undersecretary general to head UN Women that is "fair, open and transparent". It said also that the issue of funding is vague and called for $1 billion so UN Women can start on a solid footing.

"AIDS-Free World is buoyed by what is happening Friday," said a statement. "But we make no apologies for a case of faint hearts. It is important not to get carried away in the euphoria of the moment."

It warned against re-packaging the four UN groups under a new name without substantive goals.

"The opportunity still exists to use UN Women to tear down what have always seemed impenetrable barriers separating the United Nations from the world's women," it said. "But the signs at the outset are ominous."