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Women

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Volume 1 Edition 2 ¦May 2006

8 May 2006: Briefing Note on Women's Rights and the “Coherence Panel” in the UN Reform Process: The purpose of this briefing note is to provide you with information so you can take action critical to advancing gender equality at a time of fast-paced UN reform.

April 21 20006: Interview: The women's agenda for United Nations reform: The following is an extract from an interview by Kathambi Kinoti, with Charlotte Bunch, Executive Director of the Center for Women's Global Leadership on the current United Nations reform drive, and what it means for women.

Volume 1 Edition 1¦May 2006

New York, 6 March 2006: Women: Proposals for a UN Women's reform: During the 50 th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women, a large number of NGOs released an Open Letter on Women and UN Reform In the letter, NGOs state their disappointment and outrage that gender equality and strengthening the women's machineries within the UN system are barely noted, and not addressed as a central part of the reform agenda.

Women: Briefing Note on Women's Rights and the “Coherence Panel” in the UN Reform Process

Volume 1 Edition 2 | May 2006 |

Global, 8 May 2006: In May 2006, a number of women's organisations released a briefing paper outlining steps for advancing gender equality at a time of fast-paced UN reform. The women's organisations listed below; working together on the UN reform process, focus here on women's architecture and machineries within the UN, especially on developments with the “Coherence Panel” since the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) in March 2006. Organisations supporting the briefing paper are: African Democracy Forum, Association for Women's Rights in Development, Baha'i International Community, BAOBAB for Women's Human Rights, Center for Women's Global Leadership, Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era, International Center for Research on Women, International Planned Parenthood Federation—Western Hemisphere, International Women's Tribune Center, Women Living Under Muslim Laws, Women's Environment and Development Organisation, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom

Context for Women's Rights and Gender Equality It is well-documented that gender mainstreaming within the UN has not been achieved or implemented systematically and effectively. Gender mainstreaming processes have never been adequately resourced, leadership has not been held accountable and those charged with mainstreaming often have not had sufficient authority to implement the policies or proper training. In addition, we have lacked a critical element: an independent, women-specific agency with adequate stature, resources, operational capacity, and a mandate to drive this agenda. A lead agency is needed along with well-resourced, effective mainstreaming efforts. Currently, we have several under-resourced agencies focused exclusively on women's issues (United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW), the Secretary-General's Special Advisor on Gender Issues (OSAGI), and the Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW)). Other larger agencies, including UNDP, UNFPA, UNICEF, UNESCO, the High Commissioners for human rights and refugees and others, sometimes do important work on gender equality, but it is only a part of their mandate, and often receives low priority.

Proposals Proposals to strengthen gender architecture of the UN are circulating, including the following:

A number of women's organisations have begun to discuss these proposals. Advocates have strongly opposed the UNIFEM/UNDP merger as well as the merger of all the women's agencies (UNIFEM/INSTRAW/DAW/OSAGI). The first proposal is viewed as further marginalising women's concerns, and, for the time being, is stalled. The second is viewed as inadequate to the challenges posed, primarily because a merger alone may not bring more resources or stature to women's issues and does not distinguish field operational needs from policy headquarters ones. However, as far as we know, the details of such a merger have not been fully explored.

Some feel the option of creating an independent strong women's agency led by a high level official with autonomy and adequate resources has the greatest potential. However, we recognise there are different approaches to the creation of such an agency and many organisational details that would need to be addressed.

Unquestionably, there needs to be strong women-specific machinery both in the operational and policy-making spheres. This requires a major up-scaling of the power, authority, and resources dedicated to women's human rights, gender equality and women's empowerment. At the operational level, in particular, a strong and independent women's agency must be linked to and reinforce other gender mainstreaming and gender parity efforts within the UN system.

Rather than endorsing any particular approach, we want to ensure that there is a serious and comprehensive assessment by the UN and member states of gender equality architecture and women's machineries in the UN system. In an effort to contribute, we have begun to outline some of the characteristics of effective gender equality architecture. These include:

In addition, the UN system should commit to an effective gender mainstreaming strategy that addresses the lack of effective leadership and accountability for gender equity in the UN.

Full Text: http://www.globalpolicy.org/reform/initiatives/panels/coherence/0508briefing.htm

Source: Global Policy forum, 2006; Internet: http://www.globalpolicy.org/

Interview: The women's agenda for United Nations reform

Volume 1 Edition 2 | May 2006

April 21 20006: The following is an extract from an interview, by Kathambi Kinoti, with Charlotte Bunch, Executive Director of the Center for Women's Global Leadership on the current United Nations reform drive, and what it means for women.

AWID: There have been calls by among other people, Stephen Lewis the UN Special Envoy for HIV and AIDS in Africa , for a separate women's agency within the UN. Do you agree with those advocating for a new women's agency, and if so, what do you think the priority of such an agency should be?

CB: If women's rights are to have a stronger profile, we need a separate strong agency at the operational level. I therefore agree with the need that Stephen Lewis has spoken to. Whether it should be a whole new outfit or achieved by combining UNIFEM and UNFPA is still open to debate, but whatever agency is created should receive adequate resources otherwise the problem that UNIFEM has been facing will be perpetuated. By resources I am referring to both money and status. Whatever way we reach such an agency, it should build on UNIFEM's work so far, such as their work on women, peace and security, the trust fund on violence against women, gender budgeting, etc. In order for the women's agency to be seen as more powerful it might be better to consolidate UNIFEM and UNFPA and give the new body a new name, not just more resources, but this is part of what we all need to discuss. In terms of priorities, it should develop programme areas along the lines of the Beijing Platform for Action, what UNIFEM and UNFPA have been working on in the areas of political and economic empowerment, violence against women, sexual and reproductive rights, peace and security, land and inheritance rights. It will need to address new issues that have come to prominence since the Beijing Platform such as HIV/AIDS. It should still be able to partner with other UN bodies such as UNEP, the High Commissioners for Human Rights and for Refugees, and UNDP, and the other UN agencies still need to incorporate women's needs and a gender equality perspective into their agenda.

AWID: How can system-wide coherence within the UN with regards to women's empowerment and gender equality issues best be achieved?

CB: Women's issues have to be addressed adequately at all levels. The UN operates primarily at two levels. The first is the operational level, at which it works in the field, on development and human rights concerns nationally. The second is at the international policy-making or global level. Women's rights need a strong presence in both areas. At the operational level we need an agency that will incorporate the roles that UNIFEM, UNFPA and the United Nations International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW) currently play in the field. At the international policy-making level we could continue to have the Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues (OSAGI) and the Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW) but they should probably be combined and made more powerful also. The status of the machinery at both levels needs to be strengthened and adequately resourced. At the same time, gender mainstreaming needs to continue and be strengthened within other UN agencies. This will avoid a situation where the addressing of women's issues becomes confined to the one agency alone.

AWID: How can civil society influence the current UN reform agenda so that it adequately encompasses the goals of gender equality and women's empowerment?

CB: Women's groups need to be aware that gender equality is now officially on the agenda of the UN reform process. They need to begin talking to their governments about what they would like them to say in this discussion. Up until this year's Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), most governments were not willing to engage with this issue, but now that it is on the agenda they have no choice. The recommendations of the Coherence Panel will go to the UN General Assembly in September this year. After that a lot more discussion at the policy level will go on. Women's organisations need to start talking to their governments now, if they want their governments to help shape and respond positively to the Coherence Panel's recommendations. Most governments do not know or do not care that gender equality is on the agenda and we need to start applying pressure now for a common agreement on a stronger agency and commitment for women with a higher level status and more resources. CWGL is compiling an update on UN reform activities and advocacy issues and this will be available shortly on our website (www.cwgl.rutgers.edu).

AWID: What potential obstacles or pitfalls for women's rights, if any, do you foresee in the current reform drive?

CB: There are different interests jostling for position in the reform process. A major issue is budget-cutting, coherence and rationalisation. Governments want to spend less money. We need to be careful that the need for the enhancement of women's rights is not compromised in the name of coherence. There are voices that are saying that there are already too many gender focal points within the UN, and we need to counter this attitude. For example, we welcome the creation of the new Human Rights Council, but we need to be alert in ensuring that the principles of gender equality and respect for women's rights are built into this new institution so that what we gained within the former Commission for Human Rights (CHR) is not lost. Women's rights had gained a regular place on the agenda of the CHR in the 90's and this should be continued with the Council. Engaging with UN processes at the global level may seem tedious and frustrating because sometimes it appears that it is not going anywhere. This is particularly so if we compare the current climate to the one that existed in the 1990s when a lot of space was created for women. However engagement with the UN reform process is about having space for women's rights at an international level, and we will lose a lot if we do not keep the space open. I would therefore encourage women's groups to get actively involved in the process.

Source: AWIG, 2006; Internet: http://www.awid.org/go.php?stid=1590

Women: Proposals for a UN Women's reform

Volume 1 Edition 1 | May 2006

During the 50 th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women, a large number of NGOs released an Open Letter on Women & UN Reform (6 March 2006). In the letter, NGOs stated their disappointment and outrage with the fact that gender equality and strengthening of the women's machineries within the UN system are barely noted and that they are not addressed as a central part of the reform agenda. The letter says that “the UN is still offering only token representation of women on critical committees, high level expert panels and in senior positions within the organisation.” The NGOs said that the commitment made by world leaders in Paragraph 59 of the 2005 World Summit Outcome Document, in which governments undertook to ‘strengthen the capabilities of the UN system in the area of gender,' will not be met unless gender equality issues and women's machineries are an integral part of the UN reform process. Citing examples such as the Secretary-General's High-level Panel on UN System-wide Coherence, which has only 3 women out of 15 members, and the fact that the list of candidates for the position of the Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme contained no women at all, the NG0s expressed deep concern that the position of women in high-level UN posts has stagnated. They also urged that additional women be added to the Panel and that gender equality issues be explicitly considered under each theme. They further proposed that the Panel “be mandated to hold consultations with civil society groups, especially those working on women's rights, in order to ensure consideration of the impact on women of any proposed reforms.” The women's groups also called for “serious consideration to be given to the implications of the current reforms on the women's equality agenda.”

On 7 April 2006, a number of NGOs, including the Center for Women ' s Global Leadership (CWGL), Women ' s Environment and Development Organisation (WEDO), and Women ' s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) wrote to member of the High-level Panel outlining a number of concerns and proposals. The organisations stressed the urgency of considering how the UN can deliver on the commitments repeatedly made for gender equality and women ' s empowerment. They argued that in order to meet existing gender-based commitments “a major up-scaling of the power and authority, as well as resources dedicated to this agenda” was needed. They also called for an immediate decision to undertake a serious and comprehensive assessment of the needs regarding both women ' s machineries and gender mainstreaming as part of the work of the Panel. They proposed that women ' s empowerment and gender issues need to be represented more powerfully at the table at the UN Headquarters and in the UN country teams and complex peacekeeping operations.  The letter also proposed that the Panel integrate gender as a cross-cutting issue into its programme of work and make strong recommendations in its final report for more effective UN mechanisms to achieve gender equality in development, humanitarian affairs, and environment, as well as in human rights and peace-keeping.

In a 26 February 2006 speech to a conference on UN Reform and Human Rights, Stephen Lewis, the UN Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS called for the establishment of a UN Women's Agency. In his address, Lewis was highly critical of the gender representation on the High-level Panel, stating that the “multilateral system disgorges a high-level panel of fifteen people to look at the re-design all those areas of the UN system which so significantly address the lives of women, and but three members of the Panel are women.” Lewis said that while “the UN can fundamentally improve the human condition, multilateralism has to learn that women comprise more than fifty per cent of the world and you simply can ' t continue to promote, as nation states promote, the kind of intellectual bafflegab which holds women in thrall.” Lewis also said “UN reform without a separate, definitive track for women is a travesty.”

Source: WEDO, 2006;
Letter to the Panel, 2006; http://www.wedo.org
Open Letter to the Commission on the Status of Women, March 6, 2006;
http://www.choike.org/documentos/open_letter2006.pdf
Stephen Lewis, 2006; http://www.stephenlewisfoundation.org/news_item.cfm?news=748

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Non Governmental Organisations

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Volume 1 Edition 2 ¦May 2006

New York, 2 May 2006: Stakeholder Forum: Reforming the UN Development Architecture: UN Reform Processes on System-wide Coherence Panel and International Environmental Governance: Report of a side-event, held during the 14th Session of the Commission on Sustainable Development, organised by the Stakeholder Forum for a Sustainable Future and the Brazilian NGO and Social Movement Forum for Environment and Development (FBOMS).

Paris , 2004: IDDRI: Proposals on International Environmental Governance: IDDRI (Institute for sustainable development and international relations) is a policy research institute based in Paris . As part of the debate on international environmental governance, the IDDRI is coordinating a series of studies commissioned to international experts. This series of studies looks at various facets of international environmental governance.

Geneva : I ISD/IUCN: Proposal for a Standing Conference on Trade and Environment: This proposal by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) and IUCN - The World Conservation Union calls for the convening of a Standing Conference on Trade and Environment (SCTE).

Volume 1 Edition 1 ¦May 2006

New York, 28 March 2006: NGOs propose measures to strengthen participation in the UN: On 28 March 2006, the Eurostep, Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, Global Policy Forum, North-South Institute, Social Watch, Third World Institute, Women's Environment and Development Organisation, and World Federalist Movement- Institute for Global Policy wrote to the President of General Assembly outlining ten issues to strengthen NGO participation at the UN.

New York , 2006: NGOs call for transparent process to elect a new Secretary-General: In 2006, the Security Council and the General Assembly will appoint the eighth UN Secretary-General. As the UN and other international organisations increasingly improve standards of accountability and impartiality in their hiring practices, it is only logical that the UN initiate a similar process in the selection of its highest official.

Stakeholder Forum: Reforming the UN Development Architecture: UN Reform Processes on System-wide Coherence Panel and International Environmental Governance

Volume 1 Edition 2 | May 2006

New York , 2 May 2006: Report of a side-event, organised by the Stakeholder Forum for a Sustainable Future and the Brazilian NGO and Social Movement Forum for Environment and Development (FBOMS), held on 2 May 2006 at the 14 th Session of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development in New York . Reporting by the International Institute for Sustainable Development's Earth Negotiations Bulletin on the Side- ENBOTS.

Stephan Contius, German Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, described the challenges and opportunities currently facing global environmental governance, and emphasised that reform needs to be considered in conjunction with humanitarian and development aspects of the institutional framework, and serve sustainable development as the overarching goal. Philipe Leglise-Costa, Permanent Mission of France to the UN, said that although environmental issues can be divisive, this can be overcome, but first all parties must recognise environmental degradation as a high priority. He noted the importance of transparency of process, and remarked that there is widespread recognition that environmental governance needs improvement. He suggested that any actions undertaken should build upon the existing UNEP structure, headquartered in Nairobi , that it should respect the legal text of all relevant conventions, and that adequate and predictable funding be provided.

Khaled Elbakly, Mission of Egypt to the UN, recalled that the environment cannot be considered separately from development, as per the Rio Principles, and suggested that UNEP needs to be strengthened, and that the inter-governmental nature of the process needs to be preserved. He emphasised that emerging threats will require adaptive solutions. Felix Dodds, Stakeholder Forum, noted that problems identified at Rio and Johannesburg need to be viewed through a new lens, as some environmental issues are now security concerns. He said that the UN's environment and development programs are massively under- funded in their ability to address these issues. He presented a new document, "The IEG Dossier" which summarises the current debate on the subject, and challenged participants to envision what a reformed UN system could look like, and how it can address environment and development successfully.

Adnan Amin, Executive Director, Secretary-General's High-level Panel on UN System-wide Coherence, said that this process represents the chance of a generation to renew the UN, and noted the importance of integrating crosscutting issues such as human rights and gender equity. He said that he would be available in the second week of CSD to discuss the process in further detail. Participants discussed: the need to rethink the relationship between economy and society, the need for ownership of the process, the need to drastically increase the profile of the environment within the UN, and the need for government to implement their recommendations.

Source: Earth Negotiations Bulletin, Issue #2, published by the International Institute for Sustainable Development, Wednesday, 3 May 2006

IDDRI: Proposals on International Environmental Governance

Volume 1 Edition 2 | May 2006

IDDRI (Institute for sustainable development and international relations) is a policy research institute based in Paris . It is supported by French research institutions, business, NGOs, as well as the French government. IDDRI has been created as a forum for debate and a network where stakeholders, public administrations, the scientific community, NGOs, the private sector meet to define issues requiring new research, debate and to identify consensus and diverging opinions, thereby creating a common culture. IDDRI works on major governance issues related to sustainable development, in collaboration with international research networks.

As part of the debate on international environmental governance, the IDDRI coordinated a series of studies commissioned to international experts. This series of studies looks at various facets of international environmental governance identified during the conference which IDDRI organised on this theme in March 2004 in Paris . The purpose of this exercise is to provide the working groups with some background information in the context of France 's initiative to initiate discussions around the creation of a United Nations Environmental Organisation. The series of reports included:

All reports available on the IDDRI Website: http://www.iddri.org/iddri/html/themes/archi/wpieg.htm

IISD/IUCN: Proposal for a Standing Conference on Trade and Environment

Volume 1 Edition 2 | May 2006

This proposal by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) and IUCN - The World Conservation Union calls for the convening of a Standing Conference on Trade and Environment (SCTE). The Conference would be a forum for achieving coherence in environmental policy as it relates to trade. It would gather the key environmental actors with an interest in trade policy, review policy objectives and proposals, and seek to formulate practical recommendations, which could be introduced to the WTO and other policy forums. SCTE is would be a light structure, not a new organisation. Uniquely, it would gather intergovernmental organisations, secretariats, and key elements of civil society.

The SCTE would be an open forum, though a balance would have to be found between participation and efficiency. In addition to governments, the key participants would be international organisations with environmental responsibilities and an interest in trade. These would include the Secretariats of Multilateral Environmental Agreements at the global and regional level. Key international NGOs and professional associations would also be invited. The idea of SCTE is to provide a forum for achieving policy coherence without establishing a heavy new institutional structure. A Bureau could be formed which included the government hosting the SCTE session, the host of the previous session and that of the forthcoming session. An established organisation, such as the ICTSD, could provide Secretariat services. Each session of the SCTE would determine the topics for the next session. The existence of SCTE would depend on its interest to the participants and the usefulness of its products. There would be no presumption of permanence; instead, each session would determine if and when a further session would be held.

Source: IISD/IUCN, undated; Full Proposal Internet: http://www.iisd.org/pdf/scte03.pdf

NGO's Propose measures to strengthen participation in the UN

Volume 1 Edition 1 | May 2006

On 28 March 2006, the Eurostep, Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, Global Policy Forum, North-South Institute, Social Watch, Third World Institute, Womens Environment and Development Organisation, and World Federalist Movement- Institute for Global Policy wrote to the President of General Assembly outlining ten proposals to strengthen NGO participation at the UN. Among the issues included in the letter were: the role of NGOs on the Human Rights Council and Peacebuilding Commission; the role of hearings in relation to global conferences and PrepComs; NGO access during the Headquarters renovation; the strengthening of the UN NGO Liaison Service; establishing a NGO Portfolio in the Executive Office of the Secretary General; holding General Assembly “hearings” on NGO Access and Participation; defining the NGO role within the Economic and Social Council and the General Assembly; and consulting with NGOs worldwide. Among the specific demands, the NGOs called for the continuation of the independent status of the NGO Liaison Service (NGLS) within the UN system, including full support for its annual budget of approximately $1 million. The NGOs suggested the UN regular budget should bear a substantial proportion (at least half) of the NGLS budget requirement and other UN agencies, programs and funds should pick up the remainder. The NGOs proposed that at the level of the Office of the Secretary, the Secretary General should name a high-level person in his office to assume the role of facilitating relations with NGOs. They also proposed General Assembly Hearings on NGO Access and Participation in order to clarify issues and develop a clear path forward. The hearings must be open and inclusive, with the maximum participation of NGOs from the South.

Source: Global Policy Forum 2006: NGO Paper on Participation at the United Nations, 28 March 2006
http://www.globalpolicy.org/ngos/int/un/access/2006/0328participation.htm

NGOs call for transparent process to elect a new Secretary-General

Volume 1 Edition 1 | May 2006

In 2006, the Security Council and the General Assembly will appoint the eighth UN Secretary-General. As the UN and other international organisations increasingly improve standards of accountability and impartiality in their hiring practices, it is only logical that the UN initiate a similar process in the selection of its highest official. Historically, the selection of the UN Secretary-General, which is carried out by the General Assembly “upon the recommendation of the Security Council,” has occurred largely behind closed doors within minimal parameters, and thus falls far short of existing international high-level public sector appointment procedures established to ensure qualified appointments. In 2006, the World Federalist Movement-Institute for Global Policy established UNSGselection.org to promote a more effective, transparent and democratic selection process for the next UN Secretary-General. UNSGselection.org serves to engage relevant actors worldwide in tracking the process, initiating debate, sharing and disseminating information, and outlining criteria for the appointment of a qualified candidate through an improved selection process. On 17 April 2006, in an open letter to the Security Council, several NGOs launched a campaign to encourage the Security Council to take into consideration a number of crucial yet realistic reforms to enhance the transparency, accountability and effectiveness of the current selection process. The letter encourages the UN to incorporate several procedures to enhance the transparency, accountability and inclusiveness necessary for the selection of a qualified and effective candidate.

Source: UNSGselection.org , 2006: http://www.unsgselection.org

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Trade Unions

ieg-dossier coverage

Volume 1 Edition 1 | May 2006

Nairobi, January 2006: Trade Union Assembly on Labour and the Environment: The Trade Union Assembly on Labour and the Environment was held in Nairobi, Kenya from 15-17 January 2006 under the auspices of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), with the support of the UN Global Compact and with the collaboration of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the World Health Organisation (WHO), the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU), the World Confederation of Labour (WCL), the Trade Union Advisory Committee to the OECD (TUAC) and SustainLabour Foundation.

Trade Union Assembly on Labour and the Environment

Volume 1 Edition 1 | May 2006

The Trade Union Assembly on Labour and the Environment was held in Nairobi, Kenya from 15-17 January 2006 under the auspices of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), with the support of the UN Global Compact and with the collaboration of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the World Health Organisation (WHO), the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU), the World Confederation of Labour (WCL), the Trade Union Advisory Committee to the OECD (TUAC) and SustainLabour Foundation. The Assembly approved a resolution setting out priority actions regarding labour and the environment. The Assembly confirmed that the three relevant UN bodies are committed to supporting trade union engagement on sustainable development; and that unions are engaged in practical steps through our activities to advance sustainable development and that we are committed to extending this work as a priority. It also mapped out steps for joint follow up action for the UNEP, ILO and WHO working together. In the resolution the Assembly agreed to adopt measures in order to strengthen the link between poverty reduction, environmental protection and decent work; integrate the environmental and social dimensions of sustainable development with a rights based approach, and establish effective and democratic governance to ensure sustainable development.

Source: UNEP, 2006: http://www.will2006.org/documents/TUALEfinalresolution-ENG.pdf

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