For the past several months there has been an on going effort at the UN to combine four disparate UN agencies that deal with womens’ and gender issues under the leadership of one single under-secretary general. Inside UN circles, this is clumsily referred to as the “Gender Entity” process. And at 3:30 this afternoon, the General Assembly unanimously voted to bring this effort to life.
They are calling the new body “UN Women.” It will merge UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), the Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW), the Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues, and the UN International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (UN-INSTRAW). UN Women will be led by a yet to be named under-secretary general.
Back in March, I reported out a post about why UN officials and those in the NGO community felt it necessary to bring these agencies under a common leadership and what they hoped the new entity would accomplish.
To the outsider, this may seem like obtuse bureaucratic reshuffling. But many in the NGO community are hopeful that it could lead to tangible improvements in the lives of women around the world. “The gender architecture of the UN is very fragmented,” says Colette Tamko of the NGO Women’s Environment and Development Organization. “There has been only limited resources to work on gender programs.”Limited resources has translated into limited global progress on gender-specific issues, like the Millennium Development Goals of reducing maternal mortality and increasing girls’ access to primary education. “There is too much of a disconnect between lofty goals of the UN and a capacity to see them through,” says Kathy Hall of the UN Foundation. (Disclosure)
The proposed new UN body, currently reffered to as the “Composite Gender Entity” is meant to bridge the gap between what UN member states say are priorities for gender equality and the UN secretariat’s ability to deliver. According to NGO officials with whom I spoke, this means significantly ramping up technical assistance to help developing world countries improve womens’ access to health care, education, and economic opportunity.
Still, there are some political challenges that must be overcome before the new entity can be fully established. Even though the General Assembly endorsed the idea in principal, it has been slow to formally approve the precise structure and function of the new entity. To a certain degree, the delay is a consequence of political wrangling between wealthier donor countries and the developing world that typically plays itself out at the United Nations. For donor countries, swiftly getting this new entity on its feet is a top priority. Before that happens, though, the developing world wants assurances on finance issues.
A second hurdle is who, exactly, will lead this new entity? The original General Assembly resolution would establish a new under-secretary general to oversee the body. This is a top ranking position in the UN system. Naturally, member states are angling to promote their own candidates.
Guessing who might lead this entity has become something of a parlor game. The four most rumored candidates are Michelle Bachalet, former president of Chile; Winnie Byanyima, a Ugandan who serves as Director of the UN Development Programme Gender Team; Geeta Rao Gupta, a dual U.S.-Indian national who is President of the International Center for Research on Women; and Asha-Rose Migiro, the Deputy Secretary General and former foreign minister of Tanzania.
Beyond those four is a larger list of women rumored to be in the running for the spot. As one observer put it, these are names that “have been floating in the ether.”
Joyce Banda, Vice-President of Malawi
Alicia Bárcena Ibarra Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC)
Radhika Coomaraswamy, UN Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict and former United Nations Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women (from Sri Lanka)
Kathleen Cravero, President of the Oak Foundation; former Deputy Executive Director of UNAIDS and founder of the Global Coalition on Women and AIDS (from the United States)
Cristina Elizabet Fernández de Kirchner President of Argentina
Nilcea Freire Minister of the Special Secretariat for Policies for Women (Brazil)
Ingibjörg Sólrún Gísladóttir Former Minister for Foreign Affairs of Iceland
Nyaradzai Gumbonzvanda Secretary General of the World YWCA; former Regional Director for the UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) (from Zimbabwe)
Tarja Halonen President of Finland
Ameera Haq UN Special Representative in Timor-Leste and Head of the UN Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste; (Bangladesh)
Musimbi Kanyoro Director of the Population Program at the Packard Foundation; former Secretary General of the World YWCA (from Kenya)
Asma Khader Coordinator of Sisterhood Is Global Institute/Jordan; (from Jordan)
Irene Khan Former Secretary General of Amnesty International (Bangladesh)
Moushira Khattab Egypt’s State Minister for Family and Population Affairs and member of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child
Rachel Kyte Current VP for Business Advisory Services at IFC – World Bank (UK)
Cecilia Lopez Senator from Columbia and former Minister of Planning, Minister of Agriculture, Minister of the Environment and Minister in Charge of National Policies for Women’s Equity.
Ruth Jacoby Current Ambassador of Sweden to Germany
Hina Jilani, Former United Nations Special Representative on Human Rights Defenders (Pakistan)
Hilde Johnson Deputy Director of United Nations Children’s Fund; former Development Minister of Norway
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala Current Managing Director of the World Bank; former Minister of Finance and Foreign Affairs of Nigeria
Rachel Mayanja Current Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women (Uganda)
Sonia Montaño Current Chief of Women and Development Unit, Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) Bolivia
Thoraya Ahmed Obaid Executive Director of United Nations Population Fund Saudi Arabia
Joy Phumaphi Vice President of Human Development at World Bank (Botswana)
Mamphela Ramphele Executive Chair of Circle Capital Ventures; former Managing Director of the World Bank (South Africa)
Anna Kajumulo Tibaijuka UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of the UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) Tanzania
The appointment is ultimately the Secretary General’s to make, but he is said to be consulting widely with various stakeholders. Precisely when the new under0secretary general will be named — and when the General Assembly will take its final vote — is still in question. That said, experience shows that the closer the United Nations gets to its annual summit in September, the likelihood of resolving outstanding reform issues tends to increase. As Colette Tamko of the NGO Women’s Environment and Development Organization told me, “the issue is not whether the new gender entity will be created. But when?“
Well, it happened. And make no mistake–this was an historic day at the UN.