[Gcap-mujeres] Fw: re: u.n.'s main women's body remains leaderless
ana
ana en icae.org.uy
Jue Mar 6 04:54:03 GMT+2 2008
Dear all,
please see the article below,
greetings,
Ana
Queridas amigas,
les reenvio el articulo publicado por IPS en la ONU, aunque solo salio en
ingles,
saludos,
Ana
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From: Thalifdeen en aol.com
To: tmd30 en columbia.edu
Sent: Tue, 4 Mar 2008 15:51:59 EST
Subject: re: u.n.'s main women's body remains leaderless
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RIGHTS: U.N.'s Main Women's Body Remains Leaderless
By Thalif Deen
UNITED NATIONS, Mar 4 (IPS) - When women activists lash out against gender
discrimination, one of their longstanding complaints is also directed at
the
U.N. Secretariat, where senior level posts are still largely a virtual
monopoly of men.
Despite a 1997 General Assembly resolution calling for 50:50 gender parity
in decision-making jobs by 2000, the elusive goal is long past that
deadline.
A coalition of some 600 women's groups and non-governmental organisations
(NGOs) is now complaining that the pervasive gender discrimination in the
U.N.
system may also be responsible for the lack of an executive director at a
key body dealing with women's issues: the U.N. Development Fund for Women
(UNIFEM).
Since its former executive director Noeleen Heyzer was appointed executive
secretary of the Bangkok-based U.N. Economic and Social Commission for Asia
and the Pacific (ESCAP) last September, UNIFEM has remained headless, but
functions under an acting executive director, Joanne Sandler.
"We need an appointment now," says Ana Agostino, coordinator of the
Feminist Task Force of the Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP),
who points
out that the six-month-long delay is unacceptable.
She said that women's groups were expecting an announcement during the
current two-week session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW),
which
concludes Friday. But there are no indications it will happen.
She said the coalition of over 600 signatories plan to submit a letter to
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon asking him to expedite the appointment.
"UNIFEM is the only agency that cares for women," Agostino told IPS. "And
it's the only agency that relates to women on the ground."
Besides the petition to the secretary-general, she said, the coalition has
also launched an online campaign. "At the United Nations, women demand
gender
justice. Women demand accountability," she added.
The coalition includes the Association of Women's Rights in Development,
Centre for Productive Rights, Development Alternatives with Women for a New
Era,
International Coalition for Development Action, Women's Environment and
Development Organisation, South Asia Women's Watch, Women's Initiative for
Gender Justice and Caribbean Policy Development Centre.
In a letter to the secretary-general, the signatories also say they are
supporting the candidature of Dr. Gita Sen, an advocate of women's rights
and an
adjunct professor of population and international health at Harvard
University. Sen is reportedly on a short list of candidates for the job.
The letter notes that women's groups have been "following the recruitment
process closely since last August and understand that she is the leading
candidate based on her competence, experience and credibility."
Asked for comment, U.N. spokesman Farhan Haq told IPS: "We are still
working
on the appointment."
Adrienne Germain, president of the New York-based International Women's
Health Coalition, said a thorough recruitment process "has identified a
lead
candidate of unprecedented strength."
"Her appointment now will demonstrate Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's
commitment to the integrity of established U.N. recruitment processes,"
she added.
It will also provide an exceptionally skilled champion for women in what is
clearly going to be a long debate on a future framework for the U.N.'s work
on gender equality, she added.
"The world's girls and women deserve outstanding UNIFEM leadership and we
need it now, not two or three years from now," Germain told IPS.
Meanwhile, Rachel Mayanja, special adviser to the secretary general on
gender issues, told the CSW last week that as of December 2006, the
representation
of women in the U.N. secretariat at professional and higher categories
remained virtually the same as in the previous year.
Both in 2006 and 2007, the number of women appointed as directors (D-1 and
D-2s), assistant-secretaries-general (ASG) and under-secretaries general
(USG)
remained at 24.7 percent, while it was higher (37.7 percent) in the
professional categories.
The U.N. ranking system moves up: from general service, the lowest rung, to
professionals, directors, ASGs and USGs. Ranking ahead of them are the
secretary-general and the deputy secretary-general.
"At the current rate of progress -- increasing 1.13 percent on average
between 1998 and 2006 -- gender balance would be reached in 2027 at the D-1
level," Mayanja said.
However, she pointed out that 50:50 gender balance has already been
achieved
in the U.N. Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), and the U.N.
Population Fund (UNFPA).
Additionally, she said, 47 percent of both the U.N. children's agency
UNICEF
and the International Civil Service Commission were staffed with women.
Mayanja also took a passing shot at the 192 member states when she said
that
a cursory review last January of some U.N. intergovernmental bodies
revealed that women were without exception underrepresented.
Of the General Assembly's six main committees, whose office bearers are
elected by member states, only the Economic and Financial Committee was
headed by
a woman.
(END/2008)
_Send your comments to the editor_
(mailto:editors en ipsnews.net?Subject=IPS%20Story%20RIGHTS:%20U.N.'s Main
Women's Body Remains Leaderless)
---------------------------------------------------------
thalif deen
un bureau chief & regional director
inter press service (IPS) news agency
room S-485 united nations
new york, ny 10017
phone 1-212-963-6156
fax: 1-212-888-6099
email: thalifdeen en aol.com
tmd30 en columbia.edu
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