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55-502: UN Women was established by a merger of the UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM, established in 1976) and other entities and became operational in 2011. The organization operates under a governance structure and has an executive board representing different regions. Former President of Chile Michelle Bachelet was its inaugural executive director and Jordanian Sima Sami Bahous is its current executive director. UN Women

110-423: A collision course, we must see them as complementary and mutually supportive imperatives". The report concluded that "Business as usual is not an option". The governance of the multilateral system has historically been complex and fragmented. This has limited the capacity of ECOSOC to influence international policies in trade, finance, and investment. Reform proposals aim to enhance the relevance and contribution of

165-414: A gender lens. The first of its kind, this database maps the principles and rules that guarantee, deny, or protect the rights of women and girls around the world. This tool for gender equality and human rights activists is annually updated and searchable, and provides a comprehensive overview of the current status of provisions relevant to women's rights and gender equality across various countries throughout

220-711: A system where different organizations maintain different types of relationships with the Council. For example, in the 1950s the members of ECOSOC were responsible for granting a state admission to UNESCO , but now this is done by the members of UNESCO themselves. The following is a list of the specialized agencies reporting to the Council: In a report issued in early July 2011, the UN called for spending nearly US$ 2  trillion on green technologies to prevent what it termed "a major planetary catastrophe", warning that "It

275-530: A term of four years, with the possibility of renewal for one term. The organization is governed by a multi-tiered intergovernmental governance structure in charge of providing normative and operational policy guidance. The General Assembly, Economic and Social Council , and the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) constitute the governance structure that sets forth the normative policy guiding principles of

330-711: Is a member of the UN Development Group . UN Women faced criticism for its response to the Hamas attack on Israel in 2023 , with accusations of not condemning Hamas's gender-based war crimes adequately, and for waiting seven weeks before issuing any statement of condemnation of the sexual violence. In response to UN General Assembly resolution 63/311, in January 2010 the Secretary-General presented report A/64/588, entitled Comprehensive Proposal for

385-520: Is convened under the auspices of the Council every July. The members of ECOSOC are responsible for electing the executive board of UNICEF , the council of the United Nations Development Programme , the committee of UNHCR , and various commissions and other bodies under its jurisdiction. ECOSOC is also responsible for tasks such as reviewing and updating the UN list of least developed countries . The president of

440-453: Is empowered to: Following the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, women's rights groups criticized UN Women for not issuing a timely and clear condemnation of Hamas 's gender-based war crimes on Israeli women. Sarah Weiss Maudi , senior adviser to the president of the 77th Session of the U.N. General Assembly, said that UN Women refused to acknowledge that atrocities were committed against Israeli women and young girls despite many of

495-442: Is rapidly expanding energy use, mainly driven by fossil fuels , that explains why humanity is on the verge of breaching planetary sustainability boundaries through global warming , biodiversity loss , and disturbance of the nitrogen-cycle balance and other measures of the sustainability of the earth 's ecosystem ". UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon added: "Rather than viewing growth and sustainability as competing goals on

550-585: Is to "enhance, not replace, efforts by other parts of the UN system (such as UNICEF , UNDP , and UNFPA ), which will continue to have a responsibility to work for gender equality and women's empowerment in their areas of expertise." In accordance with the provisions of resolution 64/289, UN Women is to work within the framework of the UN Charter and the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, including its 12 critical areas of concern and

605-721: The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). UNIFEM was also involved in recognizing women's rights as human rights. It advocated gender equality around the world. UNIFEM also saw women's rights as an issue of peace and security. UNIFEM operated on a budget of voluntary contributions to the organization. The organization was based in New York City . Different countries and regions had their own committees within UNIFEM. UNIFEM

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660-664: The Fourth World Conference on Women and adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, which was the focus of the 59th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW59) from 9–20 March 2015, where global leaders took stock of progress and remaining challenges for implementing this landmark agreement for gender equality and women's rights. UN Women played an active role in major intergovernmental negotiations and processes including

715-522: The U.S. House of Representatives accused UN Women of disregarding Hamas’s gender based violence on Israeli females and minors in a bipartisan letter driven by Representatives Young Kim (R-California) and Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-Florida). The 80 Representatives wrote to UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous stating, "The failure by UN Women to publicly stand up for Israeli women and condemn Hamas’ systematic atrocities undermines UN Women and highlights its one-sided approach." UN Women states that it

770-548: The fifteen specialized agencies , the eight functional commissions, and the five regional commissions under its jurisdiction. ECOSOC serves as the central forum for discussing international economic and social issues, and formulating policy recommendations addressed to member states and the United Nations System. It has 54 members. In addition to a rotating membership of 54 UN member states, over 1,600 nongovernmental organizations have consultative status with

825-527: The superpowers to assign ECOSOC seats. Regardless, with 4 exceptions out of 102 elections ( see list ), a relatively stable pattern emerged and held until 1960: As the number of United Nations members grew with decolonization , the pattern began to break down starting in 1961, with nations in Africa winning elections to seats formerly held by Western Europe and the Republic of China (Taiwan) . In 1965,

880-722: The Advancement of Women (DAW); the International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW, established in 1976); the Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women (OSAGI, established in 1997), and the UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM, established in 1976). Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced at the founding of the movement that he

935-519: The Charter was amended to increase the size of ECOSOC to 27 seats, and the Regional Groups were formally introduced. The seat distribution became: In 1973, the Charter was amended again to increase the size of ECOSOC to 54 seats. The seat distribution became: Participation on a continuing basis: Participation on an ad hoc basis: The following are the active functional commission of

990-836: The Composite Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women . In his report, the Secretary-General resolved that, rather than relieving other parts of the United Nations system of their responsibility for contributing to the promotion of gender equality and women's empowerment, the new entity should seek to sharpen the focus and impact of the gender equality activities of the entire United Nations system. Additionally, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon estimated that approximately $ 125 million per annum were needed for operating costs and "start-up" capacity at

1045-574: The Council is elected for a one-year term and chosen from the small or medium sized states represented on the Council at the beginning of each new session. The presidency rotates among the United Nations Regional Groups to ensure equal representation. His Excellency Bob Rae was elected the eightieth President of the Economic and Social Council for the 2025 Session on 25 July 2024. Paula Narváez , Representative of Chile,

1100-745: The Council to participate in the work of the United Nations. ECOSOC holds one four-week session each year in July, and since 1998 has also held an annual meeting in April with finance ministers of heading key committees of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Additionally, the High-Level Political Forum (HLPF), which reviews the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development ,

1155-554: The Council: The following commissions were disbanded by the Council and replaced by other bodies: The following are the active regional commissions of the Council: The following are some of the other bodies that the Council oversees in some capacity: The specialized agencies of the United Nations are autonomous organizations working within the United Nations System, meaning that while they report their activities to

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1210-493: The Economic and Social Council, they are mostly free to their own devices. Some were created before the United Nations existed and were integrated into the system, others were created by the League of Nations and were integrated by its successor, while others were created by the United Nations itself to meet emerging needs. Each agency must negotiate with the Council as to what their relationship will look and work like. This leads to

1265-526: The Entity's regular budget and approved by the General Assembly, whereas the budget for service operational processes and activities at all levels are funded from voluntary contributions and approved by the executive board of UN Women. Jordanian Sima Sami Bahous is the executive director of UN Women as of 2023. The 2020 executive board consists of: The mandate and functions of UN Women consist of

1320-426: The Entity. The intergovernmental governance structure in charge of providing operational policy guidance to UN Women includes the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council and the organization's executive board. The latter consist of 41 members, elected by the Economic and Social Council for a term of three years and distributed as follows: The resources required to fund all normative processes are obtained from

1375-637: The Financing for Development Conference in Addis Ababa in July 2015, the outcome of which was strong on the need to adequately fund gender equality and incorporate it in development planning, as well as the negotiations and successful adoption of the new post-2015 development agenda on 25 September 2015. The new global development roadmap includes a stand-alone goal on gender equality and women's empowerment (Sustainable Development Goal 5), and mainstreams these priorities throughout all 17 goals. UN Women

1430-411: The General Assembly on 2 October 2010, constituted the blueprint for UN Women. Seeking to strengthen the UN's institutional arrangements for gender equality and women empowerment, resolution 63/311 supported the consolidation of four distinct parts of the UN system that focused exclusively on gender equality and women's empowerment into a composite entity to be led by an Under-Secretary-General . Moreover,

1485-722: The High-Level Political Forum from 2016 onwards after the new post-MDG/post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals are agreed upon. Subsequent proposals by the High-Level Panel Report on System-Wide Coherence in November 2006 aimed to establish a forum within the ECOSOC as a counter-model to the exclusive clubs of the G8 and G20 . The Forum was to comprise 27 heads of state (L27, corresponding to half of ECOSOC's membership) to meet annually and provide international leadership in

1540-500: The Special Adviser on Gender Issues (OSAGI), and Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW). Executive directors of the organization have been: United Nations Economic and Social Council The United Nations Economic and Social Council ( ECOSOC ) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations , responsible for coordinating the economic and social fields of the organization, specifically in regards to

1595-495: The UN criticized UN Women and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres for the delay in calling an investigation into the sexual violence committed by Hamas on 7 October 2023. A corresponding protest event took place at the UN on December 4, 2023. UN Development Fund for Women The United Nations Development Fund for Women ( UNIFEM , French : Fonds de développement des Nations unies pour la femme , Spanish : Fondo de Desarrollo de las Naciones Unidas para la Mujer )

1650-571: The United Nations regional groups. Outgoing members are eligible for immediate re-election, and some seats are held by de facto permanent members. In 1945 when the United Nations Charter was originally signed, the Economic and Social Council consisted of 18 seats. The formal concept of the United Nations Regional Groups did not yet exist, and unlike the Security Council , there was no "gentlemen's agreement" between

1705-482: The atrocities having been filmed by Hamas and other Palestinian terrorists themselves. On 13 October, an initial statement by UN Women condemned the attack on Israeli civilians but did not mention women. Subsequent posts and comments by the organization focused only on the impact of the conflict on Palestinian women. A month after the attack, the UN Women's website contained only one reference to women and girls stating

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1760-511: The body and welcomed Bachelet as chief. During General Debate at the opening of the 65th General Assembly of the UN, world leaders commended the creation of the body and its intention to "empower women", as well as welcoming Bachelet as the inaugural head. On 11 March 2011, John Hendra of Canada and Lakshmi Puri of India were appointed as first deputy executive directors at the level of UN Assistant Secretary-General. The provisions set forth by resolution 63/311 on system-wide coherence, adopted by

1815-695: The consolidated mandates and functions of the Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women, the Division for the Advancement of Women, the United Nations Development Fund for Women, and the International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women. In addition, the entity must lead, coordinate, and promote the accountability of the United Nations system in its work on gender equality and women's empowerment. The goal of UN Women

1870-436: The council. A major reform was approved by the 2005 World Summit based on proposals submitted by secretary-general Kofi Annan . The Summit aimed to establish ECOSOC as a quality platform for high-level engagement among member states and with international financial institutions, the private sector, and civil society on global trends, policies, and action. It resolved to hold biennial high-level Development Cooperation Forums at

1925-411: The country, regional, and headquarters levels. Moreover, an additional $ 375 million per annum were needed in the initial phase to respond to country-level requests for programmatic support. After years of negotiations between UN member states , women's groups, and civil society , on 2 July 2010 the General Assembly unanimously adopted resolution 64/289, thus creating UN Women by merging the Division for

1980-406: The creation of an international commission on violence against women. On January 26, 2006, UNIFEM nominated Nicole Kidman as its goodwill ambassador. The last executive director of UNIFEM was Inés Alberdi . In January 2011, UNIFEM was merged into UN Women , a composite entity of the UN, with International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW), Office of

2035-496: The development area. This proposal however, was not approved by the General Assembly. The Economic and Social Council Chamber in the United Nations Conference Building was a gift from Sweden . It was conceived by Swedish architect Sven Markelius , one of the 11 architects in the international team that designed the UN headquarters. Wood from Swedish pine trees was used in the delegates' area for

2090-416: The faces of four women and where their mouths should be were Google auto-complete suggestions. The suggestions were all sexist or misogynist. A similar campaign was also run to raise awareness for gay rights . UN Women promotes the rights of LGBTIQ people. UN Women advocates an intersectional feminism . Also in late 2013, UN Women launched a constitutional database that examines constitutions through

2145-595: The following, “devastating impact of the crisis in Gaza on women and girls.” Michal Herzog, First Lady of Israel , criticized UN Women for having a "double standard" and has lobbied openly about the topic. Several women's rights group criticized UN Women, as did Canadian Anne Bayefsky , director of the Touro University Institute on Human Rights and the Holocaust." On 29 November, over 80 members of

2200-449: The issues addressed at the Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995. Women at the conference decided that it was important that they "claim formal power to directly shape public policy". UNIFEM created a trust fund to help support twenty-three projects to combat gender-based violence and war crimes against women. The fund began funding projects in 1997. UNIFEM was granted "executing agency status" by UNDP in 2000. This allowed

2255-618: The major regions of the world. Its work on gender responsive budgets began in 1996 in Southern Africa and expanded to include East Africa , Southeast Asia , South Asia , Central America and the Andean region . It worked to increase awareness throughout the UN system of gender-responsive budgets as a tool to strengthen economic governance in all countries. In 2011, UNIFEM merged with some other smaller entities to become UN Women . UNIFEM

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2310-600: The national-leadership level, transforming the high-level segment of the Council to review trends in international development cooperation and promote greater coherence in development activities. At the Summit it was also decided to hold annual ministerial-level substantive reviews to assess progress in achieving internationally agreed on development goals (particularly the Millennium Development Goals ). These "Annual Ministerial Reviews" will be replaced by

2365-547: The organization to complete and work on projects for UNDP that related to women's rights and gender equality. UNIFEM released a new biennial report, Progress of the World's Women in 2001. The report outlined what UNIFEM had achieved in previous decades. Also in 2001, in conjunction with International Alert , UNIFEM launched the Millennium Peace Prize for Women . Noeleen Heyzer , head of UNIFEM, asked for

2420-411: The outcome of the 23rd special session of the General Assembly, as well as other applicable UN instruments, standards, and resolutions that address gender equality and the empowerment and advancement of women. UN Women's main areas of work include: In late 2013, a series of ads used genuine Google searches to reveal the widespread prevalence of sexism and discrimination against women The ads featured

2475-447: The resolution requested that the Secretary-General produce a proposal specifying the mission statement of the composite entity and its organizational arrangements, including an organizational chart, funding, and the executive board to oversee its operational activities. Resolution 64/289 determined that the entity should be headed by an Under-Secretary-General, to be appointed by the Secretary-General in consultation with member states, for

2530-414: The women of the developing world. Funding for UNIFEM projects doubled in size between 1985 and 1988. In the 1990s, UNIFEM became involved in broadening its scope. The organization began a campaign to define "women's rights as human rights" and how violence against women was also an economic development issue. UNIFEM hired researchers such as Roxanna Carrillo to demonstrate how violence against women

2585-419: The world. Users can search though the database by keyword, and legal provisions are grouped into 16 categories that were carefully defined by reviewing the constitutions from a human rights perspective. UN Women is one of the lead agencies coordinating International Women's Day events as well as the Commission on the Status of Women. The year 2015 marked a number of milestones, such as the 20th anniversary of

2640-413: Was "grateful to Member States for having taken this major step forward for the world's women and girls. UN Women will significantly boost UN efforts to promote gender equality, expand opportunity, and tackle discrimination around the globe." On 14 September 2010, it was announced that former President of Chile Michelle Bachelet was appointed as head of UN Women. Various countries supported the creation of

2695-620: Was an autonomous organization working closely with the UN Development Programme (UNDP), although the resolution also specified that the fund's resources should supplement, not substitute for, the responsibilities of other United Nations development cooperation agencies. UNIFEM helped fund projects that aided women and their families. UNIFEM developed a strategy of aiding women to become their "own agents for change rather than recipients of charity." UNIFEM also helped to ensure that UN programmes followed guidelines developed by

2750-513: Was elected as the seventy-ninth president of the Council on 27 July 2023. She succeeded Lachezara Stoeva , who was elected as the seventy-eighth president of the Council on 25 July 2022, succeeding Collen Vixen Kelapile of Botswana. The Council consists of 54 Member States, which are elected yearly by the General Assembly for overlapping three-year terms. Seats on the Council are allocated ensuring equitable geographic rotation among

2805-692: Was established by the United Nations General Assembly in December 1976 right after the conference. Margaret Snyder started working as the leader of the organization in 1978. The UNVFDW was given an expanded mandate by the General Assembly in February 1985, when it became the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM). Under resolution 39/125, the new fund was called on to support and advocate for innovative and catalytic activities that would give voice and visibility to

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2860-712: Was established in December 1976 originally as the Voluntary Fund for the United Nations Decade for Women in the International Women's Year . Its first director was Margaret C. Snyder . UNIFEM provided financial and technical assistance to innovative programmes and strategies that promoted women's human rights , political participation and economic security. Since 1976 it supported women's empowerment and gender equality through its programme offices and links with women's organizations in

2915-680: Was linked to a lack of women's access to economic opportunity. The campaign for "women's rights as human rights" was especially effective. UNIFEM began working on projects to reduce gender-based violence and also to raise awareness of the problem. Also in the 1990s, African Women in Crisis (AFWIC) was created by UNIFEM to focus on issues facing people in Africa . AFWIC helped women who were displaced due to violence or emergencies in their own countries. AFWIC expanded on work begun by Laketch Dirasse in East Africa . The work of UNIFEM helped shape

2970-566: Was one of the first organisations to condemn the attacks by Hamas and their use of gender-based violence. In regards to a deleted post condemning the Hamas attacks, a representative for UN Women gave a statement to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency saying, “In any social media team managing multiple campaigns and during a very busy time like the one we are now in with 16 Days of Activism, mistakes can occur.” Israel's ambassador to

3025-520: Was one of the smaller agencies at the UN and was situated lower in the UN hierarchy, according to Canadian politician Stephen Lewis . The First World Conference on Women in 1975 influenced the creation of UNIFEM. World governments saw the need to put resources into dealing with women's issues after the First Conference. The United Nations Voluntary Fund for the Decade for Women (UNVFDW)

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