GEAR Campaign Statement on Adoption of SWC Resolution by the UN General Assembly
September 14, 2009

The GEAR campaign is pleased that the General Assembly expressed strong and unanimous support in adopting a resolution today that will enable the creation of the new gender equality entity to be headed by a new Under Secretary- General (USG). Women and their allies from around the world have been advocating for three years for a stronger better resourced agency on gender equality and women’s empowerment, and look forward to its creation early in 2010 - during the fifteen anniversary year of the historic UN Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing.

To read the full statement, please click HERE

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For more on the GEAR campaign, please click HERE

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Security Council Adopts Resolution 1888 on Women, Peace and Security – 30 September 2009
Kristina Mader – PeaceWomen Project

On September 30th 2009 under the Presidency of the United States and chair of US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton the Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 1888 – the third resolution adopted by the Council under the agenda item of “Women, Peace and Security”, following resolutions 1325 (2000) and 1820 (2008). Like SCR 1820, SCR 1888 is primarily focused on addressing and preventing sexual violence in conflict. It follows the August 2009 Open Debate on women, peace and security that considered the Secretary-General’s report on resolution 1820 (2008) and takes up many of the recommendations contained in that report.

The August 2009 Debate was monitored by the PeaceWomen Project and information on this and the Secretary General’s report on 1820 can be found here.

To view the full report of the Secretary-General, please click here.

Resolution 1888 outlines actions the UN and Member States can take to prevent conflict related sexual violence and end impunity and calls for various structural changes within the UN system to meet these aims.

Specifically, resolution 1888:

To view other Security Council analysis, please visit PeaceWomen 1325 Monitoring, here.

GENDER & DISARMAMENT INDICES – UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY 64th Session GENERAL DEBATE,
September 23-30, 2009
PeaceWomen & Reaching Critical Will – Projects of the Women’s International League for Peace & Freedom

The PeaceWomen & Reaching Critical Will teams monitored statements delivered during the General Debate of the 64th Session of the UN General Assembly. The indices contain relevant excerpts and links to full statements.

The PeaceWomen Gender Index includes all references to gender, women, females, girls, gender equality, violence against women and women’s participation.

For the full index, please click HERE

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Reaching Critical Will Disarmament Index is an index of all references made to issues of disarmament, peace, and security, made in the 64th General Debate of the United Nations General Assembly. This index is a tool to gauge the issues that will be detailed during the First Committee of the General Assembly, starting 5 October 2009. Included in this Index are all references made to arms control, disarmament, multilateralism, nuclear energy, security, proliferation, terrorism, cluster munitions, the US-India Deal, and nuclear and conventional weapons.

For the full index, please click HERE

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Extracts from Gender Index

United Nations Secretary General
For full text, please click HERE
H.E. Mr. Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General

“In the Democratic Republic of Congo, I met an 18-year-old girl raped by soldiers. Her hope for a new life is the United Nations.”

President Of The 64th General Assembly
For full text, please click HERE
H.E. Ali Abdussalam Treki

No references

African Union /Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
For full text, please click HERE

No reference

European Union / Sweden
For full text, please click HERE

“The European Union will continue to stand up for the empowerment of women and gender equality. Without this, it will be impossible to draw on all those talents that are needed for a nation to move from poverty to development and prosperity.”

“We speak out on injustice on the African continent: The use of sexual violence as a weapon of intimidation and terror is appalling. The attacks on women and girls in Eastern Congo and other places are unacceptable. To protect we must empower. And so, to empower women in conflict situations, Security Council resolutions 1325 and 1820 have to be implemented.”

“Education, also for young girls and women, is indispensable.”

Antigua and Barbuda
For full text, please click HERE

“Further, with a growing number of female parliamentarians plus key high-level political positions occupied by women, we continue to improve on our record of female empowerment. The advocacy work of the UN System on gender issues has been instrumental to the progress we've made thus far, and we look forward to the continuing support as we continue to break down the traditional barriers to the active participation of more than fifty percent of our country's human capital.”

Austria
For full text, please click HERE

“Austria has been working actively with others on the expansion of the monitoring and reporting of serious child rights violations. Austria fully supports Security Council resolution 1820 and the follow-up resolution to be adopted next week as a decisive response of the international community to sexual violence in conflict situations. At the same time, Austria attaches great importance to the participation of women in the promotion of peace and security: Women must have a voice in every peace process throughout the world.”

Benin
For full text, please click HERE

“The government of Benin has decided to entrust the rationalization of its efforts in this area to a woman's institute which we recently established. We therefore welcome the establishment and the operationalisation in the near future of a single entity within the U.N. System for the advancement of woman. It will make it possible to ensure coherence and efficiency within the United Nations system towards member states.”

Democratic Republic Of Congo
For full text, please click HERE

“Sexual violence perpetrated against women and girls in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo are, in our view, the most shameful crimes and the most serious crimes that humanity has seen in the 21st century. In terms of statistics, 80% of these crimes that have been committed in the DRC essentially have taken place in two provinces in the eastern part of the country most affected by the effects of war; that is South Kivu and North Kivu. In actual fact, 60% of the rapes have been committed in North Kivu and 20% in South Kivu. Justice must be restored to the raped women and girls. I can already assure the firm resolve of his Excellency, President Joseph Kabila Kabange, to put an end to impunity to the perpetrators of these heinous crimes. Be they civilian or military.”

Denmark
For the full text, please click HERE

“The work of the UN in the area of gender, and of women's rights and development, has for too long been fragmented and underfunded. In this light, the recent decision by the General Assembly to create a new gender architecture within the UN is of great significance. We will support the Secretary General in his efforts to ensure the swift establishment of such an entity in every possible way. The rapid creation of a new gender entity will represent a milestone in the important work of reforming the UN system.”

Ecuador
For the full text, please click HERE

"During the current session, the General Assembly must take strategic and important decisions for Ecuador, as well as for the rest of Member States. Decisions that will make the actions of the Organization much more effective towards the promotion and defense of human rights of people with differential capacities; the recognition and implementation of indigenous peoples' rights; gender equality and the struggle against human trafficking, among other important issues."

Estonia
For the full text, please click HERE

“Regarding another reform area, gender reform, considerable progress that is also relevant to achieving Millennium Development Goals has been made recently. No security, development or human-rights related goal can be achieved without the full participation of women. Estonia has been a dedicated supporter of the United Nations' funds and programs that foster gender equality. It is our common obligation to ensure that the reform becomes a reality without delay.”

Finland
For the full text, please click HERE

“Climate change will affect especially seriously the lives and livelihood of women, but they are also powerful actors in combating it. We need to ensure their full participation in the negotiations and in the implementation of the new agreement.

“Gender, food production and climate change are all interlinked. We know that 70 percent of the world’s poor are women and girls. We also know that the majority of agricultural labourers are women. If we really want to combat climate change and avoid a global food crisis, we need to pay close attention to the role of women, especially in the least developed countries.”

“Security Council Resolutions 1325 and 1820 on women, peace and security were important achievements. Their implementation in all countries and in all situations is urgently needed."

“Appointment of a Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Women and Armed Conflict would in our view enhance the implementation of Resolutions 1325 and 1820. We hope that all member states will support this proposal. I want to thank Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for bringing up the question of violence against women in his opening address at the General Assembly yesterday.”

Germany
For the full text, please click HERE

“But developing countries must also live up to their responsibilities. Responsible governance, respect for human rights, environmental protection, the fight against epidemics, the strengthening of the rights of women - these are the challenges that each country must meet on their own responsibility.”

Ghana
For the full text, please click HERE

“Next year marks the fifteenth year after the adoption of the 1995 Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. However, the huge gap between policy and practice and the uneven progress in implementing the international commitments on gender equality and empowerment of women heightens the importance of creating an enabling environment, through a more coherent, integrated and multi-sectoral approach."

"Over the years, Ghana has spared no effort in implementing the Beijing Platform goals and has amply demonstrated its commitment to promoting and ensuring gender equality and women's empowerment through concrete administrative, legal and constitutional means."

"In our efforts to achieve full and accelerated implementation of these goals and objectives, the Government is actively pursuing an Affirmative Action Policy which seeks to ensure 40 percent representation of women in decision-making positions. We have made gains to this end as lucidly testified by the appointment of the first female Speaker of Parliament, female Ministers with responsibility for Women and Children Affairs, Justice and Attorney-General, Trade and Industry, Environment and Science, Information and Tourism as well as many Deputy Ministers."

Iceland
For the full text, please click HERE

“My government has strongly endorsed the rights of women. We have especially taken to our heart the Security Council’s resolution 1325 on the rights of women to take part and be active in the peace processes in war-torn regions. Next year is the 10 anniversary of 1325, and I urge the UN to actively use it to promote the role of women as peacemakers all over the world. In this context the unanimous decision of the General Assembly to create a new and consolidated UN gender unity to be headed by an Under-Secretary was also very helpful. We thank you all for these important steps and urge the Secretary-General to move forward as expeditiously as possible.”

Ireland
For the full text, please click HERE

“As one example, we are engaging actively in Timor Leste, using lessons derived from our peace process to help to increase confidence in policing and security arrangements in that country. I am also proud that the Irish Government is sponsoring a major lessons-learned exercise in relation to Security Council Resolution 1325, which involves interactions between women from Timor Leste, Liberia and Northern Ireland.”

Kuwait
For the full text, please click HERE

“ The Parliamentary elections in my country, Kuwait, which were held during the month of June of this year, represent a quality transformation in the Kuwaiti Parliamentary life, where four women obtained the trust and the support of the Kuwaiti voters. They now join their brothers in representing the Kuwaiti people, and express their ambitions under the dome of the People's Congress. This civilized accomplishment comes after Kuwaiti women achieved success in the fields of private enterprise, public as well as private government work, including holding Ministerial positions in the Kuwaiti Cabinet.”

“We express our pride and appreciation for the significant achievements of Kuwaiti women, and will continue to support their role as active partners in the political, economic and social ambits.”

Liberia
For the full text, please click HERE

“We are pleased to report that Liberia has continued to make significant strides in the administration of justice and rule of law, in spite of daunting obstacles. We have established a special sexual and gender based violence crimes court, which has begun hearing cases and encouraging victims to come forth and report in the spirit of confidentiality and justice. Concomitantly, the government has further adopted several gender-sensitive policies and framework in pursuance of Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000).”

“The post-conflict reconstruction and development require all Liberians to participate in the ongoing recovery and sustainable development. Government is therefore promoting and encouraging women involvement at the leadership level and all other spectrum of society, with emphasis on the education of the girl child.

Luxembourg
For the full text, please click HERE

“Another conflict area that has been occupying us for a long period and where our hopes of lasting peace were once more called into question during the last year is the Democratic Republic of Congo. Once again civilians suffer the consequences. We are strongly concerned about the crimes committed against civilians, especially women and children.”

“In this context I welcome the draft Security Council Resolution that gives a concrete follow-up to resolution 1820 on women, peace and security: Luxembourg fully supports this text. I also welcome the personal commitment of the Secretary General in the fight against sexual violence. It is important that the UN system as a whole address the phenomenon of sexual violence, which is used increasingly as a weapon of war in armed conflict and even after hostilities have ended. It is essential to strengthen efforts to prevent such acts from happening and to bring those to justice who commit these horrible crimes.”

Maldives
For the full text, please click HERE

"In particular, I would like to stress the importance of ensuring equality of women and men, not just in name but in practice as well."

Norway
For the full text, please click HERE

“The appalling rise of rape and other forms of sexual violence reveal an ugly story of men around the world still regarding women and children as secondary citizens. My fellow delegates, we must never rest as long as women are denied the services and rights that we men take for granted. Nothing less than our claim to civilization is at stake.

“Here in New York, we welcome the decision to establish a new and enhanced gender entity and hope to see it operational as soon as possible. We will pursue the reform agenda of system-wide coherence and the delivering as one agenda. The UN will be subject to more public scrutiny and reform must be an ongoing effort.”

Papua New Guinea
For the full text, please click HERE

“We note that great strides are being made in reforming the global gender architecture. We applaud the strong but cautious consensus reached in the 63rd Session of the United Nations General Assembly to support the creation of an Under-Secretary General's posts to assist in the better management of the various UN entities dealing with the gender issues.”

“We therefore strongly support the on-going reform as the gender issue in its entirety remains one of the key policy issues of my Government.”

Slovakia
For the full text, please click HERE

"We are convinced that issues such as conflict prevention cannot be seen in isolation. They are connected with the respect for human rights, protection of civilians, gender equality, protection of children in armed conflict, etc. As a serving member of the UN Human Rights Council, Slovakia works on promoting universal respect for the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms for all, both at national and international level."

Spain
For the full text, please click HERE

“Firstly, multilateralism is inseparable from faithfulness to democratic values, to human rights, and to effective equality between men and women throughout the world. And I’m very happy to see in this respect the last resolution approved by the General Assembly, which will make it possible for one single body to deal with all gender issues.”

Thailand
For the full text, please click HERE

“Promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women are also important to Thailand. Besides our national effort on this matter, I am pleased to add that ASEAN is also in the process of establishing an ASEAN commission on the promotion and protection of the rights of women and children. This mechanism would play an important part in enhancing and strengthening the ASEAN human rights framework as a whole.”

Tonga
For the full text, please click HERE

“Our parliament recently considered ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). Parliament voted not to ratify CEDAW because to do so would cut across or cultural and social heritage that make up our unique Tongan way of life. We take the ratification of International Treaties very seriously. We did not want to ratify CEDAW as a matter of international convenience. We would rather be judged on our actions of empowerment of women than by a ratification of convenience. And we make no apologies for our stance. We admit that there are issues to be addressed. But rather than ratify CEDAW, we prefer to address those specific areas of concern for women in our own way. We maintain that our women are among the most highly cherished and respected in the world.”

Turkey
For the full text, please click HERE

"The United Nations must become a much more effective institution on matters such as climate change, sustainable development, the struggle against poverty, gender equality and the protection of human rights and dignity. We fully support the reform efforts in this direction."

United Arab Emirates
For the full text, please click HERE

“Women and children occupy an important rank among the priorities of the UAE government. This is especially with regard to education, health, human develop and knowledge development. The empowerment of women and care and protection of children are among the major success stories of our national development project, where women today have achieved significant successes in the legislative, executive and political fields in the UAE as well as the private sector and in the areas of culture, creativity and sustainable development of the UAE.”

Vanuatu
For the full text, please click HERE

“Vanuatu is deeply concerned that like climate change the crisis is caused by outside influential forces and its rippling effects are quickly reaching our nation's most vulnerable population i.e. children, women, the disabled, the working poor, who will be the one's hardest hit and least able to cope with dramatic changes.”

Aids-Free World addresses Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on the creation of a new UN Women's Agency

September 29, 2009

An open letter

Mr. Secretary-General:

AIDS-Free World is both exhilarated and watchful in the wake of this month’s resolution to create a new United Nations women’s agency.

You and your staff have been anticipating and preparing for this moment for almost three years. Your actions now will help determine the success or failure of this agency.

You have the opportunity to part ways with old, flawed UN systems, and usher in a new era of transparency, equity and effectiveness.

The leader of the women’s agency will either continue the UN tradition of declawed proclamations and halfbaked interventions concerning women’s issues, or she will galvanize the world by actually listening to women, and providing the wherewithal for real change.

The brave and correct way to identify the Under Secretary-General is to get rid of the entrenched, unwritten rules that now govern the process of selecting many (albeit not all) of the UN’s leaders. Governments, predominantly donor nations, lay claim to UN funds and programs, and proffer candidates behind closed doors for the Secretary-General’s consideration. These ways have never served women. We should not select our top international civil servants according to political expedience. The world would be shocked to learn that the UN, with all its talk about good governance, runs on a system of lobbying and patronage.

It is time to break the pattern. We strongly encourage you to ensure that both the selection process and the new Under Secretary-General meet some basic standards.

First and foremost, candidates must be selected through a global search and an open, fair, transparent process that pays particular attention to qualified candidates from developing countries. Preferential consideration should not be given to UN insiders. Women do not need a leader who has learned to accept the UN’s shortcomings and play by its unspoken rules. She must be frankly skeptical of calcified systems that do not serve half the world’s citizens. If there were women within the system with the capability to change it, they would have done so already.

To read the full letter, please click HERE

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