UN Women Begins its Work: Ready, Set, Go!

By Contributor | January 5, 2011

But go where, exactly? And perhaps just as important, how do you plan to get there?

The new UN agency for gender equality and women’s empowerment became fully operational this week, as mandated by the General Assembly this past July. The organization’s press release celebrating the beginning of their work rightly deemed their goals as ambitious – UN Women will be charged with the demands and responsibilities previously distributed among four UN organizations, as well as any number of new expectations that come from its mission statement.

The general climate at the UN appears to be one of hope that the new organization will be able to deliver on its (hefty) promises. The General Assembly’s plenary discussions on the advancement of women last October began with a flurry of publicity for UN Women and many of the General Assembly’s resolutions incorporated references to the role of UN Women.

Despite UN Women’s warm welcome, some delegations are wary of giving the new organization too much clout without seeing concrete parameters for its work. Negotiations on the makeup of UN Women’s Executive Board earlier last month also showed that many countries were cautious of proceeding with decisions regarding the procedures and funding of UN Women while many aspects of its functioning continued to be expressed in “gray terms.”

It remains to be seen whether the general fervor surrounding the organization will translate into concrete actions, and whether those actions will address the true needs of women in the years to come.

Share on Facebook
Share on Twitter