SIGN GEAR TODAY

Today, 4th June 2010, the official website for the new UN Global Gender Equality Architecture Reform (GEAR) Campaign has launched! This campaign is extremely important to the work of Soroptimist International in improving the lives of women and girls. We also wish to stress the importance of having this new UN body, which hopefully will simplify the communication about gender issues at UN level. This initiative also that it shows that UN are proceeding in modernizing their structure and improve efficient and effective working methods.



HOW YOU CAN (AND SHOULD!) TAKE ACTION:



1. Sign the Amnesty International Petition in support of GEAR: http://www.amnesty.org/en/appeals-for-action/gear

2. Use GEAR’s one click form to lobby your own government to urgently move forward with the establishment of GEAR: http://www.un-gear.eu/takeaction.shtml





MORE INFORMATION:





GEAR Campaign Newsletter May/June 2010

The creation of the new UN entity for gender equality and the empowerment of women is near. Member States of the United Nations have begun negotiations on System Wide Coherence, of which GEAR is a part. GEAR Campaign as well as the most optimistic representatives hope that an agreement on the resolution is reached in the beginning of July.

Yet some major disagreements remain to be solved. The main issue dividing Member States is whether the entity should be governed by establishing an independent arm of the UNDP/UNFPA Executive Board, or whether a completely new Executive Board should be established. The whole reform may depend on governments' willingness to reach a compromise on the make-up and functions of the Board.

The GEAR Campaign continues to advocate that the new UN women's rights entity is established without further delay and that Member States agree to create a strong, operational women's entity with universal country presence, that is ambitiously funded (with a minimum of $500 million to start), and coordinates the UN system's work on women.

News on the GEAR process at the UN

NEGOTIATIONS ABOUT THE DRAFT SWC RESOLUTION PROCEED


The draft of a resolution on System-wide Coherence that the UN General Assembly will have to adopt in order to create the new UN women's agency is being negotiated informally by UN Member States The negotiations started the week of April 16 and will go on until the end of June. The main issue dividing the Member States is the Executive Board. [More]

SEARCH FOR THE LEADER OF THE NEW WOMEN'S AGENCY BEGINS

The UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon has asked Member States to put forward names of possible candidates for the post of the Under-Secretary-General who will be the leader of the new UN gender equality entity. The GEAR Campaign is not endorsing particular candidates, but will monitor the appointment process closely. [More]

UN ANSWERS FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT THE NEW WOMEN'S AGENCY

The UN Secretariat has put together a useful background document on the new UN gender equality entity that answers many of the frequently asked questions. The document is good resource for anyone interested in the details and process of the new women's agency. [More]

CSW SUPPORTS THE CREATION OF THE NEW UN WOMEN'S ENTITY

The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) concluded its fifty-fourth session on 12 March with adoption of a short text supporting the creation of the new UN gender equality entity. [More]

The creation of the new gender equality entity was one of the hot topics of the CSW. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon urged the Member States to create the new entity without delay. Also more than sixty governments spoke about the creation of the new UN gender equality entity in their official statements. GEAR Campaign has analyzed the statements. [More]

GEAR Campaign Activities

RECENT GEAR CAMPAIGN DOCUMENTS

The GEAR Campaign submitted a written statement for the Annual Ministerial Review (ARM) on gender equality and empowerment of women that will take place during the High-level Segment of the annual session of ECOSOC. [Read the statement]

GEAR Campaign sent a letter for UN Ambassadors with the message that it is important to "get the reform right." The Campaign reminds that this is a once in a life time opportunity to change the status quo on women's rights. The Campaign calls on the UN Member States to ensure that the reform of the UN gender equality architecture will have a truly transformative outcome. [Read the letter]

GEAR Campaign statement of March 2010 lines out the elements that the civil society sees as key for the success of the new entity. [Read the statement]

GEAR CAMPAIGN ACTION AT THE CSW

The government delegates and other participants of Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), the two-week meeting on women's rights that concluded at the UN headquarters on 12 March 2010, could not avoid hearing the message "GEAR UP NOW!" [More]