laupäev, 5. september 2009

Campaign for Gender Equality Architecture Reform at the UN

In 2006 women from all over the world pressured the United Nations to add the reform of its gender equality bodies on the agenda of its current reform process.

The GEAR Campaign, a network of more than 310 civil society organizations, was formally launched in 2008 to follow up this process.

Specifically, the GEAR Campaign is demanding:
- The consolidation of the existing UN agencies addressing gender equality into a single improved and independent entity.
- The new entity to be headed by an Under Secretary-General in order to secure a higher level of authority for the new entity within the UN.
- An annual budget starting at $1 billion, increasing over time.
- Universal field presence and strong policy and programmatic mandate.

The involvement of women’s organisations and global civil society in its processes.The strategies and the positions of the campaign are determined by the GEAR Campaign Working Group, which is co-facilitated by Center for Women's Global Leadership (CWGL) and Women's Environment and Development Organization (WEDO).

The working group brings together the New York based organizations who are the global focal points of the campaign, the regional focal points of the campaign, and the members of the New York based UN Lobbying Strategy Group.

The European Focal Point of the GEAR Campaign, lobby the European Union and European governments to support these demands.

Join the global GEAR Campaign and send the following letter to the Foreign Minister and the UN mission of your country, urging your government to support the creation of the strong new UN gender equality entity http://www.un-gear.eu/takeaction.shtml