UN to Replace UNIFEM with Higher Profile, Better-Funded Agency

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International Women's Day protestors

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uploaded by Joy Gugeler

On March 8 International Women's Day, we can celebrate women's progress in achieving greater social, economic and political equality, even while recognizing how much more work is yet to be done. 

Women are subject to numerous forms of violence, including domestic abuse, rape, sex slavery, child marriage and female circumcision. Each year, about 500,000 women still lose their lives during pregnancy or childbirth.

Women are disproportionately represented in part-time, seasonal and short-term jobs, and consequently deprived of job security and benefits. And in January 2008, the global proportion of parliamentary seats held by women was only 18%.

Representation of Women's Issues at the UN

Gender issues should take high priority at the United Nations, but currently the largest agency devoted specifically to women is UNIFEM which has a core staff of about 100 people, a budget of approx $115 million, and is part of the UN Development Program. 

In comparison, UNICEF, which deals with children's issues, has a staff of over 8,300, a budget of $3 billion, and is headed by an Under Secretary-General.

This situation, however, is soon to change.  Plans are underway to terminate UNIFEM, and replace it with a better-funded body, reporting directly to the General Assembly, with staff at world, regional and country levels.  The draft mission statement for the new UN women's organization states that it will work for:

• The elimination of discrimination against women and girls;
  
• the empowerment of women; and
  
• the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action, and peace and security.

International Women's Rights Agencies

Women's rights are protected in theory by many international human rights instruments.  The most influential is the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) which came into effect in 1979, and which has been ratified by 186 countries. 

While the Convention aggressively asserts equality in domains of health, education, justice and social welfare, many countries pay only lip service, and are able to escape repercussions because of weak enforcement mechanisms. 

A new, better-resourced women's organization at the UN with a comprehensive mandate and greater status will likely have more success in naming and shaming those states that fail to discharge their responsibilities, or begin to backslide.

Canada's Stance re Women's Rights Advocacy

For example, in Canada a report on declining women's rights claims systematic erosion of the human rights of women and girls in the period 2004 - 2009.  The government has eliminated funding for advocacy groups and court challenges, has scrapped a national child-care program, and has done little to counteract the widening wage gap between men and women. 

In the World Economic Forum's "gender-gap index", Canada placed 14th out of 115 countries in 2006, but dropped to 25th place in 2009. 

G8 Summer Summit: Women's Health Issues

At his speech to the World Economic Forum in January,  Prime Minister Stephen Harper stated that Canada, as president of the G8 in 2010, will champion a major initiative to improve the health of women and children in the world's poorest regions. 

Harper's sudden interest in an issue on which other countries have been assiduously engaged, his narrow focus which appears to exclude reproductive rights, and the lack of detail on a funding commitment has led some to adopt a wait and see attitude, preferring to check Harper’s rhetoric against actual commitments following this summer’s Summit. 

Meanwhile, the advent of a new consolidated women's organization at the UN, which will in large part depend on volunteer funding, provides an excellent opportunity for Canada to demonstrate its leadership and dedication to women's issues.