What is UN Women?

About UN Women

• It is the United Nations (UN) entity dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women.
• In July 2010, the UN General Assembly created UN Women.
• The creation of UN Women came about as part of the UN reform agenda, bringing together resources and mandates for greater impact.
• A global champion for women and girls, UN Women was established to accelerate progress on meeting their needs worldwide.
• The main roles of UN Women are:
  • To support inter-governmental bodies, such as the Commission on the Status of Women, in their formulation of policies, global standards, and norms.
  • To help member states implement these standards, standing ready to provide suitable technical and financial support to those countries that request it, and to forge effective partnerships with civil society.
  • To lead and coordinate the UN system’s work on gender equality as well as promote accountability, including through regular monitoring of system-wide progress.
• It works globally to make the vision of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s) a reality for women and girls and stands behind women’s equal participation in all aspects of life.
• Within countries that request its assistance, UN Women works with government and non-governmental partners to help them put in place the policies, laws, services, and resources that women require to move towards equality.
• Grant-making Funds: UN Women provides grants to fuel innovative, high-impact programmes by government agencies and civil society groups through two funds—the Fund for Gender Equality and the UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women.
• Commission on the Status of Women (CSW): A global policy-making body, the CSW is a functional commission of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), dedicated exclusively to gender equality and the advancement of women.
• Aside from the CSW, UN Women offers regular information on women’s rights issues to the General Assembly, the ECOSOC, and the Security Council.

It maintains the UN Secretary-General’s database on violence against women, which tracks measures to end violence taken by UN Member States and UN organizations.

Q1: What are Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s)?

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015, provides a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future. At its heart are the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are an urgent call for action by all countries - developed and developing - in a global partnership. They recognize that ending poverty and other deprivations must go hand-in-hand with strategies that improve health and education, reduce inequality, and spur economic growth – all while tackling climate change and working to preserve our oceans and forests.

Source: War’s toll on women: UN Women report sheds light on Gaza’s water, sanitation and hygiene crisis