Other Intergovernmental Processes
Intergovernmental processes defining actions for the international community, and of significance to realizing gender equality and the women’s empowerment, take place both inside and outside the UN system. UN Women works to ensure the inclusion of gender-specific mandates across negotiated outcomes and agreements. To support its advocacy, UN Women prepares technical papers backed by research and communicates key gender equality linkages through high-level events and outreach.
Financing for Development Conference
At the first of three international meetings which will shape international development, world leaders acknowledged the key role of gender equality in development at the Financing for Development Conference in Addis Ababa from 13-16 July 2015. During the Addis Conference, UN Women organized four high-level side events with key stakeholders, in addition to supporting a Women’s Forum and Civil Society Forum in the lead-up to the Conference, from 10-12 July, to galvanize momentum. UN Women also worked closely with key stakeholders including gender experts and women’s rights activists from across the globe and provided substantive inputs to the negotiations. The conference’s outcome document, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, bolstered gender equality in its endorsement of a global framework that will shape the development cooperation agenda for the next 15 years and provide financing for the Post-2015 Development Agenda. It includes a stand-alone, comprehensive and transformative goal on achieving gender equality and women’s empowerment and provides a strong foundation to hold all stakeholders accountable. Read more »
In Focus
A guide to gender equality and women’s empowerment in the Addis Ababa Agenda
UN Conference on Small Island Developing States
The Third UN Conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS), which took place from 1-4 September 2014 in Apia, Samoa, focused attention on a group of countries that face multiple sustainable development challenges, due to their unique vulnerabilities. UN Women worked with partners including Member States, UN organizations and civil society organizations to secure the reflection of these ambitious gender-specific references.The conference’s outcome document, the SAMOA Pathway, underlined that women are agents of change and recognized that gender equality, women’s empowerment, and the full realization of human rights for women and girls (including sexual and reproductive health and rights), have a transformative and multiplier effect on sustainable development and are a driver of economic growth. The document contains a stand-alone section on gender equality and women’s empowerment with commitments to support SIDS’ efforts, as well as gender references incorporated in other sections.
OECD/DAC fourth high-level forum on aid effectiveness
The OECD/DAC Fourth High-Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness sought to make international aid work better for people and development. From 29 November to 1 December 2011, about 2,000 delegates from both countries that provide and countries that receive official development assistance gathered in Busan, Republic of Korea. Participants came from a wide range of sectors, including governments, civil society and the private sector. Extended negotiations produced The Busan Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation. For the first time, an international agreement on aid effectiveness emphasizes that gender equality and women’s empowerment are critical to achieving development results.
Note: For climate change and environment-related processes, click here.