UN Forum Seeks More Initiatives To Advance Gender Equality

stories by Edoamaowo Udeme

The annual high-level meeting of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) ended on Friday with member states stressing the need for greater investment in women and girls to advance gender equality and empowerment.

In a ministerial declaration adopted at the end of its week-long meeting, the 54-member council stressed the need to invest more in women and girls.
It said that the investment was essential to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by the 2015 deadline.

The council's action came on the same day the UN General Assembly voted unanimously to create a single UN body tasked with accelerating progress in achieving gender equality and women empowerment.
The new body, known as UN Women, will merge four of the world body's agencies and offices.
They are the UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), the Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW), and the Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues and the UN International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (UN-INSTRAW).

The President of ECOSOC, Hamidon Ali, welcomed the creation of UN Women, noting that gender equality and the empowerment of women remain at the very heart of the realisation of the MDGs.
"In that context, UN Women will reinforce our UN development agenda and help us achieve the MDGs by 2015,'' he told a news conference in New York at the conclusion of the council's high-level sessions.
The council reaffirmed in its declaration the `` vital role of women as agents of development and stressed that achieving MDG 3 on promoting gender equality and empowering women is essential to the achievement of all the goals.''

It stated that member states also emphasised, among other things, the need to strengthen the full integration of women into the formal economy.
The council stressed the need to boost national and international efforts to prevent and eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls and improve access to health systems for women and girls.
As part of its current session, ECOSOC held a high-level panel on Friday on Gender and Bio-diversity.
UN Deputy Secretary-General, Asha-Rose Migiro, said at the forum that, ``all around the globe, women are central to preserving the incredible variety of life on Earth.''

"And yet, too often the gender component of development is overlooked.
"We need concrete targets and a new vision for conserving Earth biological diversity for the benefit of all.
"And that vision must encompass gender," Migiro stated.
ECOSOC sessions featured the Development Cooperation Forum which focused on development cooperation in times of crises.

It also featured the Annual Ministerial Review, which focused on gender equality and the empowerment of women and a policy dialogue on the state of the world's economy.
The council will continue its 2010 substantive session, which is scheduled to end on July 23, with a coordination segment, an operational activities segment, a humanitarian affairs segment and a general segment.

The International Court of Justice in The Hague will issue its opinion on the legality of Kosovo's independence on July 22, the highest judicial arm of the United Nations said recently.
The ICJ has been considering whether Kosovo's declaration of independence from Serbia in 2008 was legal following objections raised by Belgrade, which has argued that the move violated its territorial integrity.
While the court's opinion is non-binding, observers say a ruling at the ICJ in Kosovo's favour could lead more countries to recognise its independence, while an adverse opinion could push it into negotiating a settlement with Serbia.

Serbia's Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic said that the court's ruling "is going to have, for sure, a profound significance for the international legal order".
"We are going to know if in future the borders of UN member states are going to be safe from secessionist ambitions and whether unilateral independence declarations will become a legal norm in resolving territorial disputes anywhere in the world," Jeremic told Reuters.

In Pristina, Kosovo's Foreign Minister Skender Hyseni expressed hope that the decision would help to improve relations between the two neighbours.
"We are seeking recognition ... of the facts. Without a formal recognition Serbia should at least work with Kosovo on issues of mutual concern," he said, citing the Kosovo Serb minority and the free flow of people, money, investment and trade.

Kosovo is not a member of the UN and is recognised by 69 countries, including the U.S.
A former province of Serbia, Kosovo has argued its independence is irreversible and was made necessary by Serbia's killing of 12,000 of its people in the 1990s.

Burundi To Keep Peacekeepers In Somalia Despite Threat

Burundi said recently that it would keep its 2,500 peacekeepers in Somalia, inspite of threats from Islamists responsible for bomb attacks in neighbouring Uganda that killed 73 soccer fans.
The devastating twin blasts hit a crowded restaurant and a rugby club in Uganda's capital on Sunday during the last moments of the World Cup final killing people watching the match on television.

Al Shabaab militants in Somalia have threatened more attacks unless Uganda and Burundi withdraw their peacekeepers from Somalia where the militants are fighting the government and control large parts of the country.
"There is no reason for us to withdraw our troops because al Shabaab attacked Kampala and plans to attack Bujumbura.

`` That would be (displaying a) yellow streak," he told reporters,'' said Major General Godefroid Niyombare, Burundi's army chief.
The soldiers from the two East African countries make up the 6,100-strong African Union peacekeeping force known as AMISOM.

Niyombare appealed to other African countries to provide troops to help Burundi and Uganda peacekeepers in the Horn of Africa nation which had been bereft of central government for 20 years.

"If we happen to oust terrorists from Somalia, the entire world will have achieved peace," he said.
But analysts say the attacks may complicate efforts to strengthen AMISOM since countries would be reluctant to risk similar attacks by sending their troops.

Niyombare said Burundi forces were on high alert to prevent or face any attacks by al Shabaab which has links with al Qaeda.