Build a United Nations that really works for all women!

Target:

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Member States of the GA

Sponsored by:

The GEAR Campaign, a global coalition of over 300 organizations

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*In addition to the signatures below, this petition has garnered hundreds more hard-copy signatures.
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HELP GET 3000 SIGNATURES BY THIS WEEKEND!
UN General Assembly session ends September 14th!

Background:

"A UN women's agency will not speak for women, but will ensure that at long last, women's own voices can be heard, at all levels of society, and in the decisions that affect their lives... It should have the capacity to collect and analyze data on women's lives and rights; to develop policy; to provide technical advice and assistance on gender and women's empowerment in every specialized field; to support and monitor the gender-related work of other UN agencies; and to work closely with government partners to plan and oversee programmes at the national level." - Excerpt from the statement of H.E. Mr. Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann, the President of the United Nations General Assembly on International Women's Day, March 8th, 2009.

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For the past three decades, the United Nations has been a galvanizing force in efforts to define a comprehensive global agenda for peace and security, human rights, poverty eradication and sustainable development. As a result, there have been significant commitments made towards gender equality and women's empowerment.

However, the UN still lacks a strong driver for women's rights at the leadership level both at Headquarters and at the country level, as well as a systematic and effective mechanism to deliver on many of the essential commitments made. The UN has several small under-resourced agencies focused exclusively on women's issues. Other larger agencies make critical contributions to women's human rights and gender equality, but this is usually a small part of their mandate.

Currently, there are four separate women's entities within the UN:
%uFFFD The Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW)
%uFFFD The Office of the Special Advisor on Gender Issues and the Advancement of Women (OSAGI)
%uFFFD The United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM)
%uFFFD The International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW).

In this context, women have been pressing governments to address the weaknesses within the UN system on gender equality and women's empowerment as part of the overall UN reform process, which started in 2006 under the leadership of the previous Secretary-General, Kofi Annan. This is a crucial intervention, since it has become clear that the UN cannot help countries achieve gender equality and women's empowerment if work on women's issues remains fragmented, uncoordinated and under-resourced.

Please join the global call to create a stronger new women's entity at the United Nations!

For more information about the GEAR Campaign to create a new women's entity at the United Nations, email: gearcampaign@gmail.com or visit http://gear.collectivex.com/main/summary

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Letter:

The United Nations plays a key role in the advancement of women at the global level. However, work of the United Nations in the area of gender equality and the empowerment of women is fragmented and underfunded, which impedes its ability to effectively address women's needs worldwide. Therefore, to remedy the fragmentation that currently exists between the UN's four separate women's entities, the Gender Equality Architecture Reform (GEAR) Campaign advocates for the creation of a new, consolidated women's entity at the UN.

Civil society, especially women's organizations, has played an important agenda setting and policy role at the United Nations, assisting the UN and Member States to recognize and address global challenges relating to gender equality and women's empowerment. Women's organizations bring years of experience working with women in countries and communities as well as regionally and internationally to advance women's rights and to improve women's daily lives. It is critical to build on these experiences by systematically bringing diverse women's voices into all aspects of the new women's entity at every level in order to deliver effective results for women on the ground.

Therefore, we, the undersigned, call on the Secretary-General and Member States to:

(1)  Establish a strong, consolidated and ambitiously funded UN entity for women led by an Under Secretary-General that combines policy making and country level operations to effectively deliver on women's rights on the ground.

(2)  Ensure meaningful involvement of civil society, especially women's organizations, at all levels - global, regional, national and local. At the global level, at least five representatives (one from each region) should be included on the Governing Board of the new women's entity.

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Please join the global call to create a stronger new women's entity at the United Nations!

Background:

"A UN women's agency will not speak for women, but will ensure that at long last, women's own voices can be heard, at all levels of society, and in the decisions that affect their lives... It should have the capacity to collect and analyze data on women's lives and rights; to develop policy; to provide technical advice and assistance on gender and women's empowerment in every specialized field; to support and monitor the gender-related work of other UN agencies; and to work closely with government partners to plan and oversee programmes at the national level." - Excerpt from the statement of H.E. Mr. Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann, the President of the United Nations General Assembly on International Women's Day, March 8th, 2009.

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Please join the global call to create a stronger new women's entity at the United Nations!

For more information about the GEAR Campaign to create a new women's entity at the United Nations, email: gearcampaign@gmail.com or visit http://gear.collectivex.com/main/summary

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Letter:

The United Nations plays a key role in the advancement of women at the global level. However, work of the United Nations in the area of gender equality and the empowerment of women is fragmented and underfunded, which impedes its ability to effectively address women's needs worldwide. Therefore, to remedy the fragmentation that currently exists between the UN's four separate women's entities, the Gender Equality Architecture Reform (GEAR) Campaign advocates for the creation of a new, consolidated women's entity at the UN.

Civil society, especially women's organizations, has played an important agenda setting and policy role at the United Nations, assisting the UN and Member States to recognize and address global challenges relating to gender equality and women's empowerment. Women's organizations bring years of experience working with women in countries and communities as well as regionally and internationally to advance women's rights and to improve women's daily lives. It is critical to build on these experiences by systematically bringing diverse women's voices into all aspects of the new women's entity at every level in order to deliver effective results for women on the ground.

Therefore, we, the undersigned, call on the Secretary-General and Member States to:

(1)  Establish a strong, consolidated and ambitiously funded UN entity for women led by an Under Secretary-General that combines policy making and country level operations to effectively deliver on women's rights on the ground.

(2)  Ensure meaningful involvement of civil society, especially women's organizations, at all levels - global, regional, national and local. At the global level, at least five representatives (one from each region) should be included on the Governing Board of the new women's entity.

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goal: 3,000

2,990
signatures!

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We signed the "Build a United Nations that really works for all women!" petition!

# 2,990:

9:39 am PDT, Sep 23, Abhaya A, India

# 2,989:

7:18 am PDT, Sep 23, Eric Sears, Illinois

# 2,988:

6:11 am PDT, Sep 23, Gloria Bayoh, Sierra Leone
Dear Secretary General, It is true that women all over the world suffer injustices, especially women in Africa.Apart from few women coming out to demand justice,and governments paying lip services to international and national laws what actually are they doing to practicalize women's liberation from suffering? In my country it now seems that being a pregnant woman is suffering from a malignant illness that that might eventually kill the woman.will merely making noise save us from dying during pregnancy? Women in really Sierra Leone really want to survive and enjoy their kids after giving birth, not dying during or immediately after birth.

# 2,987:

10:01 pm PDT, Sep 22, Doris Telles, California

# 2,986:

12:12 pm PDT, Sep 21, Monika Urbanik, Poland

# 2,985:

8:18 am PDT, Sep 21, Erin McNamara, New York
Dear Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, Congratulations on the passage of GEAR. The time is now to reinvigorate and redouble UN efforts to fully integrate and mainstream gender into all UN agencies- not just UNIFEM and UNFPA. Special attention needs to be paid now to gender in international peace and security. Violence against women robs half of the population of its rights to a dignified and productive life. To prevent VAW, the UN should review and consider taking the following actions: 1. special gender training for UN peacekeepers 2. no amnesty for violence against women crimes 3. development incentives aimed specifically at women's work and women's projects Secretary- General, as part of your UNiTE campaign, please ensure that preventing VAW and ending impunity for perpetrators is a number one priority. Many thanks, Erin McNamara

# 2,984:

6:29 am PDT, Sep 20, Marian Rivman, New York

# 2,983:

4:23 pm PDT, Sep 19, NDEGE NKONG, Cameroon
The GEAR Campaign is such an encouragement that soon and very soon women will enjoy a strongly global voice for their rights!!! Bravo! Go women...don't look back but keep the goal in focus and keep working towards it.

# 2,982:

2:24 am PDT, Sep 19, Marta Rondon, Peru

# 2,981:

8:43 pm PDT, Sep 18, Evangelia Manthoyianni, Greece

# 2,980:

10:11 pm PDT, Sep 17, Emiko Hirano, Japan

# 2,979:

12:16 pm PDT, Sep 17, Mahut Sophia, France

# 2,978:

3:35 am PDT, Sep 17, Tarunima Sen, India

# 2,977:

6:23 pm PDT, Sep 16, IMANE BELGHITI, Morocco
In Africa, many of women are still subject to violences and they don't even benficient of their most basic human rights, this fact is as much as difficult and complicated can be understood only by women, thus we urgently need the existence of a special entity in the United Nations that handles specificly issues related to gender.

# 2,976:

2:49 pm PDT, Sep 16, Sharese Yount, Missouri
I am very excited that this resolution passed! We are taking the next step toward rights for women worldwide.

# 2,975:

10:35 am PDT, Sep 16, Monica Nderitu, Kenya

# 2,974:

11:31 pm PDT, Sep 15, Name not displayed, Nepal
I would like to support the GEAR campaign as this could help to ensure the women's meaningful participation in all sectors.

# 2,973:

3:51 pm PDT, Sep 15, Clare O'Reilly, United Kingdom

# 2,972:

8:46 am PDT, Sep 15, Ivonne Ramirez, Florida

# 2,971:

11:03 pm PDT, Sep 14, Sara Siebert, Iowa

# 2,970:

8:54 pm PDT, Sep 14, Sheena Etienne, Florida

# 2,969:

6:33 pm PDT, Sep 14, Au Nguyet, Viet Nam
listen to the voice of women

# 2,968:

11:57 am PDT, Sep 14, Danielle Druia, Florida

# 2,967:

11:37 am PDT, Sep 14, Maria Cuellar, Oregon
Women equality in the UN! Don't just provide statistics about inequality, help change it around!

# 2,966:

11:31 am PDT, Sep 14, Pauline O'connor, Canada
Hello, The continuing low status and health and wellbeing outcomes for women around the world demand a UN organization dedicated to improving women's lives, in all its aspects. Many studies show that a focus on improving conditions for women (work, health, whatever) can be the most effective strategy to improve conditions for a population as a whole. Please act on this now and create a special agency, as proposed by Stephen Lewis and others. Pauline O'Connor

# 2,965:

10:49 am PDT, Sep 14, B Estin, California

# 2,964:

8:23 am PDT, Sep 14, Anahi Russo Garrido, Canada

# 2,963:

8:01 am PDT, Sep 14, Name not displayed, Minnesota

# 2,962:

4:33 am PDT, Sep 14, Tina Musuya, Uganda
women and girls are part of the UN right? i believe very much that the UN upholds human rights and it is only fair that the UN lives the talk by ensuring that women meaningfully participate at all levels.

# 2,961:

4:24 am PDT, Sep 14, Evelyn Letiyo, Uganda

# 2,960:

3:57 am PDT, Sep 14, Rhona Baingana, Uganda

# 2,959:

3:50 am PDT, Sep 14, Gerinke Fountain, Netherlands

# 2,958:

3:22 am PDT, Sep 14, Doris Kwesiga, Uganda

# 2,957:

2:49 am PDT, Sep 14, Jean Kemitare, Uganda

# 2,956:

11:45 pm PDT, Sep 13, Neelanjana Mukhia, South Africa

# 2,955:

10:20 pm PDT, Sep 13, Reecha Upadhyay, India

# 2,954:

8:50 pm PDT, Sep 13, Jameel Zamir, India

# 2,953:

8:26 pm PDT, Sep 13, Debra Liebowitz, New Jersey

# 2,952:

1:56 pm PDT, Sep 13, Hélène Sackstein, France

# 2,951:

1:09 pm PDT, Sep 13, Sirena LaBurn, Texas

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