New United Nations' institutional mechanism for gender equality and the empowerment of women: Establishment, importance and historical mission

Abstract

The paper analyzes the United Nations' system of entities founded with a purpose of protecting and improving the rights and position of women and of promoting the gender equality, putting special emphasis on their activities promoting the role and position of women in the security sector. It discusses models, principles, and standards of their functioning; points to practical problems, deficiencies and weaknesses over their several-decade existence; and interprets objective circumstances which led to the establishment of a new entity - UN Women, on 2 July 2010, as an institutional mechanism of the United Nations dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women. This entity will connect four UN systems which have formerly addressed gender issues and position of women in different ways - DAW (Division for the Advancement of Women), INSTRAW (Institutional Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women), OSAGI (Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues), and UNIFEM (United Nations Development Fund for Women) - and will focus its work exclusively towards achieving the goals of gender equality and the empowerment of women in all aspects of their life and work. Functionally, this UN entity becomes operational on 1 January 2011. The paper analyzes legal documents regulating the establishment and functioning of this organization, in particular the provisions of the Resolution A/64/L.56 related to the establishment of this entity.

U radu se analizira sistem agencija Ujedinjenih nacija koje su formirane sa ciljem zaštite i unapređenja prava i položaja žena i promocije rodne ravnopravnosti, sa posebnim akcentom na njihove aktivnosti koje promovišu položaj i ulogu žena u sektoru bezbednosti. Razmatraju se modeli, načela i standardi njihovog funkcionisanja, ukazuje na praktične probleme, nedostatke i slabosti u njihovom višedecenijskom postojanju i interpretiraju objektivne okolnosti koje su dovele do formiranja nove agencije - UN Women, 2. jula 2010. godine, kao institucionalnog mehanizma Ujedinjenih nacija za rodnu ravnopravnost i osnaživanje žena. Ova agencija će povezati četiri sistema UN koji su se u prošlosti na različite načine bavili pitanjima roda i položaja žena - DAW (Odeljenje za unapređenje položaja žena), INSTRAW (Međunarodni istraživački institut za obuku i unapređenje položaja žena), OSAGI (Kancelarija specijalnog savetnika za pitanja polova i unapređenje položaja žena) i UNIFEM (Razvojni fond Ujedinjenih nacija za žene) - i fokusiraće svoj rad isključivo na probleme postizanja rodne ravnopravnosti i osnaživanje žena u svim aspektima njihovog života i rada. Funkcionalno, ovaj UN entitet postaje operativan od 1. januara 2011. godine. U radu se analiziraju pravni dokumenti koji regulišu osnivanje i funkcionisanje ove institucije, a posebno odredbe Rezolucije A/64/L.56 o formiranju agencije.