On 11 October 2010, the Third Committee of the General Assembly held its first interactive dialogue with the new Under-Secretary-General of UN Women, Ms Michelle Bachelet. A large number of States welcomed the former President of Chile and pledged their full support to her leadership of the UN’s new organisation for gender equality and the empowerment of women.

On 11 October 2010, the Third Committee of the General Assembly held its first interactive dialogue with the new Under-Secretary-General of UN Women, Ms Michelle Bachelet. A large number of States welcomed the former President of Chile and pledged their full support to her leadership of the UN’s new organisation for gender equality and the empowerment of women. Enthusiastic rounds of applause at various stages in the dialogue gave a further indication of the unusually high level of State support Ms Bachelet enjoys coming into the position. She did not miss the opportunity to tell States that their financial support would also be appreciated, reminding them of the US$500 million price tag attached to the start-up phase of UN Women. Also introducing reports about the UN’s work on women’s rights and taking part in dialogues with the Committee were: the Special Rapporteur on violence against women; the Vice-Chairperson of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW); and the Deputy Executive Director of the UN Population Fund.

In her statement to the Third Committee, Ms Bachelet outlined her immediate priorities:

1. Ensure UN Women will be operational on 1 January 2011. This requires the four existing UN entities working on women’s rights to merge into one. A focus will be on strengthening UN Women’s capacity in the field ‘where the need is greatest’.
2. Strengthen consultation and collaboration on gender issues across the UN system to ensure ‘greater coherence, depth and impact.’ UN Women will work closely with relevant UN offices, as well as UN country teams; the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on sexual violence (Ms Wallstrӧm); the Special Rapporteur on violence against women; the CEDAW Committee.
3. Listen directly to women and ‘re-engage with the many constituencies that advocated so vigorously for the establishment of UN Women’, to help set longer-term priorities.
4. Build innovative partnerships with Member States to secure  $500 million which the Secretary-General has said is needed to establish the UN Women. The bulk of these funds will be used for ‘catalytic, country-specific UN programmatic support’.

More than a dozen States took part in the subsequent dialogue, with several asking for more information about the longer-term priorities for UN Women (Australia, Brazil, EU, Japan). Although she was reluctant to pre-empt the strategic planning process that will occur in 2011, the USG identified the urgent need for the UN to do better in its efforts to stop violence against women (including domestic violence); improve women and children’s health (especially in respect of MDGs 4 and 5); and boost women’s economic autonomy to advance their overall empowerment.

Other States asked how the entity would improve the lives of vulnerable or marginalized women, such as women living under foreign occupation (Syria), in rural areas (Cameroon), or in developed countries (Malaysia). Steering the discussion onto more political issues, Pakistan asked how UN Women will take into account the cultural perspectives of women in the various regions of the world, while India asked how the USG would turn around the UN’s poor record on appointing women to senior posts.

Despite her recent arrival at the UN, Ms Bachelet’s responses revealed her grasp of the scale and nature of the problems confronting UN Women, as well as her ability to engage in nuanced political debates with Member States. For example, in response to Cameroon’s question, she acknowledged the UN was failing rural women, given that only 6 percent of the UN’s budget was reaching them. When it came to the sensitive matter of cultural relativism, the USG spoke in general terms about the need for UN Women to fulfil the expectations of Member States by respecting cultural and religious diversity, but pointed out that UN Women also had a responsibility to “introduce the perspectives of women’s organisations and grassroots women” into these discussions. She assured States that she was up to the “huge, huge coordination effort” that was required at Headquarters, in the field, and at the regional and national levels to make sure that UN Women lived up to the high expectations of all stakeholders.

In the dialogues that followed with the Special Rapporteur on violence against women (Ms Rashida Manjoo) and the Vice-Chairperson of the CEDAW Committee (Ms Xiaoqiao Zou), several States asked how these mechanisms would coordinate with UN Women and avoid duplication. In the case of the Special Rapporteur, she would look to the new entity for guidance. In contrast,the treaty body had taken the initiative to invite Ms Bachelet to its next session to discuss opportunities for cooperation. The CEDAW Vice Chairperson also welcomed Ms Bachelet’s undertaking earlier in the meeting to assist States in their efforts to implement the Convention on the Elimination of Violence Against Women. The Deputy Executive Director of UNFPA (Ms Purnima Mane) presented the Secretary-General's latest report on efforts to end obstatric fistula and appealed to all States to increase their efforts to improve maternal health.

Further information about the General Assembly resolution to establish UN Women (dated 2 July 2010) is available from ISHR's General Assembly archive.