The campaign was initiated in Nepal by the South Asian Campaign for Gender Equality (SACGE) in April 2006 after the creation of a high-level panel for a UN system-wide coherence in the areas of development, humanitarian assistance and environment.
One of the major demands of GEAR is the consolidation of the four UN agencies that work for women related issues, which are International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW), Office of the Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women (OSAGI), Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW) and the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM).
“Of the four agencies only UNIFEM is field based but it is not on par with other UN organizations such as UNICEF (United Nations Children´s Fund) and UNFPA (United Nations Populations Fund) because UNIFEM does not have its own mandate or independent resources,” informs Bandana Rana, regional coordinator for SACGE. “UNIFEM does not receive core funding from the UN´s annual budget and relies on voluntary financial contributions, which is a major drawback.” Due to lack of funds many projects cannot be monitored properly and are often discontinued. In 2002 UNIFEM received US $36 million while UNFPA and UNICEF received $373 million and $1454 million, respectively.
“The autonomous entity will delegate and monitor projects, mainstream responsibilities and bring together the normative and the programmatic aspects,” says Rana. “This doesn´t mean that the existing agencies will be terminated but they will all work under the entity.” GEAR also demands core funding in addition to voluntary funding for the autonomous entity from the UN´s budget. GEAR which began in Nepal and then spread across South Asia is now a global campaign with more than 300 organizations backing it.
The decision for the proposal will be announced on September 14. “We have been supporting GEAR since its inception and are hoping for positive results,” says Bindra Hada, Secretary of Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare. Representative from the Foreign Ministry of Nepal will also be backing the campaign at the General Assembly in New York.
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