Four bodies merged into one entity: how the General Assembly created UN Women

Background

UN Women is the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. In July 2010 the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women as part of the UN reform agenda, bringing together resources and mandates for greater impact. It merges and builds on the important work of four previously distinct parts of the UN system: the Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW), the International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW), the Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women (OSAGI) and the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM). It is the lead United Nations entity on gender equality and the secretariat of the UN Commission on the Status of Women. Its stated areas of work are leadership, economic empowerment, freedom from violence, and peace, security and humanitarian action. The entity places its work within landmark agreements such as the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).