UN officials at a General Assembly Debate, UN New York. Photo: UNIt is August and it is hot everywhere, but it may be particularly sticky and uncomfortable in the halls of the United Nations as the institution faces its next general assembly meeting in September. That is because the UN is being grilled, and not for the first time in its history, by the women of the world, who want to know why the organization charged with implementing the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), seems to be so woefully stuck in its current paradigm of patriarchy and gender inequality. The most visible manifestation of this discomfort has taken place in the discussion about the choice of the next UN Secretary General and the loud calls for this next leader to be a woman. Ironically, the entire process of governance and decision making at the United Nations, which is supposed to uphold and work by the principles of the UDHR, is profoundly undemocratic and secretive, and remains frozen in its post World War II division between dominant powers and lesser nation states. Thus, while the UN Secretary General may not be from any one of the 5 nations representing the permanent members of the Security Council, their power and influence is barely veiled in the selection process and has already led to elimination of all but the most non-controversial candidates.
This is not where we thought we would be in 2016. Over a decade ago when I was still leading the Global Fund for Women feminists around the globe were pushing for something that is now called UN Women - a UN entity that would have the clout and influence to move a holistic and intersectional gender analysis through every single one of the UN's multi-faceted programs and agencies. An entity that would seen as central to the advancement of the UN mission and goals, be generously endowed with the means to make a difference, and be led by a feminist of power and influence whose mandate was to advance a women's rights agenda both within the UN and across the globe among all its member states. The Global Fund and other like minded foundations, invested in the process led by pioneers like Charlotte Bunch and were delighted when we found ourselves celebrating its launch in 2010 and welcoming its inaugural director - the remarkable Michele Bachelet, the former President of Chile.
