[New York, 12 March 2010] The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) concluded its fifty-fourth session on 12 March with the adoption of a short text supporting the creation of the new UN gender equality entity. This is a statement of support of symbolic value only, not the UN General Assembly resolution that will be needed to create the new entity. 

The resolution entitled "Strengthening the institutional arrangements of the United Nations for support of gender equality and the empowerment of women by consolidating the four existing offices into a composite entity" was presented by representative of Egypt. She said it was a political statement of the will of Member States to support system-wide coherence of all United Nations entities mandated to work towards gender equality. According to her it reflected the United Nations important role to achieve that priority target of gender equality and women’s empowerment, as set out in the Beijing Declaration and Platform.

The representative of Norway, the country that initiated the resolution, said that in adopting the text, which had more than 181 co-sponsors, the Commission would confirm that strengthening United Nations institutions was a truly universal objective. That clear message from Member States should inspire and boost ongoing negotiations of the General Assembly to set up an entity by the end of the current Assembly session.

The text of the resolution is short. It only reiterates the support that Member States gave to the creation of the new women's rights entity in September 2009, and does not set a timeline for General Assembly resolution that is needed establishment the new entity.

[Read the CSW resolution on new UN gender equality entity]