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Compiled by the Government Communication and Information System --------------------------------------------------------------- Date: 18 Jan 2007 Title: Women's rights committee welcomes top UN appointments --------------------------------------------------------------- By Nozipho Dlamini, tel: (012) 314-2214 The United Nations (UN) affiliated Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women has welcomed the appointment of women to three of the UN's top posts. Addressing the committee's 37th session this week, Rachel Mayanja, Special Adviser to Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon on Gender Issues and the Advancement of Women, welcomed the appointments as a step in the right direction. "His tenure as Secretary-General has started very auspiciously for women," Ms Mayanja said, at the opening of the two week session at the UN's New York headquarters. Of the first five appointments Mr Ban has made since assuming his role as Secretary General this month, three have been of women. Asha-Rose Migiro has been appointed as the Deputy Secretary-General and is a former member of the committee. Alicia Barcena Ibarra is the Under Secretary-General for Management while Michele Montas was appointed as the spokesperson of the Secretary-General. Established in 1982, the committee tracks the status of women in countries that have ratified the 1979 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). CEDAW currently has 185 UN member states as signatories. Mr Ban has indicated his commitment to gender equality, women's empowerment and his readiness to place women in key high-level positions, as called for in articles seven and eight of the convention. Ms Mayanja called on countries who have signed the UN's International Bill of Rights for Women to continue to press for an end to gender-based violence, as it remained unabated and deprived women of the full enjoyment of their human rights. During this session, panel members will examine the reports of 15 countries including Austria, Colombia, Greece, India, Kazakhstan, Namibia, Netherlands, Peru and Poland, regarding the implementation of measures to eliminate discrimination against women. - BuaNews |
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