Gender parity reached in UN senior management

17 January 2108. UN Secretary-General António Guterres says that full gender parity has been reached in UN senior management.

“With the appointment I announced (15 January), we have reached, far in advance, full parity in the 44-member United Nations Senior Management Group,” Mr. Guterres said referring to the appointment of Ms. Bience Gawanas of Namibia as Special Adviser on Africa.

The Secretary-General has launched a roadmap for achieving gender parity at all levels of the United Nations. He has requested that all of future UN reforms make explicit how they are strengthening the organisation´s capacity to deliver on gender equality.

In an informal briefing to the General Assembly and a press conference on his priorities for 2018, on 16 January in New York, Guterres said that the empowerment of women everywhere was a “cross-cutting imperative”.

He expressed his worries that in his first year in office, 2017, “in fundamental ways, the world has gone in reverse.”

He pointed out that conflicts have deepened and new dangers emerged.

“Global anxieties about nuclear weapons are the highest since the Cold War. Climate change is moving faster than we are.  Inequalities are growing.  We see horrific violations of human rights. Nationalism, racism and xenophobia are on the rise. “

He specifically addressed European leaders and urged solutions to “frozen conflicts” such as Eastern Ukraine, Nagorno-Karabakh and Transnistria.

“Having started two world wars, and taking into account the resources and capacities available to Europe, it is unjustifiable for conflicts in the region to persist,” Mr. Guterres said.
 
“Resolving these situations requires pushing back the dangerous tide of nationalism, and revitalizing the relevant mediation initiatives… 
A concerted effort for solutions leading to long-term stability in the Western Balkans is also urgent. I urge European leaders to show that the continent can live up to its ideals of shared prosperity and peaceful coexistence,” the Secretary-General said.

See  the Secretary-General's remarks at informal meeting of the General Assembly:  https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/statement/2018-01-16/secretary-generals-remarks-informal-meeting-general-assembly