Foreword
The
first edition of UN-HABITAT's gender policy was
adopted in 1996 and published under the title,
Gendered Habitat: Working with Women and Men
in Human Settlements Development. The policy
was adopted soon after the Second United Nations
Conference on Human Settlements, Habitat II, held
in 1996. The Habitat Agenda emanating from Habitat
II, reinforced the Programme's mandate to take into
account women's roles and needs in human settlements
development, explicitly recognising the principle
of gender equality in human settlements development.
This new version comes at the conclusion of Istanbul+5,
the United Nations session to review the implementation
of the Habitat Agenda. Reports received from member
states during the Istanbul+5 review process indicate
that progress has been made towards promoting gender
equality in human settlements development but that
much remains to be done. It is therefore fitting
that the second edition of the policy coincides
with Istanbul+5.
Since
1991 UN-HABITAT has been implementing programmes
directly linked to women and women's participation
in human settlements development and management,
with the ultimate goal of ensuring women's rights
through empowerment. This was done through the
Women and Habitat Programme. After the UN Fourth
International Conference on Women, the women and
development agenda changed considerably with the
specific focus on women and girls being complemented
by mainstreaming strategies. Through the adoption
of the Beijing Declaration and the Platform for
Action (Beijing 1995) the international community
agreed to strengthen women's position and role
in development through both focused activities
directed towards women and girls with the added
aspect of gender mainstreaming. The Habitat Agenda
further reinforced this by acknowledging the principle
of gender equality in human settlements.
The
Programme developed the original gender policy
in order to accommodate these new requirements.
Using the extensive experience the Programme had
in implementing the Women and Habitat Programme,
this policy separated the outreach and mainstreaming
functions between the Women and Habitat Programme
and the Gender Unit respectively. Restructuring
of UN-HABITAT starting in 1999 produced a new
strategic vision for the Programme. The new vision
states that empowerment of women is to be used
as a primary indicator of the success of all of
the UN-HABITAT's interventions. The restructuring
also resulted in the phasing out of the Women
and Habitat Programme and the creation of a Gender
Policy Unit responsible for gender mainstreaming.
Further, in line with the new strategic vision,
all branches and programmes of the UN-HABITAT
have responsibility for gender mainstreaming.
These changes have led to the need to review the
Programme's Gender Policy.
The
Programme continues to be guided by mandates already
clearly stated in a number of ratified and adopted
conventions and declarations that steer United
Nations' interventions and policies. The purpose
of UN-HABITAT's Gender Policy is to compile these
decisions and steering documents into a coherent
set of guidelines on achieving gender equality
in the human settlements arena. The current policy
has been developed through internal discussion
with the Gender Task Force, a centre-wide group
established with the aim of strengthening gender
mainstreaming within UN-HABITAT, as well as extensive
consultations with relevant external partners.
The
revised policy document retains, in principle,
the goals and commitments outlined in the original
policy document of 1996. The over all gender objective
for UN-HABITAT remains to mainstream gender equality
and women's rights into all of the UN-HABITAT's
activities and policy decisions. This document
is intended to guide the staff and management
at UN-HABITAT in their day-to-day work and decision
making in relation to gender mainstreaming. The
purpose of its substance is to enable the user
to better understand the Programme's gender goals
and their implication for UN-HABITAT's work. The
policy also identifies responsible stakeholders,
in order to enhance accountability for gender
mainstreaming. Finally, the document also outlines
the underlying mandates in more detail, including
the various steering documents of the United Nations.
I
urge the management and staff of the UN-HABITAT
to use this document as a guide to mainstreaming
a gender perspective, and to promote a gender
perspective in collaboration with our partners,
thereby advancing gender equality and women's
rights in all of the UN-HABITAT's interventions.
Anna
Kajumulo Tibaijuka
Executive Director
United Nations Human Settlements Programme
(UN-HABITAT)
January 2002
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