3rd meeting, UN Women Executive Board, Annual Session 2025
Economic and Social Council
Date: 18 June 2025
Language: English
Transcript: https://transcripts.un.org/en/asset/k1q/k1qmotd6re
Transcripts available through this tool are created by using automatic speech recognition and are not official records nor official documents of the United Nations. Official records and official documents are available on the Official Document System of the United Nations.

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Sweden · President · Ambassador Claes [0:06]:

Excellencies and distinguished delegates, welcome back to the plenary session of the 2025 Annual Session of the UN Women Executive Board. It is my great pleasure to acknowledge the presence of Sweden's Foreign Minister, Maria Malmer Stenergard, who just arrived in New York. We are honored that she has taken the time to join us here at the Executive Board of UN Women, and I would now like to invite the Minister to take the floor for a brief statement.


Sweden · Foreign Minister · Maria Malmer Stenergard [0:36]:

Thank you, Madam President. Let me begin by expressing my deep appreciation to the Executive Director and her dedicated team for their steadfast commitment to advancing gender equality and empowering women and girls around the world. Sweden is honored to serve as President of the UN Women Executive Board in 2025. We are pleased to be working alongside such a strong Bureau and team of Vice Presidents from Albania, Antigua and Barbuda, Japan, and Uganda. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Platform for Action, A milestone that invites both reflection and renewed resolve. Despite important gains, the pace of change remains unacceptably slow, making it even more critical to reaffirm our collective commitment to advancing gender equality. Now more than ever, we must reaffirm our shared commitment to accelerating progress. In this endeavor, UN Women's unique mandate and leadership are indispensable. We are witnessing increasing pushback against girls' and women's enjoyment of human rights, not least their sexual and reproductive health and rights. I am deeply concerned about the intolerable use of sexual violence in conflict and the attacks against women human rights defenders. Together, we must put up a strong defense of women's rights to own decisions over their own lives and bodies, to be able to live and move freely without threat of abuse or violence, and to participation in all spheres of life. I am proud to be part of a government that prioritizes gender equality in every aspect of its policy agenda. Gender equality is not only the right thing to do, but also the smart choice. Empowering women fuels economic growth, sparks innovation, and builds more prosperous and resilient societies. Sweden places women's economic empowerment at the core of its development agenda. When women have equal access to education, decent work, finance, and resources, entire communities and economies rise. Sweden strongly supports UN Women's efforts to enhance its normative leadership and coordination role within the UN system. UN Women plays a leading role in shaping a more effective and impactful UN that delivers for women and girls everywhere. Our goal is a future where every individual in all their diversity has the freedom to determine their own paths and the opportunity to actively contribute to thriving societies. UN Women can count on Sweden's continued support and engagement. Thank you.


Sweden · President · Ambassador Claes [4:01]:

I thank the minister for her statement and would now like to invite the Executive Director, Sima Bahus, to say a few words. Thank you.


UN Women · Executive Director · Sima Bahous [4:09]:

Thank you, Madam President. Your Excellency, Madam Minister Stenengard, it is a great honor to have you with us today. Your presence sends us a powerful signal of Sweden's enduring commitment to women's empowerment, to gender equality, and to principled multilateralism. As President of the Executive Board, Sweden's leadership is deeply valued. It is effective, efficient, and collaborative. I extend our appreciation to Ambassador Claes and her team for guiding the Board so ably at this challenging time. We thank Sweden, and we thank you, Madam Minister, for your steadfast support to UN Women, and we look forward to our continued partnership to advance the rights of all women and girls. We thank you again and wish you all the best always.


Sweden · President · Ambassador Claes [5:08]:

I thank the Executive Director for her kind words, and let us now move to the next agenda item. Under our next agenda item on JIU review of governance and oversight of the Executive Boards of UNDP, UNFPA, UNOPS, UNICEF, and UN Women, the Board will receive an update on the progress made so far. In addition to the Executive Director, Deputy Executive Directors, and Executive Board Secretary, I'm pleased to welcome the following UN Women colleagues to the podium: Anna-Karin Jatfors, Director Strategy Planning, Resources and Effectiveness Division, and Lisa Sutton, Director, Independent Evaluation, Audit and Investigation Services. I'm pleased to invite a representative too of the JRU Working Group, the distinguished delegate of Kenya, Mr. Tony Oweke, to provide us with an update on the progress made so far. After this update, I will open up the floor for your questions and comments. Please, Mr. Oweke, you have the floor. So please, distinguished delegate from Kenya, you have the floor.


Kenya · Co-Chair, Joint Working Group · Tony Oweke [6:23]:

Mr. President, Excellencies, distinguished colleagues, on behalf of my co-chair Lars and the group, let me start by expressing our sincere appreciation to the 15 members of this Joint Working Group. For their active engagement, thoughtful contributions, and the spirit of collaboration that has marked our initial phase of work. This process has come a long way in just one year. What began with a forward-looking recommendation by the Joint Inspection Units to establish an ad hoc committee to examine their findings was taken up decisively by the Executive Boards at the 2024 Annual Session. Despite some initial challenges, the Board moved quickly. By the following session, Terms of Reference were adopted and 15 members nominated. This sent a strong signal of commitment to strengthening governance and oversight. At our first informal meeting on 7 May, we were encouraged by the high level of engagement. Members brought extensive board experience and a shared recognition of the importance of our task. This depth of expertise across all 3 boards is a tremendous asset as we take forward the GIU recommendations. As co-chairs, we're pleased to present the group's agreed working methods and roadmap, developed in line with the terms of reference adopted earlier this year. These foundational documents lay out how we intend to organize our work, ensuring a structured, inclusive, as well as a results- and consensus-oriented approach. Key phases of our work: 1, mapping and categorization of the GIU recommendations; 2, identification of priority areas for early action; 3, in-depth review of more complex or structural recommendations. To operationalize this, we have agreed on thematic work streams and subgroups, which will allow us to cluster recommendations by topic. While a thorough assessment of all GIU recommendations remains essential, the group also recognized the need to harness current momentum. There was agreement that it would be premature to present quick wins at the upcoming sessions, but we see value in identifying non-controversial and easily implementable proposals. These can help build trust and demonstrate early progress. The next meeting of the Working Group is already scheduled for mid-July, where we will finalize the clustering of workstreams and begin our substantive review. While the Terms of Reference foresee decisions at each Executive Board session, the Group agreed to take a case-by-case approach, ensuring that decision-making is meaningful and aligned with our pace of work. To preserve transparency, We will continue providing regular updates, including through an information item and the co-chairs' report. Let us also recall that this process is time-bound. With less than 2 years ahead of us, we must strike the right balance between efficiency and diligence. As co-chairs, we remain committed to facilitating a process that is agile, inclusive, and member-state-driven. One that delivers actionable, high-quality outcomes for the boards. Finally, while our formal mandate does not extend to broader reform efforts, we acknowledge that there are potential synergies. In time, this group may provide valuable governance insights that help inform or support these broader conversations. We will continue to listen carefully and remain open to how these linkages might evolve. We look forward to continuing this important work with all of you, and we thank you once again for your trust, engagement, and support. Thank you.


Sweden · President · Ambassador Claes [10:45]:

I thank you very much, Mr. Obike, and I now open up the floor for member states' interventions with respect to the aforementioned agenda item. And may I please remind all delegations to send their statements to estatement@un.org. So let us see here, next speaker on the list is Bulgaria. So the distinguished representative of Bulgaria, you have the floor.


Bulgaria [11:15]:

Thank you, Madam President, distinguished members of the Executive Board. I deliver this statement on behalf of Albania. Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Eritrea, Estonia, Finland, Georgia, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Japan, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Moldova, Montenegro, New Zealand, Republic of North Macedonia, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom, Ukraine, and my own country, Bulgaria. We welcome the first update by the Joint Working Group following its establishment after this year's first regular session and express our full support for the further process. The Working Group brings together broad and equal regional representation and is tasked with a clear mandate. We commend the Working Group on the successful conclusion of its initial meetings and the rapid development of its working methods with clearly defined phases and thematic work streams. We would also like to sincerely thank all 15 member states participating in the group and emphasize the constructive and trustful collaboration that has already characterized its early work. This spirit of cooperation will be essential as the process moves forward. The presentation of the roadmap and working methods at this Annual Session marks a crucial step forward in strengthening governance and oversight within the Executive Boards of UNDP, UNFPA, UNOPS, UNICEF, and UN Women. A key objective must be to streamline Board proceedings in a way that facilitates more strategic deliberations and timely decision-making. We remain fully committed to supporting a transparent, inclusive, and results-oriented process that contributes to more effective and harmonized governance structures across the executive boards. We particularly welcome the phased and flexible approach outlined in the roadmap. It reflects a careful balance between ambition and pragmatism and allows the Group to move forward even when not all details have yet been finalized. Importantly, this approach enables the identification and early implementation of easily actionable recommendations. Which can help maintain momentum by demonstrating progress. As executive boards, we also have responsibility for ensuring accountability within the system. It is our duty to implement recommendations in a timely and appropriate manner. In this context, we note that some of the recommendations require a preliminary stocktaking before any meaningful implementation can begin. Such work should not fall to the working group members alone, but should be supported by relevant actors within the organizations, such as units responsible for governance and oversight or the secretariats. One example is Recommendation 6, which refers to the role and functioning of executive board secretariats. As the inspector noted, their roles are often described in general terms in the rules of procedure with no consolidated record of of the actual responsibilities or functions carried out. A clear mapping of the existing practices based on the report's findings would be an important prerequisite for establishing harmonized terms of reference for all board secretariats. We therefore encourage the Working Group to initiate the necessary steps in order to avoid delays in implementing the recommendations. We would also like to stress the importance of maintaining an adaptive approach throughout the process. The roadmap, rightly conceived as a living document, should be regularly updated based on progress, feedback, and lessons learned. The process should also consider, as appropriate, parallel reform efforts, including the UNAID Agenda, which may offer valuable perspectives for governance and oversight reforms. We reiterate our strong support for this joint initiative. We look forward to continued engagement to promote a more coherent, efficient, accountable, and fit-for-purpose governance system across the executive boards. I thank you.


Sweden · President · Ambassador Claes [15:37]:

I thank the distinguished representative from Bulgaria for his comments. I do not have any other speakers on the list at the moment, so I will therefore invite the JRU Working Group representative to respond.


Kenya · Co-Chair, Joint Working Group · Tony Oweke [15:59]:

Yes, so thank you once again for your kind support as well as for your thoughtful comments and questions. Perhaps I'll just respond to 2 or 3 that were raised by our distinguished colleague from Bulgaria. We agree we're fully committed to a transparent and and results-driven process. And one of the reasons why we adopted a phased and flexible approach is because we think it's necessary for all 15 members of the Working Group to be up to the same speed on the report. This means not just understanding the recommendations and the background, but also consulting with the JIU inspector to understand, for instance, the benchmarks that were used in coming up with the recommendations, as well as— a bit more details about the methodology for the report itself. And in tackling these recommendations, I mean, we agree completely, it involves consultation with a range of stakeholders. Arguably, every recommendation should involve consultations with different stakeholders, both within the Executive Board governance aspects, the agencies, but also the United Nations system when we're talking about the more We are keeping a very keen eye on UNAT and that entire discussion. I'm also pleased to see some members of the Working Group here in the room, and we will ensure that your feedback is reflected in our ongoing deliberations, and also for any additional questions or points that have been raised that I haven't tackled, please feel free to come up to me afterwards and I can explain a bit more extensively off the mic. But thank you very much and welcome any other points or questions from the membership. Thank you.


Sweden · President · Ambassador Claes [18:21]:

I thank Mr. Wickel for his response, and if there are no further comments or statements, we can conclude our discussion. Discussion on this item. Let us now continue our consideration of item seven on the strategic plan, during which the executive board will receive a presentation on the draft strategic plan of UN Women 2026 to 2029. In addition to the executive director, deputy executive directors, and the executive board secretary, I'm pleased to welcome the following UN Women colleagues. to the podium. Anna-Karin Jatfors, Director, Strategy, Planning, Resources and Effectiveness Division, and Sarah Hendricks, Director, Policy Programme and Intergovernmental Division. First, I would like to invite the Executive Director to present the draft UN Women Strategic Plan. After this presentation, I will open the floor for your questions and comments, followed by responses from the Secretariat. Dear Madam Executive Director, You have the floor.


UN Women · Executive Director · Sima Bahous [19:22]:

Thank you.

Thank you, Madam President, distinguished members of the Executive Board, Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen. We meet at a moment shaped by hard-won progress. From Beijing in 1995 to today, we have moved mountains for gender equality. But that progress is fragile, and now more than ever, It must be protected, accelerated, and made irreversible. 4 years from 2030, the world is off track. Not a single gender equality target in the SDGs has been met. Gains we fought hard for are being eroded— slowly in some places, abruptly in others. The forces we face are not new. They are more organized, more institutionalized, and better funded. Pushback is real, but so too must be our push forward. The draft Strategic Plan I present to you today is not a routine update. It is a declaration of resolve, of determination, a commitment to impact. And a recognition that business as usual is no longer an option. We are refining our focus. We are not changing course, but sharpening it. We remain grounded in our mandate, rooted in our founding resolution, and aligned with SDG 5 and the broader 2030 Agenda. Our North Star has not changed, but the path forward requires agility, clarity and courage. UN Women is developing this Plan amid profound global uncertainty— rising geopolitical tensions, economic instability, shrinking civic space, deepening inequalities— and we are doing so during a time of transformation across the UN system, a moment when the value of multilateralism is being questioned and its resources stretched thinner than ever. We are embedding that transformation within our strategy, investing in cutting-edge capacities of UN 2.0: strategic foresight, innovation, data and digital. In the context of UN80, it is more imperative than ever that we remain relevant, responsive and efficient to ensure we are fit for purpose in the face of the 21st century challenges. This Strategic Plan reaffirms our triple mandate: normative leadership, coordination across the UN system, and operational support on the ground, as it is UN Women's unique advantage. This is our policy-to-practice loop. It ensures that local realities shape global norms, and that commitments made in New York and at national level translate into real change for the women and girls we serve. This Plan is also a product of deep listening. Over the past 10 months, you, Member States and partners, have asked us clearly to stand firm on norms, stay grounded in rights, prioritize the most marginalized, amplify impact through partnerships and coordination, measure what matters, and communicate results clearly and consistently. That is what we are doing. We are applying those lessons across our 4 priority areas of work, broadly validated as the spaces where gender inequalities are most acute and progress most urgent. Women's leadership and decision-making, women's economic empowerment, ending violence against women and girls, and women, peace and security, and humanitarian action. These are the front lines of the fight for equality and the focus of our work around 3 systemic outcomes, down from 7 in our previous plan, grounded in the logic of rights, equality, and empowerment. One, by protecting and advancing normative frameworks, laws, and policies that uphold the rights of all women and girls. 2, by strengthening institutions to be accountable through better financing, more robust data, and practices that advance gender equality. 3, by expanding women's agency and ensuring women and girls have access to services, resources, and opportunities to lead, decide, and thrive. To get there, we will work smarter and go deeper. Country Offices will focus their strategic notes with great discipline, grounded in standardized and integrated programming, backed by evidence, tailored to national priorities, and aligned with UN cooperation frameworks in support of the UN Resident Coordinator System. Building on this foundation, UN Women will elevate its UN coordination role, not just as a function, but as a core, cross-cutting priority embedded in every strategy, every result. The new Strategic Plan integrates coordination metrics across all impact and outcome areas to show where we lead, where we support, and where we catalyze system-wide action. And we will double down on partnerships, not just expanding our alliances, but transforming how we partner with national women's machineries, women-led organizations, and movements the private sector, men and boys, young people. Systemic change is not a solo act. Our success will ultimately be measured by how effectively we convene and leverage multi-stakeholder partnerships to drive lasting, inclusive change. Excellencies, we are also fortifying our own house, and this includes investing in organizational efficiency and effectiveness through the second line of defence— quarterly business reviews, integrated systems aligning with UN 2.0 and QCPR and contributing to UNAT— enhancing results-based management, deepening transparency and strengthening financial stewardship. The Transparency Portal is growing in scope, making data more accessible to all. And we are sharpening the link between resources and results, because accountability is not just our currency, it is our commitment. Completing our internal pivot, optimizing structures, aligning staffing to impact, and committing to cost efficiency, including through the relocation to lower-cost duty stations. In short, we are becoming more focused. More nimble, more accountable, more impactful— not only because the times demand it, but because our mission does. As we do so, we will stay true to our promise to leave no one behind and keeping our focus firmly on the women we serve. Women who lead in the face of conflict. Women who build economies in the absence of recognition. Women who care for others with no compensation. Women who organize, resist, vote, legislate, and rise, often unseen. They are not a side note to our agenda. They are our agenda. Let us chart a course worthy of all of them. I thank you.


Sweden · President · Ambassador Claes [27:36]:

Thank you very much, Madam Executive Director, and I now open the floor for for member states' interventions with respect to the aforementioned agenda item. I have now the first speaker on my list is Albania, followed by Denmark and Luxembourg. The distinguished representative of Albania, you have the floor.


Albania [28:01]:

Thank you, Madam President. Madam President, distinguished Executive Director, Excellencies, I deliver this statement on behalf of Germany, Australia, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Georgia, Guatemala, Iceland, Ireland, Japan, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Latvia, Luxembourg, Montenegro, Norway, North Macedonia, the Republic of Korea, the Republic of Moldova, Turkey, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, Uganda, Ukraine, United Kingdom, and my own country, Albania. We would like to begin by thanking UN Women for their tireless work in preparing an ambitious, forward-looking, and comprehensive strategic plan for the years 2026-2029. We appreciate the broad consultation process that exemplifies our shared commitment and accountability to the new Strategic Plan. We welcome the opportunity to contribute to the discussions on the draft Strategic Plan and offer the following comments. At a time when gender equality and women's rights are increasingly under attack, it is more important than ever to stand firm in defense of hard-won gains. The task at the core of UN Women's mandate is to ensure the full enjoyment of human rights for all women and girls everywhere. No society can afford to deny half of the world's population access to their full potential. Therefore, we appreciate the Strategic Plan's reference to a human rights-based approach, which serves as an opportunity and an important reminder that women's rights are human rights. Gender inequality persists in all corners of the globe, manifesting in all different ways, from wage gaps and limited access to education to gender-based violence and political underrepresentation. The 4 thematic impact areas of the draft Strategic Plan, namely women's leadership and decision-making, women's economic empowerment and resilient economies, women and girls live free from violence, and women, peace and security, and humanitarian action address core areas for gender equality policy and hence are well chosen. To tackle these deep-rooted issues, the UN Women must be strategic and innovative in its approach and above all strive for systemic change and outcomes. We commend UN Women's systemic approach in close collaboration with other relevant actors. We also welcome the central role for multi-stakeholder partnerships foreseen in the Strategic Plan. We are convinced that cross-border alliances and multi-stakeholder partnerships are essential for achieving gender equality and SDG 5. As the UN is set to undergo significant changes with the UN 80 Initiative, UN Women has to take a decisive role in the upcoming reforms through leveraging its comparative advantage. UN Women's coordination mandate and convening power are critical assets in building strong partnerships across the UN system and beyond. The organization has proven its awareness and capacity to engage a highly diverse set of stakeholders to ensure sustainable and impactful outcomes. We would like to see intensified efforts to clarify and highlight this comparative advantage, which sets UN Women apart as a catalyst for inclusive and collaborative action across the UN. We welcome that the draft Strategic Plan is guided by intergovernmentally agreed frameworks such as the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, and Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals. We also appreciate the integration of QCPR guidance and reaffirming commitment to the Resident Coordinator System, and encourage to be even more precise about how UN Women will contribute to system-wide coordination together with the RC system in order to increase and scale the impact for gender equality. Finally, we appreciate the description of current challenges and crises and respective strategic adaptations and would appreciate more details on the envisaged programmatic focus. We look forward to continuing our collaboration in support of a strategic plan that is not only ambitious, but also focused on the lived realities and aspirations of women and girls everywhere. I thank you.


Sweden · President · Ambassador Claes [32:36]:

I thank the distinguished representative from Albania for her comments, and I now give the floor to the distinguished representative from Denmark.


Denmark · Nordic Group [32:45]:

Thank you, Madam President. Madam Executive Director, colleagues, I have the honor to deliver this statement on behalf of the 5 Nordic countries: Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, and my own country, Denmark. Madam Executive Director, thank you for your most informative presentation of the draft Strategic Plan for 2026-2029. UN Women and the United Nations Development System stand at a pivotal moment. The world faces an alarming convergence of crises: protracted conflicts, climate emergencies, economic instability, and growing pushback on gender equality, all of which intensify threats to the rights and the well-being of all women and girls. As discussions of the UNAID initiative and the Humanitarian Reset move forward, We emphasize the need for reform that enhances the UN system's effectiveness, accountability, and impact. We expect UN Women to remain a strong and vocal advocate for keeping gender equality as a priority across all efforts, while ensuring sufficient reporting and resourcing of its triple mandate, including coordination. Normative leadership, and translating policy into practice. In this context, it is essential that UN Women's next Strategic Plan is designed with enough flexibility to adapt and to course-correct. At the same time, delivery on UN Women's core mandate must remain a central priority throughout the reform process. The Nordic countries are deeply concerned by the global pushback of gains made, and by the resurgence of discrimination and violence targeting women and girls. Time and again, we witness how women and girls suffer disproportionately in war, displacement, poverty, and disaster, through loss of livelihoods, exposure to sexual and gender-based violence, or lack of access to sexual and reproductive health and rights. This is why we need UN Women to remain a strong, principled champion for gender equality, an organization not only equipped to respond to crises, but indeed firmly committed to placing all women and girls' rights and agency at the heart of sustainable development. Madam Executive Director, the Nordic countries are longstanding and committed partners to UN Women. This is reflected not only in our consistent financial contributions, but also in our political commitment to advancing gender equality and the rights of women and girls in all their diversity. As we look ahead to the next Strategic Plan, Allow me to highlight several— actually, 7 key priorities. Firstly, UN Women must continue to lead in advancing global normative frameworks, supporting their implementation at country level through strong national ownership. Secondly, we encourage you to strengthen your coordinating role across the UN system promoting accountability for gender equality and coherence in implementation. Third, with core and non-core funding under pressure, the Strategic Plan must align ambitions with available resources. A focus on cost efficiency, core mandates, and delivery will be crucial. Fourth, we support the pivot to countries and regions, And we stress the need for this transition to be well-resourced, transparent, and inclusive of staff inputs at all levels. Fifth, legitimacy and financing depend on clear reporting and measurable results. A culture of accountability, of risk management, and of innovation must underpin every aspect of programming. Sixth point, on funding. The Strategic Plan must reflect the principles of the UN Funding Compact, while actively seeking new partnerships, including with philanthropy, the private sector, and international financial institutions, so as to diversify funding streams. And finally, gender equality and human rights must remain front and center. We expect the next Strategic Plan to maintain a strong and sustained focus on human rights, non-discrimination, reaching marginalized groups, and fully implementing the UN Gender Equality Acceleration Plan. Madam Executive Director, the Nordic countries remain deeply committed to the advancement of gender equality and sustainable development. and to standing with UN Women in this important work, with a shared commitment to leaving no one behind. Thank you so much.


Sweden · President · Ambassador Claes [38:09]:

I thank the distinguished representative from Denmark for his comments. I have the following 3 speakers on the list now. It's Luxembourg, United Kingdom, and the Russian Federation. The distinguished representative from Luxembourg, you have the floor.


Luxembourg · Benelux [38:26]:

Thank you very much, Madam Chair. I have the honor to deliver this statement on behalf of the Benelux countries: Belgium, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and my own country, Luxembourg. Let me begin by thanking Executive Director Seema Bahus for her opening remarks today. We commend UN Women for the progress achieved in advancing gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls, as outlined in the annual report. These gains are all the more significant in a context marked by an increasingly organized and institutionalized pushback against gender equality. We are encouraged to see that the new strategic plan draws from the lessons learned during the previous cycle and is firmly anchored in the guidance provided by the 2024 Quadriennial Comprehensive Policy Review. We recommend that UN Women also proactively integrate the findings of the MOPAN assessment report, which offers valuable insights into lessons learned and identifies gaps to address in the next strategic plan period. We welcome the responsiveness of UN Women to the expectations expressed by Member States, particularly in strengthening joint programming, enhancing coherence and harmonization, focusing on comparative advantage for greater efficiency, and clearly articulating its coordinating role in gender mainstreaming across the UN system. We emphasized that leveraging UN Women's gender expertise in support of Resident and Humanitarian Coordinators, as well as their country teams, will be essential to effectively bridge existing gaps on gender equality across the system. As the rights of women and girls, especially those most marginalized, continue to face serious threats, We commend UN Women for embedding the principle of leaving no one behind and an intersectional, rights-based approach at the core of the new Strategic Plan. These are not just guiding principles; they are essential tools for achieving sustainable progress. This year marks the 15th anniversary of UN Women, a moment to reflect. but also to look forward. The adoption of this new Strategic Plan comes at a pivotal juncture. We wish to reaffirm that UN Women's mandate is more vital than ever, and therefore note with appreciation the continued commitment to the integrated approach of the Triple Mandate, which is a cornerstone of UN Women's unique value proposition within the UN system. With respect to the UNHCR reform and the humanitarian reset, we encourage UN Women to articulate more clearly how these reform processes will be reflected in the implementation of the strategic plan. While the plan references system-wide transformation and UN Women's positioning within it, we would welcome a stronger emphasis on UN Women's key role. In ensuring that gender equality remains a priority across the UN system, and that the gender architecture is reinforced throughout the reform processes. We believe UN80 and the Humanitarian Reset present critical opportunities to renew momentum around gender mainstreaming in the lead-up to 2030. Finally, as the next Strategic Plan will be implemented in a challenging and evolving environment, we welcome UN Women's recognition of the current funding gap and the strategies outlined to both consolidate traditional partnerships and develop new ones. However, we encourage UN Women to clearly define its strategic priorities and articulate the trade-offs required to ensure the most efficient and impactful use of its resources. We would also like to use this opportunity to ask UN Women what strategy will be used by UN Women to refine its global footprint as stated in the new strategic plan. With this new plan, UN Women seeks to look ahead with urgency and resolve This is clearly needed, and we hereby reaffirm our commitment to UN Women and its essential triple mandate. I thank you very much, Madam Chair.


Sweden · President · Ambassador Claes [43:27]:

I thank the distinguished representative from Luxembourg for his comments, and I now give the floor to the distinguished representative from the United Kingdom.


United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland [43:37]:

Thank you, Madam Chair. With thanks to the Executive Director for their presentation on the Strategic Plan Plan and to UN Women staff who've worked on the Plan. The UK fully aligns with the joint statement delivered by Albania. The UK would like to make the following additional comments in a national capacity. Firstly, the UK was pleased to see the prioritization given to UN Women's normative mandate and its support to member states to translate these norms into national laws and policies. Secondly, the UK is also pleased to see the emphasis on closer engagement with human rights mechanisms, and on working with women's rights organizations. We would encourage UN Women to set out how it will integrate the views and engagement of grassroots organizations and communities within its operational approach. Thirdly, we appreciate UN Women's role as Secretariat of the Gender Equality Action Plan and would like to hear more about the challenges encountered in mainstreaming gender equality throughout the UN system. What are your reflections on how the impact of gender mainstreaming is being measured? Fourthly, we are pleased to see reference to UN Women's cross-UN system feminist funding models that support women's rights organizations. The UN Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women is a key value-add to deliverables on preventing and responding to gender-based violence. We would like to hear how this funding model could be scaled and adapted to support the UN system. Finally, the UK commends UN Women's leadership in advancing the Women, Peace and agenda and its normative leadership at headquarters to ensure that a gender perspective and women's voices inform Security Council deliberations and actions in relation to conflict prevention, peace operations and processes, and peacebuilding. We would like to ask how the pivot will impact UN Women's New York headquartered-based normative leadership and engagement in these processes and mechanisms.

Thank you.


Sweden · President · Ambassador Claes [45:35]:

I thank the distinguished representative from the United Kingdom for her comments, and the final three speakers on my list are the Russian Federation, Australia, and Colombia. I now give the floor to the distinguished representative from the Russian Federation.


Russian Federation [45:52]:

Благодарю вас, спасибо, президент.

Thank you, Madam Chair. We also thank the Executive Director of UN Women. I would like to thank Fatima Bahus for presenting the Strategic Plan of UN Women for the period 2026 to 2029. The Russian Federation attaches great importance to the development of the Strategic Plan by UN Women, and we would like to assure you that there's a priority for our delegation, namely approving a consensus-based document during the 2nd Regular Session. However, we wish to emphasize that any activity by UN Women must be carried out exclusively with the agreement of States, and we trust that the comments that we've sent will help to— will be structured in the Strategic Plan. Furthermore, we oppose standardization of gender equality through a flexible interpretation of existing international agreements and also through stretching the mandates of UN structures and by ascribing a position— an undue position to civil society. We hope that these points will be reflected in the final version of the strategic plan. In closing, Madam President, we are convinced that the only way to overcome the current popular prevailing The latest trend against gender equality is to use consensus-based language and to eschew concepts that don't have to do with women's empowerment. In that regard, we hope that the discussion about the content of the plan will continue both today in this hall and outside of the hall. Madam President, we would like to assure you that our delegation always stands ready to find mutually acceptable solutions in order to, starting next year when we are in the Executive Board, in order that we might be able to support the activities of UN Women. I thank you.


Sweden · President · Ambassador Claes [47:57]:

I thank the distinguished representative from the Russian Federation for his comments, and I now give the floor to the distinguished representative from Australia.


Australia [48:06]:

Thank you, Madam President. We align ourselves with the statement delivered by Albania. and we deliver this statement in our national capacity. Australia remains committed to achieving gender equality, the empowerment of women and girls, and the full enjoyment of all their human rights. We know that true progress on peace and security cannot occur without advancing gender equality. Australia is proud to have supported UN Women's objectives and achievements under the current Strategic Plan. The normative and programming strengths of UN Women are highly valued in our region, particularly on preventing gender-based violence and implementation of the Women, Peace and Security Agenda. President, allow me to underline the key priorities that Australia would like to see reflected in the new Strategic Plan. First, Australia views the next Strategic Plan as a crucial instrument for safeguarding and promoting gender equality and women's empowerment within the multilateral system. We expect unwavering adherence to the norms and values of the United Nations, including our commitment to leave no one behind. Second, the strategic plan must clearly outline pathways towards flexibility and resilience. It should demonstrate how UN Women will navigate the uncertain financial and structural outlook facing the UN system. For example, the plan should incorporate some scenario planning to account for potential funding cuts and provide clarity on how UN Women will remain agile in the face of transformation and uncertainty. This includes a clear articulation of what is UN Women's core mandate and operations and what is not. Importantly, the plan should show how UN Women will continue to implement existing reforms. These include the Quadrennial Comprehensive Policy Review, Pact for the Future, and the landmark Resolution 72279 on repositioning the UN development system. These reforms remain vital even as we consider and support bold changes to the UN system through the UN80 process. In this context, integration and alignment with the strengthened Resident Corps coordinated system must also be integrated as a centerpiece of the plan. Lastly, we emphasize that this strategic plan and the broader system reform and review processes present an opportunity to ensure no region or country is left behind. In particular, Australia would like to see continued support and resourcing for the Asia-Pacific region. Madam President, UN Women plays a critical role holding the UN system to account on gender equality, strengthening global norms and standards, and advancing sustainable development. Australia looks forward to working further with UN Women throughout this reforms process and encourages continued transparency and collaboration. Thank you.


Sweden · President · Ambassador Claes [51:05]:

I thank the distinguished representative from Australia for his comments, and I now give the floor to the final speaker on the list, the distinguished representative from Colombia.


Colombia [51:17]:

Thank you very much, Madam President. We'd like to thank the Executive Director for introducing the strategic plan. We're at a turning point. The planet is going through very many geopolitical changes, conflicts, humanitarian crises, digital gap, intensification of the climate change, amongst other things. But women need equality, justice, and a dignified life. We welcome that the proposed proposal refers to the universal nature of human rights and it supports Beijing+20 and the 2030 Agenda at a crucial time for achieving the SDGs. My delegation would like to mention 3 points with regard to the draft presented. Firstly, with regard to the areas of impact, we very much appreciate those areas in the document. This is in line with our feminist foreign— feminist policy of the Petro government. Care, for example, we need to recognize and make this work more visible. It's very important to the economy. We also welcome including climate and gender and emphasizing the rights of women over land and productive means. In parallel, women, peace, and security is also important, ensuring that agreements include women's leadership. Also, technology and independence is very important. That helps women avoid violence such as femicide online. And we support these prevention strategies and proposals. They are in line with our anti-discrimination and anti-violence laws for women. And then with regard to reforms in the organization, we'd call for a priority to be given to gender equality programs, make sure that they're funding and there's no backtracking in rights for women and girls. We need tangible results and we need open data and genuine alliances with civil society and the private sector to ensure this. And we share the need to address the precarious funding for women's issues and we are prepared to strengthen regular funding that will ensure we have a collective impact. And finally, we reaffirm the importance of national ownership, and we would stress the importance of including this in national policy. We value the work of UN Women and these strategic notes as they apply to the national context, and we welcome the 2025-2028 Strategic Plan for Women in Colombia. You can count on our support so that altogether we can make significant progress towards gender equality before the end of the decade. Thank you.


Sweden · President · Ambassador Claes [54:02]:

I thank the distinguished representative from Colombia for his comments, and I now invite the Secretariat to respond.


UN Women · Executive Director · Sima Bahous [54:12]:

Thank you, thank you, Madam President. Excellencies, I want to thank you for your support, for your reflections, and for your reaffirmation that gender equality remains a priority for all of you as well. I want to also thank you for your questions and for your comments and for your asks of us to ensure that our Strategic Plan is focused, that it provides a very clear offer to our Triple Mandate. Before I ask my colleagues Anna Karen and Sarah Hendricks to share more details on your specific comments and to answer in detail your questions. I will give the floor to the DED, Nira Tzai, and then after that to Kjersti to give us a few comments, and then we move on to Sarah Hendricks and to AK. Thank you. Thank you, Madam President.


UN Women · DED · Nyaradzake Gomuzwanda [55:15]:

Thank you. Thank you so much. Madam Executive Director and distinguished delegates, for the comments, for the advice, and for the guidance. We take very strongly and clearly the affirmation that we have advanced the comparative advantage of UN Women in our strategic plan, and equally the importance of centering rights-based approach that also addresses issues of discrimination and criticality of equality and the balance in the impact, in the 4 impact areas, to address both the issues at the core of the United Nations mandate, the peace mandate, the human rights mandate, and the development mandate. You also advised us to have a reflection on how we've positioned coordination. We take this as advice. We will revert back as we work on this. We had also advanced this work with a full understanding of the centrality of coordination in the work of UN Women. And lastly, your very clear comments around also the the role of UN Women within the full United Nations system. This is very critical and it echoes your discussions yesterday, also related to, as the Executive Director said, where do we lead, where do we advise, and where do we leverage our convening power in order to deliver on the mandate of the UN. We are also taking a life cycle approach to ensure that our mandate is comprehensive and at the same time respecting that various agencies would pick on various issues. We appreciate your focus on both the normative, the coordination, and impact in countries. Thank you, and back to you, Executive Director.


UN Women · Executive Director · Sima Bahous [57:24]:

Thank you, DED Niradzai. Now we move to DED Kersi. Please, the floor is yours.


UN Women · DED · Kirsi Madi [57:30]:

Thank you so much, and again, thank Thank you, distinguished delegates, to your very powerful comments and, I would say, support and really strong expression of support to UN Women's mandate, as we also heard yesterday at the opening session. It's really heartening to hear that. Just a few reflections before we give the floor to Anna-Caren, who, of course, is the key penholder of the strategic plan and Zara, working hand in hand with other colleagues. But just to say, if I reflect back on this, I would say, I think it's 9 months, 10 months process of coming to the draft strategic plan. It has been a very consultative process in-house with all of you and also with other stakeholders. And as I'm reflecting on that very intense and consultative process, the key words that come to my mind, First of all, its focus, and of course the recent developments in the last months have made that ever more important. Secondly, results, impact, and agility as an organization firmly founded in the principles, in human rights, in principles of non-discrimination, leaving no one behind. So I just want to say that's really very much the spirit, and you will see in the strategic plan, as you see in the draft integrated budget that we will be discussing next, also that sense of agility and being ready to adjust and be able to really dynamically ensure that we are able to prioritize and move forward for maximum impact. Many of you were highlighting the criticality of adequate resourcing. The Australian man mentioned the scenario planning, which is absolutely critical for us, again, to be able to be agile. And as part of that is the clarity on really what is our core role and also what it is that we will not do. So if you feel that's not adequately yet articulated, please let us know. We have really worked very hard to try to make sure that it would be clear. On the funding side, just to say, we of course would like to see commitment from all member states to adhering to the funding compact, so that at least 30% of the resources would be earmarked resources. Unfortunately, last year, while we saw increase in the regular resources last year, we actually saw a decline in the proportion of regular resources because of the increase of the OR funding. So, I'm appealing, because the regular resources are so critically important for the organization's effectiveness, risk management, and really having clear accountabilities and oversight, as we discussed this morning, I again appeal to you to ensure that that is that is adequately addressed. So I'm sure AK can cover many of the other things related to the reporting on the results and impact and other key areas on risk management. Thank you.


UN Women · Director, Strategy, Planning, Resources and Effectiveness Division · Anna-Karin Jatfors [1:00:46]:

Thank you very much to all the distinguished delegates for the strong support, first of all, for the active engagement in this process, and for the very valuable questions and comments both received today and, of course, in writing. Many of you have also shared additional, and rest assured that we are taking all of the comments on board and seeing how we can best reflect all of your great suggestions. Maybe just to elaborate on a couple of the points raised. First, with regards from the distinguished delegates from Luxembourg on behalf of countries with regards to how we are refining our global footprint. Indeed, this is one area where we are building on the successes of our current strategy, because we, as part of this strategy, and in particular with our presence governance framework, have created a more systematic and streamlined and strategic approach to how we manage our footprint, recognizing that this is not about a sort of static notion of offices or personnel, but it really is about— and I think we have heard that from the Nordic and others— balancing ambition with with resourcing and making sure that we are agile and adjusting our presences to meet the demands while also making sure that we are affordable in our footprint. So building on these successes, we look at the aspect of affordability and presence in all of our strategic note discussions. That's every 4 years, but we also have a collaboration with regional directors to verify presences on an annual basis to make sure that we are adjusting continuously. And I think this also speaks to the comment from the distinguished delegate from Australia around scenario planning. So, we embed that in there. Also, with regards to the question on how we are reflecting on the valuable findings from the MOPAN and other assessments, indeed, we— it was very timely. We got the MOPAN just before we finalized the strategy, because you'll see there are a number of great suggestions that we have reflected. One is with regards to the theory of change, where of course our 3 critical outcomes reflect our understanding of how change happens. But we will also further elaborate on that theory of change corporately to support communication. And then of course, we also do that within our, our office plans. As well. Other examples include building on the achievements on planning and strengthening that to embed that within our program cycle, and closing the gap between policy successes and progress on the ground. Those are just some examples, but of course, we have looked at all assessments externally, also from our IES, we heard this morning, to make sure we're building on the third-line and independent assurance providers. If I may also respond to the specific question from the United Kingdom, the distinguished delegates from the United Kingdom, on some of the measurements on gender mainstreaming. Of course, there's maybe a dual element of that response, one for the system and then one for UN Women. Within the system, as you are very well aware, we have both entity-level measurements, including the UN SWAP. But now with the UN SWAP 3.0, that's another opportunity, of course, to be even clearer in measuring accountability and results for gender equality and women's empowerment. But we also support the country-level assessments, including of the cooperation frameworks, the UNCT SWAPs. And then, of course, we are also measuring financing to gender equality, including through the gender marker and the volume of gender specific joint programming. So that's— so those are some examples. But of course, within UN Women, we're also looking at how we can strengthen our own measurement of coordination, not only as a standalone result, but with indicators throughout the board. And you will see that in our upcoming Integrated Results and Resources Framework that will have indicators on our own contributions to UN system-wide accountability within the outcomes, but also within the impact within the impact areas. Specifically, there was another question as well on the pivot to regions and countries. And maybe just to confirm that indeed, this is to enhance our capacity to deliver across our triple mandate, that's normative coordination and operational, to have cost efficiencies, of course, through shifting some capacities to lower-cost duty stations, but also building effectiveness in terms of benefits benefiting from time zone proximity, lower travel time, etc. But of course, the critical normative functions that we are performing here will very much remain. We might have a chance in the next session on the integrated budget, but at the moment it's about 31% from the institutional budget-funded posts that have been identified thus far for relocation. So indeed, very much retaining substantive capacity on normative and other obligations that we have here in New York. At the same time, the pivot also aims to support strengthening of normative results, including, for example, by having deeper engagement in local, national, and regional normative spaces, and facilitating and supporting intergovernmental processes in diverse locations. And then maybe just Finally, thank you so much for the Russian Federation, distinguished delegates from the Russian Federation, for your suggestion and comment. Indeed, we very much understand that advancing gender equality is not a one-size-fits-all. There is a need for context adaptability, and this is, you will see, as a guiding principle. We also have alignment with national priorities as a key guiding principle, so that is infused throughout. And of course, where we are working at the country level, that is fully in line with national development priorities and UNCT priorities, including by having full alignment with the cooperation framework. So, yeah, that commitment is firm. I believe that's all. I think my colleague maybe had more to add.

Thank you.


Sweden · President · Ambassador Claes [1:07:01]:

Well, I thank the Secretariat for its— oh, sorry, Sarah, sorry.


UN Women · Director, Policy Programme and Intergovernmental Division · Sarah Hendricks [1:07:08]:

Is that okay?


Sweden · President · Ambassador Claes [1:07:08]:

Absolutely.


UN Women · Director, Policy Programme and Intergovernmental Division · Sarah Hendricks [1:07:12]:

Wonderful. Thank you so much, Madam President, and thank you to the distinguished delegates for your questions. I believe there were 3 additional questions that were remaining without a response, so I will endeavor to answer those now. The first was the question from Albania on behalf of the group of countries. In particular, you were asking for a bit more detail on how we have ensured programmatic focus in our new strategic plan. And here, as has been mentioned, our new strategic plan aims to reflect on the considerable and significant shifts in our operating context and to ensure that we prioritize focus as well as results and agility in the way in which we endeavor to advance our work. To do so, we have refocused our impact areas to show more distinctly exactly what is the change that we seek to endeavor to deliver through and with catalytic partners. In addition, we have consolidated and focused our work, as our executive director presented, around 3 key systemic outcomes and reduced significantly the number of indicators at this stage from 120 to 75, thereby very much focusing in on exactly what will we do and how will we measure that work. Furthermore, we have been, as mentioned earlier this morning, drawing our lessons from our independent evaluation and audit service led formative assessment, and informing ourselves through those lessons and insights to ensure that our global program frameworks are thereby focused in service of the delivery of our next strategic plan. And thus, our new global programming frameworks define even further UN Women's focus within each of our 4 impact areas and our critical areas that will cross-cut such as data and statistics supporting the delivery of our strategic plan overall. We'd be happy to provide, of course, more details of how those programming frameworks are elaborated in terms of the delivery of our strategic plan. And finally, the 2 questions that remained unanswered by the distinguished delegate from the United Kingdom. Thank you so much for asking about the UN Trust Fund's work to advance a unified UN funding framework on supporting fiscally civil society organizations. This work is underway, and we're delighted to hear you ask about that because indeed it is an interagency initiative aiming to advance a UN-wide funding framework for women's organizations and civil society organizations that will standardize grant agreements and processes right across the UN system to not only reduce administrative barriers for women's rights and civil society organizations, but also to develop a common risk management approach that balances proper oversight with capacity building and partner support. It is our endeavor As we serve as the Secretariat to the UN Trust Fund, as well as the Women, Peace and Humanitarian Fund, and through our coordination mandate, including through the Gender Equality Acceleration Plan, to advance this work as a tool for the entire UN system to support a unified approach across the UN with clear and consistent principles and guidelines for quality funding to women's rights and women-led organizations. And finally, the last question from the UK pointed to— I think you asked us a little bit about our Gender Equality Acceleration Plan, but also more broadly around the challenges encountered in mainstreaming gender equality throughout the UN system. And my colleague Anna-Karin Jatfors has responded around our measurement approaches But allow me to just mention that indeed some of the challenges that we see and that UN Women's unique coordination mandate seems— seeks to address are the following. Number one, limited incentives within UN entities in terms of advancing accountability on gender equality results, which both the SG's Acceleration Plan and the UN system-wide SWAP tool seeks to address. Secondly, the weak positioning of gender units within the UN system. Third, funding and resource opportunities for joint programming. Fourth, the sustainability of funding for the coordination mandate of UN Women. And then finally, a key measure which we often look to is is the percentage of how financial and human resource entities are apportioning that resources on gender equality and women's rights. This model used with gender targets and a score for the Peacebuilding Fund has been a good example of how this translates into concrete results. Thank you.


Sweden · President · Ambassador Claes [1:12:48]:

I thank the Secretariat for its response, and if there are no further comments, No further questions or statements. We can conclude our discussion on this item. Under our next agenda item on financial and administrative matters, the board will receive a presentation on the draft integrated budget estimates for the biennium 2026-2027. In addition to the executive director, both deputy executive directors and the secretary, please welcome also the following colleagues to join the podium. Now, I have already introduced Anna-Karin Jatfors, but I should introduce Johanna Clark, Director at Interim Division of Management and Administration. I would first like to invite Deputy Executive Director Mrs. Kirsi Määrä to deliver some introductory remarks. After that, I will invite Mrs. Anna-Karin Jatfors to present the draft Integrated Budget Estimates of UN Women for the biennium 2026-2027. So without further ado, Kirisimari, you have the floor.


UN Women · DED · Kirsi Madi [1:13:53]:

Thank you so much, Madam President. It is my pleasure to open this agenda item on financial, budgetary, and administrative matters and to present our draft Integrated Budget Estimates for the biennium 2026-2027. This integrated budget is a critical tool for advancing the implementation of our next strategic plan. Guided by UN Women's ongoing business transformation, the current proposal ensures that we are equipped to deliver on our mandate amid global disruption and funding challenges. At UN Women, we remain fully committed to continuously improving our business model, driving agile and efficient performance to achieve results and optimal use of resources. The draft integrated budget 2026-2027 proposes total estimated voluntary contributions of €1.05 billion, reflecting a total increase of 2% compared to the estimates of €1.03 billion in the current 2024-2025 integrated budget. This net increase of €20 million is derived from a €70 million increase forecasted in other resources, from €630 million to €700 million, as well as a €50 million reduction— expected reduction in regular resources from €400 million to €350 million. It includes an institutional budget of €2.2.4 million, a €2 million cost reduction compared to the current 2024-2025 institutional The preparation of the integrated budget has been guided by realistic income projections and financial prudence, reflecting UN Women's steadfast commitment to continuously identifying cost efficiencies. We will prioritize 87.3% of total estimated resources for development and humanitarian activities. Activities, which includes coordination, normative and operational work at regional and country levels. The integrated budget has also been informed by the Pivot to Regions and Countries initiative, which aims to strengthen support to our country offices and maximize impact by shifting some of the global functions to lower-cost duty locations such as Bonn and Nairobi. In addition, UN Women is proposing to optimize its headquarters structure in a cost-neutral manner aimed at strengthening and streamlining key functions to support the delivery of the Strategic Plan. My colleague Anna-Karin Jatfors will speak to this in, in greater detail during her presentation. Thank you very much.


Sweden · President · Ambassador Claes [1:17:11]:

Thank you, Kirsti. I now invite Anna-Karin Jatfors present the draft integrated budget estimates of UN Women for the biennium 2026-2027. Anna-Caren, you have the floor.


UN Women · Director, Strategy, Planning, Resources and Effectiveness Division · Anna-Karin Jatfors [1:17:22]:

Thank you very much, Madam President. Excellencies, distinguished delegates, dear colleagues, good afternoon once again. And it is my pleasure to present to you UN Women's proposed integrated budget for 2026-2027. Rest assured that this proposal is fully guided by our Strategic Plan 2026 to 2029, just discussed just now, and has been prepared to drive implementation of our strategy for the first 2 years. It ensures strong alignment with UN Women's Triple Mandate while also demonstrating fiscal discipline and a focus on our programmatic impact. I would like to present just some of the key highlights from the Integrated Budget 2026 to 2027. First, as you heard from our Deputy Executive Director, Madi, UN Women is proposing total estimated voluntary contributions of $1.05 billion. That is $350 million in regular resources and $700 million in other resources. We recognize that the budget for the biennium will indeed unfold within a challenging financial landscape, and we have adjusted the level of regular resources. That said, results communication and visibility around the impact of regular resources will continue to be a priority for us because we believe that regular resources are absolutely critical for UN Women to optimally deliver on its mandate, and we do count on the continued support and commitment from Member States in that regard. Second, as part of UN Women's commitment to prioritize funding for development and humanitarian activities, 83— 87.3% of total estimated resources will be allocated in support of development results. At the same time, we will also ensure that we have in place a strong organizational backbone to optimize delivery of our strategic plan. Third, we are proposing a reduction of the institutional budget by $2 million, from $204.4 to $202.4 million for the biennium. And this does reflect our disciplined approach and underscores our commitment to maximize use of resources for programmatic outcomes and impacts. Due to these increases in the projections for other resources of $70 million, there is an additional estimated cost recovery income of $4.6 million, which will be applied towards the institutional budget. And this will in turn release a commensurate amount of regular resources that can be allocated in support of programs. This is, of course, in line with the Joint Cost Recovery Policy harmonized with our sister UN agencies UNDP, UNICEF, and UNFPA, and as approved by the UN Women Executive Board. Fourth, our integrated budget reflects the continued prioritization of UN Women's ongoing pivot to regions and countries. And as we heard earlier, this entails relocating global functions to lower-cost duty stations, bringing cost efficiencies while also bringing the delivery of functions closer to the women and girls whom we serve. Of course, the pivot process does impact on all funding sources, but at the time of preparation of the proposed budget document, we had already identified 50 posts funded from the institutional budget that perform global corporate functions that will relocate either to Nairobi or to Bonn. And as I just mentioned, this is representing 31% of the 159 institutional budget-funded posts that we have in headquarters and that are currently largely located here in New York. So this is indeed quite a significant shift for us. And last but not least, there have been some optimizations to our structures to ensure that we are well equipped to deliver on our mandate, and this includes 3 cost-neutral changes. First, the establishment of a dedicated Division of Communications and Advocacy to position UN Women as the leading voice advocate, partner of choice, and brand for gender equality and women's empowerment. Second, the integration of functions related to financial resource management and oversight. This is to allow for holistic resource planning and resource management. And third, strengthened management and oversight of organizational results and corporate performance. And we're doing this by consolidating functions responsible for results management, reporting, project and program support, and risk management. Excellencies, distinguished delegates, this is the end of my presentation, but of course, we are available to answer any questions you may have. Back to you, Madam President. Thank you for the floor.


Sweden · President · Ambassador Claes [1:22:53]:

Thank you very much, Anna-Karin, for your comprehensive presentation. And I now open up the floor for member states' interventions with respect to aforementioned briefing. And the first speaker on my list— now we do have the Russian Federation. So the distinguished representative from the Russian Federation, you have the floor.


Russian Federation [1:23:20]:

Thank you, Madam President. We would like to thank UN Women for this very comprehensive, transparent briefing on this subject. And we would like to focus on concrete initiatives pivoting towards countries and regions. We remember that during the 2nd regular session in 2024, we took a decision to say that you and women should provide a— prepare a plan to see how this initiative would be implemented on the ground. And throughout this year, we've received a lot of information about how the project is advancing. And of course, we understand very well that there is financial pressure. We understand the importance of ensuring urgent measures to implement this initiative, but we're a little disappointed because states have not been involved in the decision-making process for the headquarters chosen. And we feel that our dialogue has not been sufficiently efficient, and we hope that in the future this initiative will be addressed to a greater extent by member states and that we will be given more information on progress, and perhaps we could propose other alternatives. Perhaps our experience, thanks to the decisions taken, could be also taken into account. Thank you.


Sweden · President · Ambassador Claes [1:25:02]:

Thank the distinguished representative of the Russian Federation for his comments, and I now give the floor to the distinguished representative from Switzerland.


Switzerland [1:25:12]:

Thank you very much, Madam President, for giving me the floor. We wanted to thank UN Women for presenting this draft integrated budget, and we had a few questions. The first one is actually on the restructuring that you're presenting. As far as— if we recall correctly, only a few years ago we actually did move the budget kind of function into spread to ensure that resources are linked to results. You are now proposing to essentially reverse that change that was made a few years ago. Could you please elaborate on the reasons why, the rationale, and how will UN Women ensure that resources continue to be linked to results? And then a few questions on the institutional budget. We really appreciate the efforts of UN Women to allocate more core funding to programmes, and we note that there is a reduction of $2 million for the institutional budget, which you state is due to efficiencies and the pivot. Could you highlight in which areas UN Women is achieving these efficiency gains? And we also remember that ED mentioned savings from the pivot will only come into effect in 2027. So just a bit unclear how this is already fully reflected in, in the budget that is '26/'27. Um, and lastly, we did pick up on, um, the budget's, um, mentioning the cruciality of full cost recovery, and this was also underlined by the Advisory Committee on Oversight. Can you please give us a very brief update on the implementation of the cost recovery policy and mainly also on challenges that persist in fully implementing it?

Thank you very much.


Sweden · President · Ambassador Claes [1:27:02]:

I thank the distinguished representative from Switzerland for her comments, and I do not have any more speakers on my list, so I therefore invite the Secretariat to respond.


UN Women · DED · Kirsi Madi [1:27:13]:

Thank you very much, Madam President. I'll have a first go with some overall remarks, and then I would be asking Anna-Karin and Joe also to come in. Just in terms of— first of all, thank you very much, Russian Federation. I appreciate your feedback, and we will continue keeping the member states fully informed on the progress. And of course, we are always available to provide more information. In terms of Switzerland, thank you very much for your question. So indeed, there had been— when SPREAD was actually created, in light of reinforcing the importance of resources and results linkages, the budget section was moved to SPREAD. SPREAD is the division that Anna-Karin Hjertfors leads and stands for Strategy, Planning, Results and Effectiveness Division. I must say that, on reflection now, I have been 18 months at UN Women, and one of the observations that I had myself as I came, but this was also a reflection that had been shared by external experts who had reviewed, before I arrived, had carried out a financial review, there had been a recommendation that it would be important to ensure that we have a more integrated financial resource management. And I must say, in my role, I have felt that also very, very strongly, because in fact, in reality today, the actual— all the financial decisions ultimately only come together at the level of the executive And therefore, we actually have started the process of really looking and, again, engaging external experts to help us how we could, in the best possible way, ensure that we have holistic, integrated financial resource management. The linkages with the results is absolutely critical, and that will continue through very close collaboration by the future division that we propose to call Division of Financial Administration, and by the spread, and of course by other colleagues. So that linkage will not disappear, but we expect to have a stronger, greater focus on financial, both in terms of budgeting and financial reporting. And that also leads then to adjustment that the position of the Director of the Division of Management Administration will be transformed into a proper Chief Financial Officer, which for an organization of our size is absolutely critical. Just to say from my side, I will let both Anna-Karin and Jo come back on the question on the full cost recovery. This is something that is absolutely critically important for UN Women to do. We have been doing it partially over the years, but it's critically important that we implement that fully. There has been important progress over the last year, but it still requires absolute full implementation, but there is very strong commitment from our side on that. So perhaps, AK, I can ask you, if that's okay for you.


Sweden · President · Ambassador Claes [1:30:38]:

Can I just first ask the Deputy Executive Director, Gopal Swanda, to say a few words? your comments as well.


UN Women · DED · Nyaradzake Gomuzwanda [1:30:48]:

Thank you. When you live with a disability, you communicate things, so I was communicating my hand stretching. My apologies to my delegates. Thank you, thank you so much, Madam President, for this opportunity. I wanted to reflect on the point raised around aligning resources with results. And as we are in the process of developing our strategic plan, and we really appreciate the deep advice that you have provided, I remember my first board meeting when I joined UN Women last year. You were emphasizing results.

Yes.

And equally emphasizing that we need our system to be strong to deliver the results. At this moment, this is part of what is very critical to us, is with the shrinking resources, how do we prioritize to ensure that we impact the women on the ground whilst we have this system? In the last 2 days, you have also advised us on why it is so critical for us to focus on the coordination mandate, on the normative work, and those are also areas of work that come through assessed contributions other than non-core. We have less non-core in supporting the member states, and therefore, as we look into the reductions that would be there, these are areas which we are also looking very keenly To say we continue to see how to invest in the normative work, in the coordination work, and equally has been clarity in our draft strategic plan, and which we've emphasized as well on how we are centering the women and girls themselves to be part of the solutions as we work with member states and support member states' effort. So that critical aspect on the integrated. Results and Resources Framework on supporting civil society groups, women's groups in our communities, to be able to sustain their own efforts with their governments, with their local authorities, is important. Indeed, it's a very difficult balancing act we have to do, but we are indeed looking at how we need to continue to invest in results, and make sure we adjust our own systems to respond to those results, because at times we may end up with very little, but also at the same time being very effective. That balancing is what we are also organizationally going through at the moment. I really appreciate the comments and really appreciate the conversation we continue to have with D.D. Kesimadi on how we continue to raise the issue, continue to build on the balance that you are expecting us to have. Thank you very much.


Sweden · President · Ambassador Claes [1:33:50]:

I thank the Deputy Executive Director for her comments, and I now hand over the floor to Anna-Caren Jätfors.


UN Women · Director, Strategy, Planning, Resources and Effectiveness Division · Anna-Karin Jatfors [1:33:57]:

Thank you very much to the distinguished delegates for the questions and the comments. I wanted just to elaborate briefly on a couple of the specific points. First, with regards to the questions from the distinguished delegates from Switzerland, In terms of the efficiencies and the reduction, it is predominantly from reducing the allocation that was previously allocated under the special purpose cost classification category in the previous budget. Of course, with the introduction of Quantum, that was a little larger in the current biennium. And so we saw savings there mainly by leveraging the benefits of having made this investment in the ERP system and on on, um, ICTs. Um, perhaps also to elaborate a little bit on the results and resources linkages. Um, 2 aspects here. One is to confirm that the integrated budget supports the strategic plan directly by aligning all costs, uh, in the budget to the specific, uh, strategic plan results, either development results, uh, and/or the OEE, uh, results. So this allows us to have results-based budgeting, and we will continue to leverage that in how we operationalize that also in the guidance. For example, when we do our strategic planning processes for our country offices, we have budget colleagues and strategic planning colleagues, as well as risk management, working hand in hand, so that ensures that integration, and that certainly will not be lost because of the shift in structures, on the contrary. The other element is with the introduction of the Transparency Portal and the continued investment in our results management system, uh, that I spoke to earlier, we will be able to have more seamless integration of linking results to resources from all levels with one integrated system looking at investments from projects, strategic notes, up to the strategic plan level. Um, and so this is also another area where we have deep collaboration already with budget and strategic planning colleagues, as well as IST and others. And then finally, maybe just to elaborate a little bit on the element of the cost recovery, where, of course, you've heard us say this, we have absolutely full commitment to have full application of the cost recovery policy. And we do work actively to update our guidance templates. And we have had a round, in fact, of regional consultations just just completed, learning from best practices from the regions. And we have, very timely, just this week, a new set of instructions incorporating that being promulgated across the organization. And we will continue to do awareness-raising and capacity building to make sure that the guidance is fully operationalized. In terms of the challenge, I believe you are well aware already there are some both internal and external challenges. Including with some of our funding partners for other resources. And we are working on both fronts to address these, to make sure that we can have consistent application. These challenges, of course, are not unique to UN Women, but we continue to invest in having those dialogues to have a common understanding. And there, I would say that having a strong business case for the use of regular resources and strong results documentation, also where we have more flexible ways to provide other resources such as direct funding to strategic nodes, are both opportunities to minimize the risk of non-alignment with the cost recovery policy rather than isolated smaller projects where you have higher transaction costs and higher risk of, of that misalignment. So these are also priorities for us moving forward. Thank you so much.


Sweden · President · Ambassador Claes [1:37:39]:

I thank the Secretariat for its response, and if there are no further comments or Statements, we can conclude our discussion on this item.


Speaker 52 [1:37:48]:

Oh, sorry. Oh, sorry, sorry.


Sweden · President · Ambassador Claes [1:37:51]:

It's fine.


Speaker 54 [1:37:52]:

It's all covered. It's all covered.


Sweden · President · Ambassador Claes [1:37:54]:

Okay, perfect, perfect. Then we, we continue. Under our next agenda item on addressing racism and racial discrimination, the Board will receive an update on UN Women's efforts to address racism and racial discrimination. In addition to the Executive Director, both Deputy Executive Directors and the Secretary, please welcome the following colleagues to join once again the podium. As regards Sarah Hendricks, Director Policy Program in the Government Division, and I welcome to the podium also Prasoon Chakraborty. He is here. He's on his way there. So I would first like to invite Deputy Executive Director Nyaradzake Gomuzwanda to deliver today's update. After that, I will open the floor for member states' interventions. So without further ado, Madam Deputy Executive Director, you have the floor.


UN Women · DED · Nyaradzake Gomuzwanda [1:38:51]:

Thank you.

Thank you so much, Madam President. When you met in 1945 and adopted Article 55 of the Charter, you said non-discrimination, including on race. When you adopted the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, in Article 1, you said all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and in rights. Racism continues to undermine the fundamentals of the United Nations Charter, the fundamentals that you agreed 45— 80 years ago. At the first regular session this year, pursuant to Decision 2024/6, we provided an update on the ongoing work of UN Women to strengthen its organizational culture, improve the practice of its core values, and become a more diverse and inclusive workplace. Our approach remains firmly aligned with the United Nations Secretary-General's Strategic Action Plan on addressing racism and promoting dignity for all in the United Nations. Internally, we are actively implementing the remaining JIU recommendations. 3 are now Our current strategic plan intentionally centers our personnel, focusing on the creation of a positive workplace culture that respects inclusivity and diversity. Our teams collaborate on initiatives to ensure equity and inclusion, with particular attention to prevention of discrimination through regular engagement sessions that promote promote awareness, understanding, and action. To further these efforts, we offer training on unconscious bias and equitable decision-making in recruitment and leadership. I will emphasize at this point the key efforts for UN Women to address racism in programming and policy. Fully integrated in our triple mandate, our approach is really to address inequalities and discrimination, including the principle of leave no one behind. And leaving no one behind also means that we have to address inequalities based on race, the racial justice issues. Furthermore, this work is anchored in international law, as I have said, including the CEDAW and the elimination of all forms of racial discrimination discrimination and the Durban Declaration. Our intersectional approach to racial justice also operates across all the 4 impact areas of our strategic plan 2022 to 2025. In terms of the area related to governance, we have really been placing a lot of work and attention to supporting the work, meaningful participation of women in their diversities in the programs of work that we do, including also the very much important meeting that we headed, the 4th International Conference for Small Island Developing Nations at SIDS in Antigua and Barbuda. We look forward to the follow-up on the implementation that would be there. We also continue to support the work in Latin America and the Caribbean and the longstanding partnership with the Afro-descendants and indigenous women. We are inspired by the work of some of the women like the 85-year-old Luz Haro, who has launched the campaign for rural women to access land as part of the racial justice issues. On women's economic empowerment and looking at Europe and Central Asia, we are really encouraged by the work that we do with the Roma communities and other groups. We also continue to be involved, encouraged by the work in Africa where they focused on justice for African people, people of African descent, and through reparations and really recognizing that the notion of the essence of transatlantic slave trade, colonialism, apartheid, and wherever we see genocide, it's also linked with instances of racial injustice. These are areas that we know we continue to work on and build on and indeed continue to address the structural issues of gender inequalities within the racial dimensions. In conclusion, and conscious indeed of our time, our current strategic plan would be focusing on human rights-based approach, which in addresses the issues of non-discrimination. This is very important for us to continue to build on. As a black woman living with disability, I understand inequalities because there are times when I'm measured by being a black woman and at times by being a woman with disability, by others being born in my village, by others being an international lawyer. So the issue of racial justice intersects with the multiplicity of identities of women, and therefore it remains an important issue for the work that UN Women does, because all are born in dignity and in rights. And we appreciate you as the Board continuing to prioritize progress on addressing inequalities and discrimination. Thank you very much.

Thank you.


Sweden · President · Ambassador Claes [1:44:40]:

Thank you very much for your comprehensive presentation, Madam Deputy Executive Director. And I now open up the floor for member states' interventions. And the first speaker on my list is Norway. So, distinguished representative of Norway, you have the floor.


Norway [1:44:58]:

Thank you very much, Madam President. I have the honor to deliver this statement on behalf of Australia. Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, Côte d'Ivoire, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, Kenya, Ireland, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Latvia, Luxembourg, Mexico, Moldova, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Slovakia, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye, Ukraine, United Kingdom, European Union as a donor, and my own country Norway. We thank UN Women for its update on efforts to prevent and address racism and racial discrimination in line with the recommendations of the Joint Inspection Unit on addressing racism and racial discrimination in United Nations organizations. UN Women plays an important role in ensuring an intersectional approach by applying a gender lens to work on racial justice and addressing racial discrimination as part of its work towards achieving gender equality. Despite efforts to eliminate racism, we must acknowledge that racial discrimination is still happening. We condemn racial— racism and racial discrimination in all its forms and manifestations, and declare that racism and racial discrimination should have no place in UN Women, in the wider UN system, or anywhere. We need comprehensive equality policies to ensure non-discrimination. All actors, including multilateral organizations, must take targeted, inclusive, and participatory action to address the diverse and overlapping forms of discrimination and intolerance. The UN system must be equipped to raise issues of non-compliance in its dialogue with Member States. We commend UN Women for making progress, including the development of voluntary reporting to monitor and assess workforce diversity in line with GIU Recommendation 1, and improvements in human resources practices in line with GIU Recommendation 6. We do, however, encourage more transparency around the challenges in addressing racial discrimination. In this regard, we would appreciate reporting on complaints, if any, of racial discrimination received by by the Internal Evaluation, Audit and Investigation Service under this agenda item. We also encourage UN Women to help advance the implementation of recommendations 1 and 4 that require collective interagency efforts, as these keep falling behind. UN Women plays an important role in guiding and strengthening its implementing partners, including as part of the localization agenda. We would like to understand what UN Women is doing to ensure that racism and racial discrimination is also prevented and addressed within implementing partner organizations at country level. Ending racism and racial discrimination is essential for upholding fundamental human rights and for leaving no one behind. It is an issue that must be addressed continuously in a holistic manner and at all levels. It is about fostering a culture of respect, accountability, and zero tolerance for misconduct. I thank you.


Sweden · President · Ambassador Claes [1:48:51]:

I thank the distinguished representative from Norway for her statement, and I have no further speakers on my list, and I therefore invite the Secretariat to respond.


UN Women · DED · Nyaradzake Gomuzwanda [1:49:08]:

Thank you, Madam Vice President. I will give a response to one of the issues and would request our Director for HR on any of the issues that relates to workplace. And my colleague, the Director for PPID, on issues related to the programming work we do with partners on the ground. We really appreciate your encouragement, the Honorable Delegate of Norway and all the member states who have given the comments around continuously building the approaches within the institution and in our work. The most challenging issue around racism is that whilst in the previous decades it was apparent, the most difficult is— and which is why we are investing on the human resource aspect— is the unconscious bias. Attitudes, perceptions which needs to be addressed, but which at times cannot be documented, but which can be felt. Therefore, our human resources-related approaches around how people relate at the workplace is an important aspect. This is why we have been talking about pivoting to regions and countries. Because it removes the perception that people in regions and countries are in the field, they are treated differently in organizations, and the field is mostly the Global South. So the notions of shifting language is also shifting perception, is shifting attitudes. It's enabling us to say, as a global organization, our colleagues who are working in these countries and communities are as equally valued and remove any biases that could be there around attitudes and perceptions and hierarchy. So I just wanted to share on this point that at times it's difficult to report racial injustice, unlike PSEA, because also people would We need to address issues of protection when people report and jobs, and especially in this context. So I just wanted to share that as a general understanding that we carry as we continue in UN Women and within as leadership of UN Women to address this issue that we know it's more than structure, it's more than policies, it's also about attitude and how we relate with it.


Speaker 61 [1:52:00]:

other.


UN Women · DED · Nyaradzake Gomuzwanda [1:52:01]:

Madam President, through you to our heads of policy and human resource, and if my colleague Didi Kesimadi has a view as well.


UN Women · Director, Human Resources · Prasoon Chakraborty [1:52:21]:

Thank you, Madam President. So in terms of A specific question related to the information on any allegations that have been made to IAIS on racism. We take note of that and we will discuss with IAIS because some of that is, as you know, would be reported through the investigation reports and some of that would be confidential. So, but we'll discuss with IAIS on how that could be reflected as part of a more comprehensive briefing when we discuss this agenda item again. But I also wanted to actually give an update quickly, as, as you are aware of the ClearCheck database that the UN has, and there is a new version of the ClearCheck that's being rolled out this year, and there are 2 additional categories which have been added, which includes anti-racism and racial discrimination. So this, as a common system is being looked into as a, as a system, as an issue that needs to be tackled, both not just when we were looking at SEA issues earlier. Similarly, now the ClearCheck expansion will look into issues around and cases of anti-racism, racism, and racial discrimination. So there is a strong push within the system to make sure this is harmonized. So when we can report we start reporting on the implementation of ClearCheck 2.0, which would be from '26 onwards, we can actually give you more data on how that system is working, which is going to have specific areas on this racism and racial discrimination. And again, noted on any specific instances that we need to report on, we'll discuss with IEIS. how that can be integrated either through this briefing or the briefing that IAS has on their investigation reports. On your request for interagency collaboration on the GIU recommendations, there is already ongoing work in many of the areas out of the 6 recommendations. As you know, at UN Women, we have implemented 3. The remaining 3 also requires an interagency collaboration, and we are working together to see how, as soon as we can— I mean, we can do so— we want to implement those and have them institutionalized within the Common System. But some of that would, of course, also need resources and capacity, but some of that actually will need a much wider agreement amongst the Common System. And it also has areas including HLCM mechanism, So we'll have to discuss that in those forums. So I'll stop there on these questions.

Thanks.


UN Women · Director, Policy Programme and Intergovernmental Division · Sarah Hendricks [1:55:09]:

Thank you so much, Madam President, and thank you to the distinguished delegate and group of countries for your critical question regarding also our programmatic work and our engagement with partners in terms of implementing partners at country level. Allow me first just to position this work across our triple mandate and to reinforce, in response to your question, that our work across our triple mandate and in service of our strategic plan is aligned fully with international norms and standards and fully anchored in human rights frameworks. This includes, of course, CEDAW and the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, but at its core, we ensure that principles of human rights, inclusion, and non-discrimination, including on racial discrimination, are incorporated comprehensively and with intentionality in our normative work, our coordination work, and of course in our operational work with program partners at country level. This principle of non-discrimination is embedded across our impact areas and across the current 7 systemic outcomes of this strategic plan. And we will continue to be a strong advocate for and support the intentional incorporation of a non-discrimination lens, including on racial discrimination, across all aspects of UN Women's work. In terms of our selection of partner organizations at country level, and in service of a localization agenda, We do seek to embed these principles of human rights and non-discrimination in terms of both partner selection as well as equipping partners with the effective skills and capacities to prevent and address racial discrimination and all forms of discrimination in the work that is undertaken at country level. We do not seek in so doing to duplicate the work of other entities, but rather to complement and to strengthen their efforts by ensuring that the gender dimensions of racial injustice are fundamentally addressed system-wide. And we feel that that is a critical component of UN Women's comparative value addition. Furthermore, UN Women, with our very strong gender data and statistics work, works to ensure and to advocate the collection, analysis, and dissemination of data across all intersectional identities, including on racial discrimination and identities, and to partner with civil society, women-led organizations, academia, and across the UN system to advance research and knowledge on inclusivity and non-discrimination, including as it pertains to discrimination based on on race. I hope these additional points in terms of the application of this work in our operations and across our triple mandate are helpful to this discussion. Thank you so much.


Sweden · President · Ambassador Claes [1:58:19]:

Thank you very much for your responses, and if there are no further comments or statements, I think we can conclude our discussions on this item. And We actually have no further items on the agenda for today, so the plenary meeting is hereby adjourned, and we will resume the plenary session tomorrow at 10 AM.


Speaker 66 [1:58:45]:

Thank you.