UN Reform: What´s in it for Women?

As a contribution to efforts in broadening the UN Reform debate, particularly in creating spaces for more women´s voices to be heard, the International Women´s Tribune Centre (IWTC) and the Heinrich Böll Foundation organised a panel discussion on the implications of the UN reform process for women and women´s advocacy worldwide during the 2006 session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW). The panel discussion highlighted a glaring need to provide more information about the ongoing reform steps and – more importantly – provide a space for dialogue on the promise that this process holds for women. Women wanted to understand the impact of the different elements of the UN Reform process at the country level and also wanted practical ideas on how they could influence the process without having to go to UN headquarters in New York, Vienna or Geneva. This publication seeks to address these needs.