UN Women - General Contribution 2018 - 2020

UN-Women’s work on gender equality and women’s empowerment is strongly guided by the 2030 Agenda, in particular goal 5 on gender equality and by ensuring that gender is mainstreamed in other gender related goals and targets. UN-Women’s engagement contributes to the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action as well as the Convention on all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). 

UN Women has a triple mandate at normative, operational and coordination level:

1. To support inter-governmental bodies, including the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW in formulation of policies, global standards and norms on gender equality.
2. To support Member States in implementing these standards, through technical and financial support, and build partnerships with civil society.
3. To hold the United Nations system accountable for its own commitments on gender equality, including regular monitoring of system-wide progress.

The Federal Council’s Dispatch for International Cooperation 2017-2020 includes UN-Women as one of Swiss development cooperation’s 15 priority multilateral organisations. 

• UN-Women’s priorities and activities, namely the promotion of gender equality and women’s empowerment, correspond perfectly with the Swiss strategic priorities as outlined in the Dipatch for International Cooperation 2017 – 2020, where gender equality is anchored as a specific objective and transversal theme, as well as the SDC Gender Equality Policy.
• The mandate of UN Women is coherent with the objectives of the Strategy on Gender equality and Women’s rights of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs.

UN Women is an important partner of Switzerland in the achievement of the SDGs, in particular goal 5 on gender equality and to ensure gender mainstreaming of relevant targets within the 2030 Agenda.

Switzerland engaged in ensuring UN-Women’s implementation of the Quadrennial Comprehensive Policy Review (QCPR) and in the elaboration of the new Strategic Plan. 

Switzerland contributed to the establishment of the UN-Women Liaison Office in Geneva, including its funding as part of the regular budget of the UN.

Switzerland contributed to a well-established and functioning Evaluation function.

Switzerland took the lead in a joint statement on the regional architecture of UN-Women to ensure institutional coherence with resources at disposal.

Within its new Strategic Plan 2018-2021, UN-Women’s overall impact goal is to: achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls, including women’s full enjoyment of their human rights. 

In addition to further enhance organizational effectiveness, outcomes will follow-up on performance of audit function, transparency as well as increased performance of regional and country offices.

Switzerland will continue to engage with UN Women on gender mainstreaming within the UN development system and will focus on the following topics:

• Switzerland promotes women’s economic empowerment including through the improved cooperation between UN Women and the World Bank
• Improved institutional effectiveness, in particular evaluation, financial sustainability and gender parity among staff
  
• Switzerland contributes to the implementation of UNDS reform by ensuring UN Women’s full integration and implementation of the Quadrennial Comprehensive Policy Review (QCPR) recommendations.
• The representation of Switzerland as a Member State in UN Women is enhanced through an increased number of Swiss staff.

Core contributions ranking (2016) 1.Switzerland 2.United Kingdom 3.Sweden 4.Finland 5.Norway 6.Denmark 7.Netherlands 8.United States 9. Australia 10.Japan. Additional donations from UN-Women national committees and the private sector.

Switzerland regularly coordinates its positions with the Western European and Other Group (WEOG) as well as establishing alliances with interested countries outside the WEOG.

Phase 20 01.01.2018 - 31.12.2020   (Completed)