- India got elected as Member of the UN Commission on the Status of Women, the principal global body focussed on gender equality and women empowerment, beating China in a hotly-contested election.
- It is a functional commission of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).
- The 54-member ECOSOC, holding the first plenary meeting of its 2021 session.
- Held elections for two seats in the Asia-Pacific States category with Afghanistan, India and China in the fray.
- India and Afghanistan will join Argentina, Austria, Dominican Republic, Israel, Latvia, Nigeria, Turkey and Zambia, which were elected by acclamation, to the Commission on the Status of Women for a four-year term beginning from 2021-2025.
- The Commission on the Status of Women is instrumental in promoting women’s rights,
- documenting the reality of women’s lives throughout the world, and
- Shaping global standards on gender equality and the empowerment of women.
- In 1996, ECOSOC expanded the Commission’s mandate and
- decided that it should take a leading role in monitoring and reviewing progress and
- problems in the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and
- Platform for Action, and in mainstreaming a gender perspective in UN activities.
The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) – One of the six Principal organ of UN
- It is the principal body
- for coordination, policy review, policy dialogue and
- recommendations on economic, social and environmental issues,
- As well as implementation of internationally agreed development goals.
- It serves as the central mechanism for activities of the UN system and its specialized agencies in the economic, social and environmental fields, supervising subsidiary and expert bodies.
- It has 54 Members, elected by the General Assembly for overlapping three-year terms.
- It is the United Nations’ central platform for reflection, debate, and innovative thinking on sustainable development.