UNIFEM Executive Director moves to new role

Progress for Women Is Progress for All

UNIFEM Executive Director moves to new role

August 2007

UNIFEM in the UK congratulates Noeleen Heyzer, UNIFEM's Executive Director, on her appointment as Under Secretary General to head the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).

Noeleen Heyzer has been appointed as head of the UN Economic Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) in Bangkok, a post which carries the rank of Under Secretary General. Her appointment was announced at the end of last month by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. Noeleen, a national of Singapore, is the first woman to head ESCAP which is the biggest of the UN's five regional commissions, both in terms of population served and area covered.

"This is a great honour and an exciting opportunity," she said. "The Asia-Pacific region has tremendous development experiences and diversity and I will focus my efforts on bringing a more integrated approach to advancing its social, economic and environmental agenda." Reflecting on her time as Executive Director of UNIFEM, a position she has held since 1994, she added: "It has been an enormous privilege to lead such a dynamic organisation and to be an integral part of advancing women's human rights and gender equality. It is now widely recognised that development efforts will fail if women are not empowered, and I will bring my experience and expertise on gender issues to my position at ESCAP."

Since joining UNIFEM Noeleen has worked to strengthen women's economic security and rights, to promote women's leadership in conflict resolution and governance, to end violence against women, and to combat the impact of HIV/AIDS on women. She played a critical role in the Security Council's adoption of resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security in 2000 and undertook extensive missions to conflict-affected countries across the world to ensure its implementation.

Under her leadership UNIFEM has assisted countries to implement legislation and policies which will make a difference to women's lives on the ground. This has led, for example, to changes in inheritance laws for women, better working conditions for migrant workers, the inclusion of women as full citizens in the constitution of Afghanistan, and involvement of women as full participants in several peace negotiations and electoral processes. UNIFEM has undergone a comprehensive restructuring since 1994 to improve its effectiveness in building partnerships to deliver results. It has also increased its resources five-fold, strengthened its presence on the ground and successfully advocated to put issues affecting women high on the agenda of the UN system.

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