General
Addis Ababa - The United Nations (UN) Women, the newest UN entity, celebrated its establishment at the 16th African Union (AU) Summit on Sunday.
Heads of State and Government and other dignitaries joined the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and the Executive Director of UN Women, Michelle Bachelet, in a ceremony that featured the unveiling of UN Women's new logo.
At the occasion, Ban said: "We need to empower African women who produce food, raise children and drive the economy."
"When women take their rightful place at the negotiating table, in the parliament and in leadership position across society, we can unleash Africa's enormous potential," Ban said, adding that UN Women was here to help reach this goal.
Bachelet said UN Women would be driven by a vision of how much more is possible when men and women have equal rights and opportunities.
"We will be bold and ambitious in our aspirations. We will also be practical in building an organisation that can make a lasting difference in women's lives," the director said.
UN Women integrates four existing UN agencies with a greater concentration of resources and expertise to accelerate gender equality efforts.
It will focus and support the national programs in 48 African countries.
It was noted that the establishment of UN women came from the July 2010 UN General Assembly Resolution. - BuaNews-NNN