The UNECE mandate is based on strong intergovernmental mandates
provided by the Beijing
Platform for Action (1995) as well as by the General
Assembly twenty-third special session to follow up the Platform
for Action (June 2000) and ECOSOC
resolution 2001/41, which call on mainstreaming
the gender perspective into all policies and programmes of
the UN system. The global mandate draws also on the
outcome of major UN conferences, especially the MDG process,
the Monterrey Consensus and Johannesburg Plan of Implementation.
Since
the Regional Preparatory Meeting for the Beijing Conference
organized by UNECE (Vienna, 1994), the Commission has been
gradually incorporating a gender perspective into its work
based on ECOSOC
decision 1997/224 (Declaration on Strengthening Economic
Cooperation in Europe and Plan of Action):
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Gender mainstreaming was included
into the Plan of Action arising from the reform of UNECE
in 1997 (E/ECE/1346
and E/ECE/1347).
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Region specific priorities for action
were defined by the Agreed Conclusions of the member States
from the Regional Meeting on the 5-year Review of Implementation
of the Beijing Platform for Action held in Geneva on 19-21
January 2000 (E/ECE/RW.2/2000/7).
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The senior management adopted the
Agreed Framework for the work of the organization, which
defines specific objectives at cross-sectoral and divisional
levels as well as monitoring and evaluation mechanisms
(June 2001).
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In 2003 a new post for a Gender Focal
Point has been established at the Office of the Executive
Secretary.