OSCE Senior Gender Advisor highlights need to engage men to achieve gender equality at UN event in New York

The OSCE’s Senior Gender Advisor, Ambassador Miroslava Beham, highlighted the need to actively engage men to achieve gender equality, during the 58th annual session of the Commission on the Status of Women on 10 to 14 March 2014 at the headquarters of the United Nations in New York.

Focusing on the OSCE's approach to gender and comprehensive security, Beham shared the experiences and achievements of the OSCE’s MenEngage Network.

“The OSCE MenEngage Network seeks to raise awareness of the important influence men can have in ending gender-based violence and encourage them to speak out against all kinds of inequality,” said Beham. “The Network was launched in 2012 as a result of growing recognition that gender equality cannot be achieved without engaging men and promoting positive role models for men and boys.”

This year’s session of the Commission on the Status of Women showed an increased global momentum on the need for engaging men to advance gender equality. To mark this year’s International Women's Day the UN launched HeForShe.org, an online campaign designed to raise awareness about gender-based violence and to promote respect for both women and men.

The Commission on the Status of Women brings together every March, delegations from the capitals of UN Member States to discuss progress on achieving the goals of the Beijing Platform for Action, an international declaration of women's rights.

NGOs, delegations and UN agencies organize official meetings and parallel side events during the annual event to share their experiences and good practices on gender equality and women's empowerment.