About the Office of the Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women

The Office of the Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women (OSAGI) is headed by the Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women and comprises a Principal Social Affairs Office in charge of Gender Mainstreaming and the Focal Point for Women in the Secretariat. This Office was created on 1 March 1997.

The Office's main objective is to promote and strengthen the effective implementation of the Millennium Declaration, the Beijing Declaration and the Platform for Action of the Fourth World Conference on Women (FWCW) held in Beijing in 1995 and the Outcome Document of the special session of the General Assembly on Beijing+5.

OSAGI is charged to follow-up on the implementation of the Platform for Action and Beijing+5 through provision of oversight and policy guidance to the Division for the Advancement of Women on substantive servicing of the General Assembly, ECOSOC, the Commission on the Status of Women, the CEDAW Committee regarding women's rights, gender analysis, advisory services and outreach; mainstreaming of a gender perspective in the work of programmes and activities of intergovernmental forums, entities of the United Nations system, other intergovernmental bodies and Member States; development of an intergovernmental agenda and framework for "women, peace and security"; development of strategies and policies for the achievement, within the Secretariat and the UN system, of gender balance and the target of 50/50 women and men at all levels, professional and above; and increased efficiency and effectiveness of inter-agency collaboration related to gender equality and the integration of gender perspective in all programmes and policies.

The Office plays a catalytic role and develops new strategies and programmes to advance gender equality and the empowerment of women in all sectors of society, through:

1. Advising the Secretary-General on gender issues in such a way that they can be fully integrated into the overall policy direction of the United Nations, drawing attention to issues of particular concern to women globally so that they are given the required attention in the work of the Organization; representing the Secretary-General at fora on gender issues and the advancement of women; assisting the Secretary-General to render the global Secretariat more sensitive to gender issues;

2. Facilitating, monitoring and advising on the overall policy goals of the Organization with regard to gender analysis and for mainstreaming a gender perspective into all activities of the United Nations; providing advocacy for gender issues and gender mainstreaming throughout the United Nations system, advice and support to senior managers on gender-related issues in their areas of responsibility;

3. Assisting in the design of policies and strategies for the improvement of the status of women in the Secretariat and the United Nations system, especially with regard to higher level posts and including the creation of a working environment conducive to women having equal opportunities with men; supporting all heads of departments and offices in their efforts to achieve this goal and monitoring progress with Office of Human Resources Management.

4. Providing leadership to the Inter-Agency Network on Women and Gender Equality, the Inter-Agency Task Force on Women, Peace and Security under Security Council resolution 1325 and other Task Forces.