The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women
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The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, commonly known as UN Women, was established in 2010 by the UN General Assembly to accelerate progress on meeting the needs of women and girls worldwide. Its creation was part of the UN’s broader efforts to promote gender equality by consolidating and strengthening the work previously carried out by four distinct UN bodies. UN Women was formed to address persistent gaps in representation, protection, and empowerment for women across political, social, and economic spheres. The committee works closely with governments, civil society, and other UN agencies to develop policies, set global standards, and coordinate efforts that promote gender equality and the protection of women’s rights.
Today, UN Women serves as a leading body that advocates for the inclusion of women in leadership, combats gender-based violence, promotes economic empowerment, and ensures that gender perspectives are fully integrated into international development, humanitarian efforts, and peacebuilding. Representatives from all 193 UN member states gather in committee sessions to discuss emerging issues, evaluate progress, and recommend policy frameworks that support the agency’s mandate.
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The term compulsory marriage is defined as the union between two parties, where one or both parties is forced or coerced into a union without free consent. Child brides are more susceptible to domestic violence, health complications, poor economic and education opportunities, and mental health illnesses. This practice can lead to a degradation of quality of life and limit future prospects, especially ones who marry young.
Underage marriage is a direct product of a country’s gender inequality gap and humanitarian crises, with more girls being forced into this practice than boys. This pattern is most commonly found in rural parts of a country, but affects most countries around the globe with West and Central Africa, as well as South Asia being the most prevalently affected by underage marriage. As reported by UNICEF, around 41% of girls in the West and Central African region marry before turning the age of 18, significantly impacting the regions ability to economically grow and provide adequate
This crisis is not just a women issue, it also has a significant impact on their country’s economy and touches on multiple UN sustainable development goals such as good health and well-being, quality education, gender equality, and reduced inequalities. There have been multiple international agreements, such as the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development of 1994 that explicitly outlines the elimination of forced, child, marriages. With this, we must call for global action to reduce, and eventually, eradicate forced child marriages.
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Should there be any exceptions to a country's laws or religious practices?
What kind of long-term economic impacts arise from forcing girls into young marriages?
What policies and investments should be implemented to protect young girls from becoming child brides?
What economic drivers and roots cause the increase of underage marriages?
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To define the word Femicide, it is an intentional killing based on the individual’s gender. It is a growing global crisis around the globe, with it affecting women in both public and private spaces. Femicide is one the most underreported crimes, resulting in multiple inaccurate measurements of the deadly fatalities and effects it has on women in the society. It is important to recognize the gender-rooted violence and discriminatory aspect of the term femicide. This term reflects the gender inequality rooted in today’s society that women around the globe face.
The UN identifies three types of femicide with one being committed by an intimate partner, two by a family member – blood relatives or family through marriage, and three by individuals outside of their intimate circle. In 2024, the UNODC reported around 84,000 women and girls being intentionally killed, with 60% of those killings done by someone in their circle – whether that be their family member or intimate partner.
Femicide is not just the result of one fatal incident, more often that not it is based on a series of violence acts and threats. A woman’s home has become one of the most dangerous places for them to be, with a large number of women being killed by an individual in their close circle; including their intimate partner or family member. This perspective brings light to the situation, highlighting awareness for an often overlooked issue. With this growing issue, governments struggle to retain record and classify killings of women and girls as “femicide”.
Regions in Africa and Asia are most affected by violence based on gender-related killings, with 22,600 killings in Africa and 17,400 in Asia in 2024 alone. However, with these numbers, it is key to highlight that femicide is a topic that heavily reaches all countries and being recognizant of the after-results of this allows governments to better navigate and provide support to victims. Crime is not gender neutral, it disproportionately affects women, whether it is through the violence itself or the reporting of the matter after-the-fact.
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How can governments redefine what falls under a “femicide” incident? How can they effectively record statistics to better measure intentional attacks against women?
What are the social implications rooted within and created by the topic of femicide?
How can countries successfully and efficiently work together in order to prevent the killings of women? How are they able to bring more awareness to this topic?
Why are some women disproportionately affected by femicide and how can governments work to decrease that risk?
Should the term femicide be linked to all killing of women and girls, regardless of the nature?
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Position papers are due on February 12, 2027 in order to be considered eligible for an award.
contact: hsmun.unwomen@gmail.com