Gender Caucus

The Gender Caucus, taking place on 9-16 May, is a space for advancing gender equality within the implementation of the Convention. It focuses on the four priorities for action of the Gender Action Plan, which was adopted by Parties at COP13: 

• Women’s participation in decisions taken during the design, planning, implementation and evaluation of initiatives to implement the UNCCD
• Integrating women’s economic empowerment in UNCCD implementation activities to eradicate their extreme poverty
• Strengthening women’s land rights and access to resources 
• Enhancing women’s access to improved knowledge and technologies that relate to effective UNCCD implementation

The Gender Caucus will bring together world leaders, ministers, the Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations Amina Mohammed, the first female President of Finland Tarja Halonen who is also a UNCCD Land Ambassador and the First Lady of Côte d’Ivoire Dominique Ouattara, to consider the differentiated impacts of land degradation on women and men. The high level event on 9 May will be followed by two additional sessions on 13 and 16 May, as well as an exhibition on women led solutions to combat desertification, land degradation and drought.