PX Report: For the first time, Bangladesh has taken up the Presidency of the United Nations Women (UN Women) Executive Board. Bangladesh’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Rabab Fatima has been elected unanimously as President of the UN Board for the year 2022. She earlier served as the President of UNICEF Executive Board in 2020 and as Vice President of UNDP/UNFPA/UNOPS Executive Board in 2021.The election of the five-member bureau was held in New York just the day before, which also elected the Permanent Representatives of Argentina, Ukraine, Iceland and Sierra Leone as the Vice Presidents. This UN executive board provides strategic guidance to the UN Women, the UN agency dedicated to gender equality and empowerment of women.As the president of the board, Bangladesh will be able to contribute further to the work of the UN Women. Ambassador Fatima thanked the board members for electing her and for their confidence in Bangladesh’s leadership to address the challenges that continue to affect women and girls across the globe, especially during the time of the pandemic. “There is no time to waste. We must ensure that all Covid recovery plans are gender-responsive, and that all stakeholders — public, private, NGOs — are mobilised. We also need to provide UN Women with the necessary direction and resources so that it can continue to be at the forefront of all such efforts,” she said. She assured UN Women that the new executive board will work hard to support UN Women in this challenging time.The ambassador also applauded UN Women’s remarkable contributions in advancing gender equality and the empowerment of women worldwide. Besides, she paid tribute to all staff and colleagues of UN Women globally, who have been carrying out their important work, with dedication and courage in the midst of the pandemic challenges.UN Women Executive Director Ambassador Sima Bahous welcomed the new president and said that UN Women looked forward to benefiting from her experience and wisdom.She expressed optimism that Ambassador Fatima would spearhead the bureau’s guidance to the work of UN Women.
