This body, the first of its kind, was set up on the sidelines of the 57th session of the UN HRC. It is endowed with both normative and operational expertise.

The Advisory Council will provide an informal space for critical thought, analysis, and advice to assist the President of the HRC in mainstreaming gender equality, parity, and women's empowerment within the Council, with a view to speeding up and achieving tangible progress on the agenda and improving the lives of women and girls worldwide.

The body will also provide an opportunity for Geneva-based UN agencies and international organizations to share best practices, achievements, and challenges in gender equality and parity within their own institutions.

Speaking on the occasion, Zniber, Morocco's Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the UN Office at Geneva, stressed the need to put in place concrete measures to ensure that women are represented at the highest levels of decision-making, arguing that it is time to "move beyond the stage of celebrating the first woman to head a UN agency and ensure that women's presence at the head of an agency becomes a normal phenomenon."

 To achieve this, he believes, mentalities and policies need to change at all levels: international, regional, national, and local, which is why the first Human Rights Council President's Advisory Council on Gender Equality has been set up in Geneva.

 "The aim is to foster transformative change in dialogue, governance and inclusiveness," stressed the diplomat.

For her part, UN Women's Deputy Executive Director, Resource Management, Sustainability, and Partnerships, Kirsi Madi, expressed the UN agency's pride in being part of this Advisory Council in the person of its Executive Director, Sima Bahous, emphasizing the importance of this initiative, given the daunting challenges facing the march towards gender equality.

"Without accelerating progress towards gender equality, the international community will not be able to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 5 on gender equality, but also the entire 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,” she warned. 

The launch of this Advisory Council, at a ceremony at the Palais des Nations attended by a host of personalities and diplomats, is an opportunity to celebrate the participation of all regional groups and major UN entities in efforts to achieve gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls, said Ms. Madi, who expressed her confidence that this body will provide a solid platform for achieving the Beijing commitments, the 2030 Agenda, and the goals of the UNHRC.

The Advisory Council will include representatives of member states at the UN Office in Geneva, the UN system, and other key stakeholders. The first members invited to join this body are recognized for their extensive experience and expertise in issues relating to gender equality, parity, and women's empowerment in the multilateral system.