United Nations Committee
The District 13 UN Committee promotes awareness of the United Nations, its agencies and programs, and understanding of the relationship to the programs and activities of Zonta International and Zonta clubs. The committee also promotes recognition of United Nations Day (24 October), International Women’s Day (8 March) as well as activities developed by the International United Nations Committee. Furthermore, the committee promotes awareness of the Council of Europe and its programs.
The Committee communicates with clubs, district and Zonta International’s UN Committee.
Zonta International and The United Nations
Zonta International, founded in 1919, started its cooperation with UN in 1945 when UN was founded. The history tells that Zonta’s Past International President, Helvi Sipilä, became the first women Assistant Secretary-General of the UN (1972-1980). She was in charge of the first World Conference on Women in Mexico 1975 and led the work with “Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women” to a victory in 1979. Sipilä went on to spearhead the establishment of UNIFEM, now UN Women.
Today Zonta and UN interact in two ways: lobbying and advocacy work towards UN bodies, and service projects in cooperation with different UN programs. The aim is always to empower women and girls and claim gender equality. “Zonta Says NO to Violence Against Women” is an ongoing worldwide campaign since 2012.
Zonta International has general consultative status in The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), and takes part as Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) in the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) in New York every March. In open working groups Zonta worked on the Sustainable Development Goals, in particular concerning Goal 5, “Gender Equality”. These were adopted in UN General Assembly in 2015.
Since 2006, Zonta launched service projects exclusively with relevant UN organizations and provides substancial funds for UN Women and other UN bodies. Today Zonta has large projects and programs in Liberia (the fistula project), Madagascar (education for adolescent girls), Niger (delaying early marriage) and Nepal (human trafficking and unsafe migration).
Read more on Zonta International.