India beats China to win crucial election to UN commission on women

India has been selected as a member of the UN Commission on the Status of Women, the principal global body focussed on gender equality and women empowerment.

The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) is a functional commission of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).

The 54-member ECOSOC held its first plenary meeting of 2021 session, wherein it contested elections for two seats in the Asia-Pacific States category. The members included Afghanistan, India and China.

Afghanistan, which was led by Ambassador Adela Raz at the UN, garnered 39 votes and India received 38 votes of the 54 ballots cast.

China, a permanent member of the UN Security Council, got only 27 votes and could not even cross the half-way mark and failed to get the required majority of 28 votes.

India and Afghanistan will join Argentina, Austria, Dominican Republic, Israel, Latvia, Nigeria, Turkey and Zambia, which were elected by acclamation, to the Commission on the Status of Women for a four-year term beginning from 2021–2025.

Former UN Assistant Secretary-General and Deputy Executive Director of UN Women Lakshmi Puri congratulated the Indian Mission and Ambassador Tirumurti on the election win.

"Victory Earned! #CSW is an important normsetting organ for #Gender #Equality & #WomenEmpowerment & #India has made a significant contribution to evolving global women's human rights standards in UN including #SDG5 in Agenda 2030!," she tweeted, referring to the Sustainable Development Goal of achieving gender equality and empower all women and girls.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.