SIGBI Programme Director, Lindsay Green, urges women to sign a petition against the proposed merger of UN Women with UNFPA.
Lindsay received an email which is replicated below, and says: “This was one of the main discussions at CSW and this proposed merger was opposed by all civil society and UN Women themselves. At the time some felt it was a fait accompli but this is not the case. It would not be good for women if this went ahead.
SI are also opposed and I link their paper below. We have signed it as an organisation, but you can all add your names individually
https://www.soroptimistinternational.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/UN-Letter-062026-BDVN-v2.pdf
This is really important as quoting SI, “the proposed merger carries substantial risks for the global architecture supporting women’s rights and gender equality.”
Email from the African Women’s Development and Communication Network (FEMNET):
Dear Colleagues, Members, Partners, and Friends,
The UN80 reform process is meant to make the UN deliver better for the people it serves. We support that goal. However, the proposed merger of UN Women and UNFPA would dismantle two distinct mandates at the very moment they are most needed.
We are asking human rights, development, feminist, and women’s rights organizations around the world to sign on to a collective letter to UN Secretary-General António Guterres, calling on him to withdraw the proposed merger.
For fourteen months, UN leadership has pushed this merger without answering the one question that matters: Is dismantling two distinct mandates in this political environment really the only way to strengthen gender equality at the UN?
The evidence says no. Both the official assessment and civil society’s analysis reached the same conclusion: the merger poses a risk to donor confidence, humanitarian and development operations, and, above all, the hard-won mandates of both agencies.
A consequential, irreversible decision such as this one cannot be made without evidence, without the confidence of the Executive Boards, and without the meaningful participation of the women and girls this system exists to serve.
The Secretary-General calls himself a “feminist-in-chief.” This is the moment to hold him to it.
Please sign on to this letter by adding your organization’s name by August 12, 2026, at 12:00 p.m. EDT: https://forms.gle/YFUKTS2KhWFDACdH7
Please share this widely with your networks and with organizations and communities that would be affected by this decision.
No reform about us, without us.