To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 1 December 2009, Official Report, column 607W, what steps his Department is taking with other countries to ensure well-qualified women candidates are appointed to senior posts in (a) CEDAW and (b) the UN Agency for Women. (307089)

The UK is committed to promoting open, transparent and merit-based appointment processes for UN leadership positions. The purpose of this is to ensure that the best people are appointed to important roles such as the head of the new UN agency for women.

For elections, such as for the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women's Committee (CEDAW), our policy is always to support the best-qualified candidates.

The Department for International Development works with national women's ministries in a number of developing countries to strengthen their capacity on gender equality and their engagement in international institutions working on gender.