PRESS RELEASE
Contact: Henry Herrera
Telephone: +1-301-801-0608
Email: info@menandboys.net
Blindness to Men and Boys Deepens UN’s Crisis of Credibility
September 30, 2026 – The UN Charter’s preamble affirms the imperative principle of “equal rights of men and women.” (1) The International Council for Men and Boys (ICMB) has documented 12 areas in which men and boys have fallen behind women, from education to premature mortality to workplace deaths, and more. (2) None of the 12 areas has a UN home. (2)
In 2010 the General Assembly created UN Women. (3) The UN convenes an annual Commission on the Status of Women, but has no equivalent for men, nor has it built an agency to address the many disparities affecting men. (2)
The establishment of UN Women has fostered a strange logic that treats gender equality as a concern of women alone. For example, the UN reported in its Gender Snapshot 2026 that equality for women is 171 years away. (4) That report tracks the gender equality targets of Sustainable Development Goal 5, all of which concern women and girls, but inexplicably sets no comparable measure for men and boys. (4)
That convoluted logic was again apparent on September 25 when the UN announced a new Digital, Innovation and AI Hub that is ostensibly “dedicated exclusively to gender equality.” (5) But in fact, the Hub is intended to only “benefit women and girls.” (5)
The launch of the Hub came as world leaders convened for the General Assembly and as the UN selects its next Secretary-General. (5)(6)
The next Secretary-General will inherit two crises:
- Financial: Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned in October 2025 of a “race to bankruptcy” unless member states pay their dues, after he cut staff from 13,809 to 11,594. (7)
- Credibility: Hillel Neuer of UN Watch reveals that the UN “became more politicized, less principled, and increasingly disconnected from its founding mission.” (7)
Against that backdrop, the UN has opened another initiative for one sex, but still offers nothing comparable for the other sex. (2)(5) That is the disconnection Neuer described.
At a minimum, ICMB urges every candidate for Secretary-General to:
- Issue a vision statement setting out how the UN will make up for 16 years of neglect of the male half of humanity.
- Identify the UN body that will lead that work.
Half the world’s population is waiting for an answer.
The International Council for Men and Boys consists of over 100 organizations around the world that are working to end the 12 sex disparities that affect men and boys worldwide. https://www.menandboys.net/
Donate to ICMB: go to: https://www.menandboys.net/donate/
Links:
- https://www.un.org/en/about-us/un-charter/preamble
- https://www.menandboys.net/un-2/
- https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/Executive%20Board/GA-Res-64-289-en-Adopted%20by%20the%20General%20Assembly%20on%202%20July%202010%20pdf.pdf
- https://news.un.org/en/story/2026/09/1168360
- https://www.unwomen.org/en/news-stories/press-release/2026/09/un-women-launches-the-digital-innovation-and-ai-hub-dedicated-exclusively-to-gender-equality
- https://c-fam.org/friday_fax/race-to-select-new-secretary-general-enters-final-lap/
- https://www.theepochtimes.com/world/new-secretary-general-needs-to-reform-un-an-organization-in-crisis-experts-say-5970655
