UN Women Disowns GADA Fundraising for Women Candidates, Warns Against Misuse of Logo

UN Women Nigeria has disowned fundraising materials linked to Gender & Development Action, saying the initiative used the agency’s name and logo while seeking contributions for individual female political candidates.

The materials also carried the branding of the Women Political Participation Working Group. UN Women said that combination could create the misleading impression that the agency or the working group endorsed, sponsored or supported the fundraising and the candidates involved.

“As part of the United Nations system, UN Women is bound by the principles of impartiality, independence and political neutrality,” the agency said. It stressed that the United Nations and its entities do not endorse, campaign for, support or oppose political parties or individual candidates.

UN Women said neither it nor the WPP Working Group had authorised the use of their names, logos, branding or visual identities for political fundraising. It said GADA’s activities were not endorsed, sponsored or supported by either organisation and requested the group to cease using the branding, remove the materials from its online and offline platforms, and publish a clarification.

The agency said it continued to value partnerships with GADA and other civil society groups working to advance women’s political participation in Nigeria. It added that such cooperation must remain consistent with the impartiality, independence and political neutrality governing UN work, while its own programmes continued to promote women’s leadership and equal representation through non-partisan means.

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As part of the United Nations system, UN Women is bound by the principles of impartiality, independence and political neutrality.