Jul 2007 - Jan 2008

Working in partnership with United Nations Country Teams (UNCT), DPKO Gender Advisers are also supporting national partners to develop and adopt national action plans as well as build capacity of national actors to address sexual and gender-based violence.

In December 2007, the OHCHR conducted a feasibility mission to the Democratic Republic of Congo to determine the most effective manner for contributing to ensuring accountability for crimes of sexual violence against women and the added value of its active participation in on-going or planned United Nations activities in this regard.

The OCHA Emergency Relief Coordinator went on mission to the Democratic Republic of the Congo in September 2007 and placed considerable attention on gender-based violence. He followed this up with reports to the Security Council and external media coverage. He hosted the meeting of the Executive Committee on Humanitarian Affairs on the Democratic Republic of the Congo and gender-based violence in December 2007.

OCHA is a founding member of the IASC Steering Committee for the Gender Standby Roster (GenCap) which deploys senior gender advisors to work in humanitarian situations. OCHA supported the GenCap Standby capacity to deploy nine senior gender advisers to the offices of Humanitarian Coordinators to ensure strengthened coordination on programmes to address gender-based violence in conflict and displacement. OCHA participated in inter-agency efforts to develop a standard gender-based violence incident reporting system.

DPKO Gender Advisers in peacekeeping missions support efforts to address gender-based violence within the work of mission components such as the UN Police (UNPOL), human rights, rule of law and public information, as an important part of their gender mainstreaming strategy.

DPKO Gender Advisers are making efforts to ensure that regular reports of the Secretary- General to the Security Council highlight steps taken to combat sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV). In the field, DPKO Gender Advisers are involved in advocacy, in ensuring United Nations leadership on the issue of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) as well in strengthening national and regional efforts towards combating SGBV and they are working with peacekeeping missions’ public information units, particularly radio stations.

FAO closely collaborated with the IASC Task Force on Gender and Humanitarian Assistance in mainstreaming a gender perspective in humanitarian settings and raising awareness on gender issues of humanitarian officers and policy and decision-makers. In follow-up to Security Council Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security, FAO integrated gender analysis in emergency and rehabilitation programmes and addressed the specific needs of the socio-economic groups most at risk of violence.

As part of the United Nations Country Team (UNCT) Gender Group, BONUCA contributed to the Consolidated Appeals Process (CAP) with a proposal focusing on sexual and gender-based violence. BONUCA will be part of a task force on with UNICEF, the Inter-agency Standing Committee (IASC) and the Ministry of Social Affairs and National Solidarity, on guidelines for gender-based interventions in humanitarian settings. gender-based violence in humanitarian interventions, which was put in place following a workshop, organized by UNFPA, in cooperation

In December 2007, the Under-Secretary-General of DPA drew the attention of the heads of all DPA field missions to the initiative – UN Action against Sexual Violence in Conflict, and to the Security Council’s Presidential Statement calling on the Secretary-General to include in his reporting to the Council information on violence against women and girls. He noted the Department’s commitment to the principles on which UN Action was based, and requested staff’s compliance with the Security Council’s request.

The Secretary-General’s report to the Security Council on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict (S/2007/643) of 28 October 2007, prepared by OCHA, placed considerable focus on gender-based violence in conflict and highlighted ways for all actors to strengthen their actions. The report called on states to investigate, prosecute and punish perpetrators, including the commanders under whom they serve, if the commanders failed to take measures to prevent the violations, in the case of the armed forces and the police.