Oct 2010 - Feb 2011

UNFPA in collaboration with UNIFEM and UNESCAP organised a capacity development workshop in Thailand in October 2010 aimed at helping 11 country offices in the Asia-Pacific region understand SCR 1325. This workshop also launched the Asia-Pacific technical platform on SCR 1325, the purpose of which is to provide technical assistance to countries in the region on the development of National Action Plans on SCR 1325.

Implementation continued of the multi-country programme of UNIFEM now part of UN Women on community-based peacebuilding and prevention of sexual and gender-based violence in Timor Leste, Liberia, Uganda, and Haiti. The joint programming initiative under the Inter-agency Task Force on Violence against Women works to develop the capacities of national stakeholders to achieve specific international commitments.

A guidance note “Gender-based violence and livelihood interventions:Focus on populations of humanitarian concern in the context of HIV and AIDS” has been developed and widely disseminated through the FAO/DIMITRA network(http://www.fao.org/dimitra/resources-by-theme/violence-against-women/en/).

UNFPA provided technical and funding support to the Nepal government to develop the National Action Plan on SCR 1325. UNRWA is participating in UNHCR’s (Jordan and Syria) Sexual Gender-Based Violence coordination meeting.

In Serbia, UNDP supported the development of strategies to address sexual gender-based violence and a draft document on this topic was finalized. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, strategies to address sexual gender-based violence were also developed as a part of the transitional justice strategy, which includes a focus on survivors of sexual gender-based violence from the 1992-95 armed conflict.

UNFPA has developed a draft strategy on gender-based Violence for the Latin America and Caribbean region via a workshop held in Guatemala in September 2010. The sub-regional strategy – with a focus on sexual violence – will aim to provide guidance to UNFPA country offices and partners in the region to develop a comprehensive response to addressing sexual violence.

UNDP-Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery (BCPR) has recruited an expert to contribute to the Team of Experts who will be in post as of February 2011. The Expert will undertake the technical work and deployments of the Team of Experts, whilst BCPR Rule of Law, Justice and Security team and senior management will continue to be closely engaged with the Special Representative of the Secretary General on Sexual Violence in Conflict and the Team of Experts Team Leader regarding the overall strategy and direction of the Team.

Former OSAGI, now part of UN Women, led and coordinated the preparation of the annual Report of the Secretary-General on women and peace and security (S/2010/498), which was presented to the Security Council during a Ministerial-level Open Debate (26 October 2010) to mark the tenth anniversary of the adoption of Security Council resolution 1325 (2000). The report included as an annex a set of indicators for use at the global level to track the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000).

In Nepal, UNDP has provided assistance with regard to (a) the development of a training manual and provision of five trainings on gender-based violence and gender justice (reporting, investigation and prosecution) for 125 judges and lawyers; (b) a gender-based violence assessment (on-going); (c) transitional and gender justice training of trainers programmes for civil society actors; and (d) a series of district and central level consultations on “gender-sensitive transitional justice”.

UNDP Argentina, with a view towards guaranteeing access to justice for women, including victims of violence, implemented a joint programme (with UNIFEM, UNICEF, PAHO/WHO, UNFPA, and UNIC) to develop a training protocol on gender and gender-based violence in the judiciary. 120 civil servants were trained and will continue by training others in the 24 provinces, including all judicial staff, during 2011.