Measures

UNESCO supported the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) and the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) of Vietnam to implement two recent laws, the Law on Gender Equality and the Law on Domestic Violence Prevention and Control through supporting a training programme with the provincial Departments of Education and Training on gender mainstreaming in education, including domestic violence prevention and control: supporting the Ministry of Education and Training in developing and piloting Teachers’ Training Modules on gender issues, including domestic violence: assisting the Ministry of Information and Communication to develop a training programme on gender issues and a Handbook on Gender Sensitive Reporting for journalists, including the elimination of domestic violence. Hide

UNESCO continued its activities in post-conflict countries, including activities on women’s involvement in conflict resolution, peace-building, and reconstruction through better access to information. Hide

With the support of UNESCO’s Research and Documentation Centre for Women, based in Kinshasa (the Democratic Republic of Congo), a three-day workshop on “Sociocultural Approaches to Combating Sexual and Gender-Based Violence” was organised in Kinshasa from 9 to 11 December 2010. Several stakeholders discussed about the root causes of sexual violence and the role of stakeholders to combat it. Socio-cultural messages, strategies and activities to prevent violence against women were elaborated and stakeholders to implement those were identified. Hide

Within the framework of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, UNESCO organized the following conferences and exhibitions:- ”Under the Wings of the Butterflies”;- "Voices on the rise: Afghan Women Making the News”, as well as the projection of the film "Girls on the air", both having a look into the lives of Afghan women;-“Water, women and sustainable development in Africa", organized in cooperation with the French association « Femmes de Demain » and the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF), addressing the challenges that women face and the role they play in relation to water resources management, water governance and development. Hide

ESCWA Centre for Women organized several events on 25-26 October 2010 to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the UN SCR 1325, including the launch of the publication entitled “Means to strengthen the role of women in conflict resolution and peace-building”, a round table discussion with the theme “Ten years 1325: Where are we now?”, and a workshop for Member States on drafting national action plans to impelement the UN SCR 1325. On the occasion of the International Day to Eliminate Violence Against Women and the 16 Days of Activism, ESCWA Centre for Women organized several events, including a discussion on violence against women in conflict settings in Arab countries, held on the International Human Rights Day. Hide

ESCWA Centre for Women is a member of the Steering Committee of the project Ending Violence against women through men and boys, led by Kafa and Oxfam, in Lebanon. The chief of the Centre for Women gave several interviews to the media on the topic. Hide

In Nepal, informal legal aid desks, operating in police stations, were supported by UNDP. Mobile legal aid clinics in three districts provided free legal services and information to 1524 people (80% were women). The paralegal programme, at the community level, was expanded in 2010 and the paralegal committees received training on gender-based vioelnce and justice, helping to mainstream a national awareness initiative on sexual gender-absed violence. Hide

In Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Serbia, UNDP supported the development of curricula and the training of judges, prosecutors, and law enforcement agencies on how to approach cases of sexual gender-based violence: capacity-building for monitoring trials related to sexual gender-based violence, in Bosnia and Herzegovina by targeting NGOs, and in Kyrgyzstan through the Ombudsman Institute. Hide

In Sri Lanka, UNDP’s “Equal Access to Justice” project has undertaken a series of workshops targeting community-based organizations in plantation areas, in order to strengthen the support networks for survivors of gender-based violence at the local level. In these workshops several issues related sexual gender-based and domestic violence were discussed. Hide

In Liberia, through its programme on Strengthening the Rule of Law and Administration in Liberia, UNDP supports the capacity of national institutions to address sexual gender-based violence crimes; to implement the recommendations of CEDAW and the Action Plans on SCR 1325 and the National Gender Policy to promote gender equality. The programme continued with financial and technical support to the sexual gender-based violence Crimes Unit. Hide