Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

OHCHR supported the development of a training course on human rights for judges and prosecutors in the Dominican Republic's Judicial Academy, also focusing on the specificities of gender-based violence and the need for proper investigation, prosecution and redress, as well as a permanent discussion group on human rights composed by judges and prosecutors within the Judicial Academy. In Kenya, OHCHR elaborated two manuals “Human Rights, Gender Based Violence, Child Protection - A trainer's Guide for UPF” for the Ugandan Police Force and a manual on Human Rights Training of Trainers' for Uganda People’s Defence Force and for the Uganda Local Defence Forces. Hide

OHCHR continued its specialised course on monitoring and investigating conflict- related sexual violence (CRSV) for human rights officers which was translated into French and delivered to the Human Rights Components of MONUSCO. Hide

OHCHR supported the formulation and implementation of laws on violence against women in accordance with international human rights standards, including in Iraq and in Panama, where the law also established the specific crime of femicide (2013). In Afghanistan, it released a report on 8 December entitled A Way to Go: An Update on Implementation of the Law on Elimination of Violence against Women in Afghanistan, in which it reported limited results in its implementation. Hide

OHCHR has initiated a study on sorcery- related violence with a focus on PNG, the findings of which will be available in 2014. Hide

OHCHR supported fact-finding missions and Commissions of Inquiry which, inter alia, look into violence against women including sexual violence in Mali, and Central African Republic. In October 2013, OHCHR, in collaboration with UN WOMEN, organised a meeting to review efforts to strengthen expertise of Commissions of Inquiry and Fact-Finding Missions in the area of sexual and gender-based violence.

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In South Sudan, OHCHR provide support to the government to establish a high-level policy panel to improve women’s access to justice including the launching of mobile-courts to speed up legal proceedings, review of the criminal justice system.

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OHCHR initiated research on how human rights mechanisms have addressed harmful gender stereotypes and wrongful gender stereotyping aimed at informing further work to promote greater attention to states obligations and promising practices. The organization also continued its support to female human rights defenders through awareness-raising on the UN framework on the protection of human rights defenders; a regional workshop in Lebanon on women human rights defenders from Egypt, Tunisia and Morocco which brought together women human rights defenders and UN country representatives, including the SRVAW; an internship for two women human rights defenders from Papua New Guinea in Nepal in order to strengthen their monitoring and documentation capacity on sorcery-related killings of women and violations against women. Hide

OHCHR supports the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, whose work during 2012 included: submission of a report on gender-related killings of women to the Human Rights Council in June 2012; submission of her report to the General Assembly on violence against women with disabilities; and official country missions to Italy, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia. Support was also provided to the Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children, whose work during 2012 included: submission of a report to the UN Human Rights Council on integrating a human rights-based approach into the prosecution of cases of human trafficking; her report to the General Assembly on the issue of trafficking in supply chains; country visits to the United Arab Emirates, Gabon and the Philippines; and an address to the UN Conference of the State Parties to the Convention on Transnational Organized Crime.OHCHR hosts the Working Group on Discrimination against women in law and in practice, which held four sessions and presented its first annual report at the 20th session of the Human Rights Council in June 2012. The Working Group conducted three country visits to Morocco, Moldova and Tunisia. OHCHR also submitted a study on violence against women and girls and disability to the same Human Rights Council session. Hide

OHCHR published a Guide on indicators for human rights which integrates indicators and methodological tools in relation to violence against women; and supported fact-finding missions to Mali and Commissions of Inquiry on Syria which, inter alia, look into violence against women including sexual violence. Hide

In Latin America, OHCHR and UN Women, together with the Spanish Federation of Human Rights Organizations and the Carlos IIII University of Madrid supported the formulation of a regional Protocol for the investigation of Femicide. The protocol will assist in strengthening national capacities to investigate, prosecute, punish and redress femicide. The Protocol will be promoted through, inter alia, regional and international human rights mechanisms. In Kosovo, OHCHR supported the development of a national action plan on Security Council resolution 1325. Hide