Support for Policy Development

IOM signed an agreement with the Colombian Ministry of Justice in order to provide technical assistance and support in the de-centralization of the national strategic plan. Hide

Research carried out on domestic violence, with UNDP support, has contributed to policy development and promotion of women’s human rights in Mexico, Algeria, Equatorial Guinea, Jamaica, Croatia, and Belarus. In Jamaica, the findings of a research on gender-based violence were fed into the development of a national action plan, including the identification of school based initiatives and the role of the family to address gender-based violence. Hide

In July 2007, ESCAP held an expert group meeting for senior law-making officials and national machineries for women to review the concluding comments of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women and integration of the Convention in domestic law. The meeting focused, as one major issue, on strategies for policy reform in the area of violence against women, including on such issues as recognition of marital rape, mechanisms to enforce existing laws - particularly on domestic violence, and personal or religious law that condones violence against women.As part of ESCAP project to build the capacity of the Pacific Islands to adopt and implement the Stockholm Agenda for Action and the Yokohama Commitments to Combat Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Youth, a Regional Stakeholders’ Consultation and Planning Workshop for government officials and NGOs was held. The workshop was based on situational analysis studies on the commercial sexual exploitation and sexual abuse of children in the Pacific and it also addressed violence and abuse of girls and adolescents. The meeting, on 19-21 November 2007 in Suva, Fiji, was co-organized with ECPAT International and Save the Children Fiji. Hide

In collaboration with leading experts at the London School of Tropical Medicine, UNAIDS together with WHO and the Global coalition on women and AIDS developed costing estimates for integrating programmes that address violence against women into national AIDS programmes. Interventions on violence against women were included in the 2007 UNAIDS “Financial Resources Required to Achieve Universal Access to HIV Prevention, Treatment, Care and Support”.The Global Coalition on Women and AIDS has actively provided technical and financial support to regional coalitions of women leaders. The Regional Coalition of First Ladies and Women Leaders of Latin America and the Caribbean Coalition of Women Leaders are working with networks of women living with HIV in putting forward action plans and advocacy campaigns to address gender-based violence. Hide

UNICEF is working for the adoption of a comprehensive policy and strategy for victims of abuse and exploitation and supports the follow-up to Stockholm/Yokohama commitments on commercial sexual exploitation of children. In every sub-region, UNIFEM provides support to efforts to introduce and strengthen policies against gender-based violence, including domestic and sexual violence, trafficking in women and forced marriage. Hide

UNFPA supported in Morocco the development of a comprehensive strategy to address several aspects of gender-based violence, from prevention to shelters for victims. Hide

Follow-up activities to the WHO World report on violence and health, 2002, and the multi-country study, include launches in over 50 countries; national reports on violence and health; the appointment of focal points on violence in ministries of health in almost 100 countries; and the development of policies on violence against women in collaboration with regional and national partners. The Pan-American Health Organization has developed a model of laws and policies on domestic violence against women that has been validated by four countries in the region and will be implemented in 8 countries. WHO is working closely with UNICEF and other partners to follow up on the Secretary-General's study on violence against children. Hide

UNESCO collects and disseminates best practices in combating human trafficking in Africa in order to bridge the gap between knowledge and policy. Hide

In 2005, a tripartite ILO Meeting of Experts formally adopted a key framework document for promoting a rights-based strategy for migration policy, i.e. the non-binding Multilateral Framework on Labour Migration. This document provides guidance to constituents on strengthening migration policies within a normative framework, while also giving examples of good practices from around the world, including a number that address the vulnerability of migrant women workers.ILO’s SafeWork programme addresses the issue of sexual harassment and other violence at work by means of an interactive programme known as SOLVE, which is designed to assist in the development of policy and action to address psychosocial issues at the workplace. Hide

A technical cooperation project was established by ILO to address trafficking in human beings covering Albania, Moldova and the Ukraine providing assistance and guidance to ministries and relevant public services in the formulation of gender-sensitive and regulated migration policies as a key preventive strategy, while also strengthening migration and employment management capacity aimed at reducing trafficking in women. Hide