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WHO held an expert meeting on primary prevention of intimate partner violence and sexual violence on 2-3 May in Geneva (report and background paper available in the WHO website). Hide

Local stakeholders from government agencies, civil society and service provider organizations are trained with the support of IOM to offer an enhanced assistance for trafficked victims and prosecute traffickers. Since February 2008, IOM has conducted specialized training and capacity building workshops in a number of cities in Pakistan to sensitize a variety of actors on human trafficking, emphasizing the different dimensions of violence against women. IOM signed an agreement with the Colombian Ministry of Justice in order to develop counter-trafficking activities in the areas of technical assistance and support in the de-centralization of the national strategic plan. Hide

DAW, now part of UN Women, prepared reports of the Secretary-General to the sixty-second session of the General Assembly on intensification of efforts to eliminate all forms of violence against women (A/62/201) and violence against women migrant workers (A/62/177); as well as reports of the Secretary-General to the fifty-second session of the Commission on the Status of Women on ending female genital mutilation (E/CN.6/2008/3) and forced marriage of the girl child (E/CN.6/2008/4).In follow–up to General Assembly resolution 61/143, DAW, in collaboration with the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UN ECE) and the United Nations Statistics Division, organized an expert group meeting on “Indicators to measure violence against women”, Geneva, Switzerland, October 2007. DAW and UNSD are supporting a joint dialogue of the Commission on the Status of Women and the Statistical Commission, on 28 February 2008, to discuss the outcomes and proposed indicators of the expert group meeting. DAW has initiated work for the development of a coordinated database on violence against women, as requested by the General Assembly (A/RES/61/143, para. 19). Hide

In September 2007, OHCHR provided support to the sixth session of Human Rights Council, on gender integration, where an expert panel considered ways to ensure the integration of a gender perspective into the work of the Council. During its resumed sixth session in December 2007, the Council adopted a resolution on integrating the human rights of women throughout the United Nations system in which it decided to incorporate into its programme of work as a minimum an annual full-day meeting, to discuss the human rights of women.The responsibility to provide support to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women was formally transferred to the OHCHR as of 1 January 2008. In addition to logistical and over-all support, discussions were held with the Committee on the provision of analytical assistance on specific thematic issues, such as sexual violence, honour killings, domestic violence and the implementation of Security Council resolution 1325. Hide

At the global level, UNICEF contributed extensively to the work of the General Assembly on a comprehensive policy and strategy for victims of abuse and exploitation by United Nations staff and partners. The policy, which was adopted by the General Assembly in resolution A/RES/62/214 in December 2007, explicitly notes the vulnerabilities of women and girls and seeks remedy for harm done to them. Hide

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. The report also called on humanitarian actors to strengthen and better coordinate their work. Hide

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. Hide

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 Hide

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. Hide

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. They have also supported national organizations to spearhead campaigns on SGBV. Hide