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On 21 June 2019 in Geneva, the International Labour Conference adopted the Violence and Harassment in the World of Work Convention (No. 190) and its accompanying Recommendation (No. 206), which are the first-ever international standards on this topic. The Conference also adopted the ILO Centenary Declaration for the Future or Work, expressing a clear commitment to a world of work that is free from violence and harassment.

The study on “Prospects for Ending Child Marriage in Africa: Implications on Legislation, Policy, Culture & Interventions” undertook mapping of the legislative frameworks in 10 countries in Africa, which is also guiding the countries in strengthening the EVAW and Child Marriage legislations.   Another important area the ESARO is supporting is the framing of bye-laws to harmonize the national laws with the customary laws in line with the international conventions.   At least in 5 countries such initiatives are ongoing, these include, Malawi, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Liberia.  

A study on “Mapping of Discrimination Faced by Women with Disabilities in ESAR” also highlighted the various forms of discrimination and violence faced by women with disabilities and will help advocacy with member states on enactment of legislation and policy in the 6 study countries of Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, South Africa, Tanzania and Zimbabwe.

Report: Regional Forum Promoting the Implementation of the Istanbul Convention in the Western Balkans and Turkey
This report presents a summary of the discussions held during the first Regional Forum on Promoting the Implementation of the Istanbul Convention in the Western Balkans and Turkey. Convened by the Government of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, UN Women, the European Union, and the Council of Europe (CoE), in partnership with European Women’s Lobby, the regional forum reviewed progress in fulfillment of the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, known as the Istanbul Convention. The forum took place within the framework of the EU-UN Women regional programme “Implementing Norms, Changing Minds". The report is available here. 

Report: Second Reginal Forum Promoting the Implementation of the Istanbul Convention in the Western Balkans and Turkey
The report presents a summary of discussions and conclusions from the Second Regional Forum Promoting the Implementation of the Istanbul Convention in the Western Balkans and Turkey. Convened by the Government of Albania, UN Women, the European Union, and the Council of Europe, the Second Regional Forum reviewed progress in ending violence against women and girls and implementing the Istanbul Convention in the region. The forum took place on 9-10 October 2019 under the framework of the EU-UN Women regional programme “Implementing Norms, Changing Minds.” The report is available here.

Throughout 2019, UNHCR has drafted and consulted on the upcoming UNHCR Policy on the Prevention, Risk Mitigation, and Response to Sexual and Gender-Based Violence, which will be launched in 2020. The Policy institutionalizes UNHCR’s work on SGBV and consolidates the progress made by UNHCR and partners to prevent, mitigate and respond to SGBV. The Policy aims at pursuing that the risk of SGBV is reduced for all persons of concern and at all survivors to access quality services in a timely and equitable manner. 

During the 28th session of the Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ) from 20-24 May 2019, UNODC co-organised two side events of relevance: firstly, “The role of technology in facilitating and addressing sex trafficking,” held together with the Government of Belarus, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and Equality Now; secondly, the “UNODC issue paper on inter linkages between trafficking in persons and marriage,” held together with the Government of Germany and the European Institute for Crime Prevention and Control (HEUNI). 

In Solomon Islands, the Regional Rights Resource Team of the Pacific Community, funded by the UN Trust Fund, is implementing a pilot project aimed at improving access to justice for women survivors of violence in the provinces of Guadalcanal and Malaita. The aim of the project is to assist the authorities of Solomon Islands in the implementation of the 2014 Family Protection Act. The Act provides for an integrated response by various government departments, for assistance to survivors of family and domestic violence, for improved access to justice and for redress for survivors of violence against women. The grantee has developed a national training curriculum and accreditation scheme to develop the capacity of selected informal justice mechanisms established in rural communities under the Family Protection Act to deliver quality services. Five capacity-building and monitoring missions at each of the 37 project sites have resulted in an increase in the number of cases reported and in discussions about domestic violence as a harmful practice. A total of 48 authorized justices have been trained. They continue to show a willingness to hold awareness-raising sessions and speak to their communities about their role and about the purpose of the Family Protection Act.

In March 2018, CEDAW adopted General recommendation No. 37 (2018) on the gender-related dimensions of disaster risk reduction in the context of climate change. The General Recommendation provides guidance to States parties on the implementation of their obligations under the Convention in relation to disaster risk reduction and climate change. The General recommendation recognises that women and girls also face a heightened risk of gender-based violence during and following disasters. In the absence of social protection schemes and in situations in which there is food insecurity combined with impunity for gender-based violence, women and girls are often exposed to sexual violence and exploitation as they attempt to gain access to food and other basic needs for family members and themselves.

On 18 September 2018, CEDAW published its inquiry report into so-called “bride kidnapping” in Kyrgyzstan. CEDAW found that women and girls suffer grave and systematic violations of their human rights due to a culture of abduction, rape and forced marriage.  In 2018 and 2019, OHCHR supported the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children, in its engagement with CEDAW for the elaboration of a General Recommendation on trafficking in women and girls in the context of global migration. The Special Rapporteur intervened in the context of CEDAW informal consultations in December 2018 and produced a written submission in the context of CEDAW Half-Day of General Discussion in February 2019.

In October 2018, the founder of the Panzi Hospital in Bukavu, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denis Mukwege, was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace for his work with women and girls who are survivors of sexual violence. The hospital helped to pioneer the Panzi Foundation model of integrated rights-based psychosocial, legal and socioeconomic support provision in one-stop centres. The Panzi Foundation, which was awarded a grant from the UN Trust Fund to enhance its services for sexual violence survivors, worked in partnership with Physicians for Human Rights, another Trust Fund grantee, to train medical, legal and psychosocial professionals on the principles underlying its model and on the collection of forensic evidence to bring the perpetrators of sexual violence to justice and obtain justice for survivors. Beginning in 2011, the Trust Fund has invested in the Programme on Sexual Violence in Conflict Zones launched by Physicians for Human Rights and is currently funding its second generation of results. Since that time, Physicians for Human Rights has trained 1,578 health-care, legal and law enforcement professionals, who have provided services to 42,162 survivors of sexual violence throughout the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Kenya.

UNODC participated in a consultation meeting for a General Recommendation by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women on trafficking in women and girls in the context of global migration in Geneva in December 2018. UNODC will be closely involved in the development of the General Recommendation, including a keynote statement during CEDAW’s 72nd session in Geneva in February 2019.

UNODC organized a number of side events in cooperation with relevant partners, including on essential services for women and girls subject to violence and on the importance of gender equality and human rights for victims of trafficking in persons, during the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice in May 2018 and the Conference to the Parties to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Crime in October 2018.

ESCWA participated in a number of side events at the sixty-second session of the Commission on the Status of Women in 2018. This included a side event with the Permanent Mission of the State of Palestine on “The Social and Economic Situation of Palestinian Women and Girls under Israeli Occupation”; a side event with the Permanent Mission of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan on “The Development of a Comprehensive Response to Address Violence against Women in Jordan” and a side event with the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Tunisia and UN Women on “The Fight against Violence against Women.”