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In October 2011, UNODA’s Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Africa (UNREC) organised a workshop, with the UN Togo country team, to draft and support the adoption of a National Action Plan for Togo to implement UNSC Resolution 1325 (2000). Furthermore, UNREC assisted in the creation of REPSFECO-TOGO, the Togo branch of ECOWAS’ Women’s Network Working for Peace. Hide

In 2011, together with UN Women, OHCHR supported the preparation of a study on reparations for victims of conflict-related sexual violence, which will inform a guidance note on this issue to be finalized in 2012. Hide

UNFPA continued to provide support to the Kofi Annan Peace Institute in Ghana to develop capacities of grassroots women to implement Security Council resolution 1325 components in select African countries. The training curriculum on women, peace and security for the African region was developed over 2011 and will be rolled out over 2012. Hide

In June 2011, the United Nations Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific (UNRCPD) co-organised a workshop on Gun Violence in Nepal that brought together political leaders, government officials and media representatives, with significant women’s participation, to raise awareness on gender-based violence. Hide

UN Women supported the Afghanistan Ministry of Women’s Affairs to collect data on violence against women (VAW) and set up a web-based database and coding system on VAW. UN Women and UNDP supported an assessment of gender-based violence (GBV) Prevalence, Trends, Legal Recourse, Impact Focusing on Conflict and Transitional Period in ten selected districts of Terai, Nepal. GBV was found to be widely prevalent during the conflict and the transition phase. Recommendations were made to various government and development agencies and non-governmental organizations. Hide

The OHCHR continued to work closely with the SRSG on Sexual Violence in Conflict (SVC) to support her mandate through the provision of information and support in connection with country visits; support to staff fielded by the SRSG SVC for specific purposes and joint follow-up to SRSG SVC’s visit. OHCHR also provided secretariat support to Commissions of Inquiry created by the Human Rights Council. UN Women supported these Commissions by seconding a gender advisor to ensure adequate attention and treatment of violence against women, including appropriate collection and storage of evidence and protection of survivors’ confidentiality. Hide

In South Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the World Bank supports a program providing medical, psychological, and legal assistance to survivors of gender based violence (GBV) and their families, as well as community-led prevention activities. A similar project in Cote d’Ivoire is expected to run until March 2012. Both projects incorporate impact evaluation to measure the effectiveness of the interventions. Hide

In Sub-Saharan Africa, the Learning on Gender and Conflict in Africa (LOGiCA) Multi-Donor Trust Fund (totaling over US $8 million) aims to contribute to peace and security in Sub-Saharan Africa by supporting gender-sensitive activities related to insecurity and violence in conflict-affected and post-conflict countries in the region. Established in 2009, LOGiCA’s specific objectives are to: 1) increase gender-sensitive programming in Demobilization and Reintegration operations in the Great Lakes Region by better addressing the gender-specific needs of male and female ex-combatants; and 2) generate knowledge and good practice on how to address gender and conflict issues - with a focus on programs addressing Demobilization and Reintegration, sexual and gender based violence (SGBV) and male youth at-risk. LOGiCA is providing technical assistance to the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) for the operationalization of the Protocol on Prevention and Suppression of Sexual Violence against Women and Children in relation to the establishment of a special regional facility for training and sensitization of persons who handle cases of sexual violence in the Great Lakes Region. LOGiCA is currently conducting a feasibility assessment for the establishment of the Special Facility. Hide

OHCHR supported the organization of a full-day discussion on women’s rights at the 17th session of the Human Rights Council, which focused on the prevention of violence against women and conflict-related violence against women and girls. Hide

UN Women organized for community-led programming at the country level, such as in Liberia with its continued support to women’s peace huts, where women volunteers refer survivors of gender-based violence to medical, psychosocial and justice services, carry out grassroots mediation to prevent conflict, and have even investigated cases of sexual violence and referred them to police stations; the development of referral pathways for survivors in Timor-Leste, in collaboration with other UN entities, local women’s organizations, and local succo chiefs; and the organization of neighborhood safety patrols near Haiti’s IDP camps along the same routes as the women use to go to school, the market, or water pumps, in order to mark out areas for improved lighting or police presence and encourage women and girls to report any instances of gender-based violence. Hide