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Within the framework of UN Secretary-General’s campaign “UNiTE to End Violence against Women”, UNIC (United Nations Information Centres) Beirut, Lebanon in partnership with the Theatre Club at the Balamand University in Lebanon produced a theatre play on the issue of violence against women targeting school students - a work that was fully supported and sponsored by the Lebanese Minister of Education and Higher Education. The play, entitled “We Are All Humans”, presented real cases of violence against women within families in Lebanon through a vibrant script and a combination of gestures, songs, music and dance performed by university students. It tackles the hereditary violence against women and sheds light on physical and moral violence practiced directly or indirectly against girls in society. UNIC took part in the script drafting and the directing process to reflect the real objectives of the UNiTE campaign aiming to prevent all forms of violence against women and girls and eliminate this scourge.

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UN Women with UNIC (United Nations Information Centres) on behalf of the UN System in Cameroon in partnership with the Ministry of Women Empowerment and the Family (MINPROFF) organized the official launching ceremony of 16 days activism within UNSG’s Orange Campaign “UNiTE to End Violence against Women”, on 25 November 2015, on the theme “from peace in the Home to peace in the world, make education safe for all”. The ceremony was presided by the Minister. Discussions centred on efforts made by both the UN and Cameroon to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls, with the Minister condemning the use of women and girls as instruments of terrorism in Cameroon and Nigeria by the Boko Haram terrorist group. The UNSG’s message was read by the Acting UN Resident Coordinator, while UNIC Yaounde prepared and distributed information kits comprised of UNSG message, press releases on actions taken by UN to combat this social ill to the media and participants. The ceremony was reported on the UNIC’s website and Facebook page.

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In 2014, Inter-Agency Network on Women and Gender Equality provided briefings and updates on the Secretary General's UNiTE Campaign during the 13th and 14th annual sessions of the IANWGE as well as inputs from participating agencies for the final report to the Campaign’s High Level Steering Committee.

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In March 2015, the United Nations Secretary-General’s campaign UNiTE to End Violence against Women (UNiTE) launched its call to action for the 16 Days of Activism,  ‘Orange the World: End Violence against Women and Girls’. The theme of prevention of violence against women and girls was selected as a focus to provide opportunities to highlight the need for greater investment in ending violence against women and girls at global, regional and country level in the particular context of the new SDG framework with a focus on prevention as a long term solution.

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WHO is  one of the 13 UN entities of UN Action, leading knowledge pillar by contributing to improved evidence for understanding the scale of sexual violence in conflict and how to respond effectively. In 2015, WHO together with UNODC published a toolkit on 'strengthening the medico-legal response to sexual violence', which aims to support service provision and coordination in low-resource settings, available in English and French. It is being field tested in several countries with the aim of improving coordination across the multiple stakeholders involved.

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For the 16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence, UN Women led the UNiTE campaign’s global call for action to “Orange the World in 16 Days” and at least 49 countries reported “Orange the World” events and activities. The hashtag #orangeurworld was used by 13,360 users in 24,516 tweets, which reached 37.1 million followers and created 175.8 million impressions. The hashtag #16days was used by 36,422 users in 78,476 tweets, which reached 76.64 million followers and created 519.6 million impressions. This is a new record and exceeds by far last year’s numbers. UN Women’s social mobilization initiative, Say NO – UNiTE to End Violence against Women, transitioned to social media platforms and penetrated online conversations with information and digital advocacy by actively engaging over 130,000 people on Facebook and Twitter and partnered with more than 900 civil society organizations. At regional level, under the leadership of UN Women, and in close collaboration with a number of agencies, the United Nations Country Teams have mobilized governments and civil society, women's and young people organizations, people from the world of art, culture and sports, the media, the private sector, faith-based organizations, women and men from diverse backgrounds around the same cause, to end violence against women and girls. Adherents to the SG Campaign include more than 20 State institutions in Costa Rica, Colombia, Guatemala and Mexico; the States of Mexico and Morelos, and the Superior Justice Court of Chiapas (Mexico), the city of Quito (Ecuador), the Government of Almeria (Spain) and the Latin American Union of Municipalities (UIM). Regional institutions such as the Central American Parliament (PARLACEN), the OAS Inter-American Commission on Women (CIM/OAS) and the Council of Ministers of Women of Central America (COMMCA), have also joined the SG’s campaign.The Asia Pacific UNiTE secretariat widened and deepened regional partnerships, including with youth, which were critical in the unprecedented expansion of Orange Day, a Campaign initiative which reached at least half a million people across the region in 2013. Hide

OHCHR continued to work closely with the Standing Committee on Women, Peace and Security on implementation of Security Council resolution 1325 and within UN Action against Sexual Violence in Conflict and, through this network and in cooperation with all relevant UN entities, has been closely involved in the development of guidance for the operationalization of SC resolutions on conflict-related sexual violence. Hide

The campaign was successfully rolled out in the Caribbean in October 2010 and in Asia in November 2010, with a launch in the Pacific expected in early 2011. In the Middle East a number of activities are being implemented under the leadership of ESCWA. Regional Secretariats for UNiTE Latin America and Caribbean, UNiTE Africa and UNiTE Asia are implementing regional and national interagency work plans. At the national level, many Resident Coordinators are leading their country teams in the further development of the campaign’s activities at the national level. From Bridgetown to Addis, from Uruguay to Lebanon various campaigning activities focused on building partnerships, raising the visibility of the campaign’s concerns and solutions and social mobilization, including concerts, exhibitions, media outreach and expert discussions. In Mexico, UNiTE Latin America organized a concert with performances by Costa Rican singer Debi Nova, Palestinian Hip Hop group G-Town, and Mexican rock singer Pambo. In Uganda, the Department of Peace and Security, with other UN partners, mounted a photo exhibition on violence against women and girls in conflict and post-conflict situations.At regional and national levels, the campaign has engaged in consultations with a large number of civil society organizations in order to develop strategies and campaigning activities. As a result, UNiTE is being used as an umbrella for activities of civil society and community organizations. For example, in Tajikistan twenty four world champions of the National Federation of Taekwondo and Kickboxing serve as a network of local advocates to prevent violence and discrimination against women and girls. The Federation has already talked to a military unit about violence in the family and the role of men in harmonizing family relations. The UNiTE Secretariat has developed strategic partnerships with:• An award winning media campaign Bell Bajao (Ring the Bell), developed by Breakthrough, an international organization, involving men and boys to transform public attitudes about violence against women and girls. The UNiTE Campaign aims to utilize this partnership to further engage members of the Secretary-General’s Network of Men Leaders. The UN Secretary-General has recorded a public service announcement as the inaugural “champion” of the Bell Bajao Global campaign and this new partnership that was announced at the Clinton Global Initiative.• Together for Girls, an initiative to end sexual violence against adolescent girls that is comprised of the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, the US Department of State’s Office Global Women’s Issues, the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention, UNICEF, UNAIDS, UNFPA, UNIFEM (part of UN Women), the Nduna Foundation, BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company), and Grupo ABC of Brazil. Partnership efforts focus on three pillars: conducting national surveys on the magnitude and impact of sexual violence, supporting a plan of action at the country level and launching communications and public awareness campaigns. The UNiTE Campaign will aim to link UNiTE’s relevant national activities with this global partnership.• Religions for Peace, the largest international coalition of representatives from the world’s great religions dedicated to promoting peace, which will focus on the engagement of religious leaders in the Secretary-General’s Network of Men Leaders.The UNiTE campaign continues to work through the Secretary-General’s Network of Men Leaders.The Network currently has 15 members and the UNiTE Campaign aims to enlist up to 100 new members by the end of 2011. In August 2010 members of the Network issued a petition to call on the African Union, its regional bodies and Member States to take urgent action to end the endemic violence faced by women and girls across the continent, especially in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Paulo Coelho, Brazilian author, also supports the campaign through several mediums. In an interview in December 2010 he said about the Network: "Men should be more aware of the problems women face…Unfortunately, in our world controlled by men, awareness is too low. Things have to change and what’s better for that than the UN, a global, non-profit organization that promotes peace and a better life for human beings. That’s why I’m part of this group and again, I’m proud to be part of it." On 23 November, 2010, during the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, the UNiTE Campaign organized two events - a Breakfast with Secretary-General and the corporate sector and the UN Official Observance ceremony, both attended by the Secretary-General. The preparations were led by the former Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues, now UN Women, which is the Secretariat for the UNiTE Campaign, in close collaboration with DPI, UNFPA, UNiTE Latin America and Caribbean component, UN Trust Fund to Eliminate Violence against Women and UN Women. The focus on the theme Leadership of the Corporate Sector in Ending Violence against Women and Girls has provided the UNiTE Campaign with an opportunity to establish a dialogue with corporate leaders about the engagement of the business sector with the campaign.In December 2011, the UN Federal Credit Union (UNFCU) joined the UNiTE Campaign in its fundraising efforts to achieve the $100M for the UN Trust Fund and raised a total of over 11,000 USD.The Say NO– UNiTE to End Violence against Women social mobilization platform has recorded more than 1.8 million actions in one year, having a network of nearly 29,000 people on social media and 382 civil society partners.Former UNIFEM (now part of UN Women) continued to play a key role in the coordination and roll out of the regional chapters of the Secretary-General’s UNiTE Campaign in Africa, East and South East Asia, Asia-Pacific and the Caribbean. UNFPA is a key supporter of the SG’s Campaign “UNiTE to End Violence against Women” and has provided technical and financial support to roll out the Campaign at the regional and country levels. Hide

ECLAC continued participation to the regional inter-agency working group responsible for the regional implementation of the Secretary General’s campaign to eliminate all forms of violence against women, through:a) Contribution to the preparations of the Caribbean campaign,launched in Barbados on 11-12 October 2010.b) Contribution to the Inter-agency work programme 2011-2015 in LAC.c) Participation in the annual Inter-agency meeting to be held in Panama on 7-8 February 2011. Hide

The UN Action Secretariat organized the consultative process with the NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security and Member States and drafted the Secretary-General’s 2nd report on the implementation of Security Council Resolutions 1820 and 1888.The UN Action Secretariat worked with UN Women to organize the consultative process and drafting of the Paper for the Secretary General’s Policy Committee on Conflict-Related Sexual Violence. The Secretary General’s Policy Committee decisions included the preparation of guidance notes by the Office of the Special Representative to the Secretary General on Sexual Violence in Conflict on monitoring, analysis and reporting arrangements for conflict-related sexual violence ; the development of early-warning indicators of spikes in sexual violence by UN Action; the engagement of the Special Representative of the Secretary General on Sexual Violence in Conflict and senior UN officials in dialogue with parties to armed conflict to elicit protection commitments to prevent and address sexual violence, and implementation of these commitments will be monitored as part of the application of listing and delisting criteria; the development of new guidance by UN Women, OHCHR, and other UN entities, on reparations for victims of conflict-related sexual violence.From 28 September to 6 October, Margot Wallström, the Special Representative of the Secretary General on Sexual Violence in Conflict and Chair of the UN Action network, visited Walikale in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo to investigate the use of sexual violence as a tactic of war in this conflict, particularly with regard to the mass rapes of late August 2010. The Special Representative of the Secretary General briefed the Security Council on her return. Ms. Wallström also visited Bosnia from 22-25 November to meet with survivors of sexual violence from the conflict of the early 1990s and hear about their experiences in accessing justice and reparations. Her visit shone a spotlight on issues of impunity in the aftermath of the conflict in the region.The UN Action Secretariat has translated Addressing Conflict-Related Sexual Violence: An Analytical Inventory of Peacekeeping Practice into French and Spanish for distribution to peacekeeping training centers.UN Action continues to pursue its advocacy campaign using a variety of communications efforts, including the Stop Rape Now website.Active involvement of former UNIFEM now part of UN Women continued in the work of the UN Action against Sexual Violence in Conflict, most especially in the areas of mediation, trainings for peacekeeping, reparations for survivors, and advocacy. As a key member of UN Action as well as co-chair of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee on Sexual Violence in Conflict, UNFPA is actively involved in addressing issues of sexual violence in conflict via ongoing programmatic interventions in countries that are in conflict, post-conflict and humanitarian settings.In the past six months UN Action’s Multi-Donor Trust Fund has provided funding for the following projects:• A series of meetings among several stakeholders in Bosnia to discuss obstacles to Bosnian women’s participation in accountability mechanisms for incidences of sexual violence, spearheaded by UNFPA.• A technical meeting on responding to the psychosocial and mental health needs of sexual violence survivors, led by WHO.• The development of a guidance note and trainings for mediators on issues of sexual violence, spearheaded by DPA.• A new two-year post within DPKO to work on the full implementation of Security Council Resolutions 1820, 1888 and 1960.As part of its work with UN Action, WHO, with US Center for Disease Control (CDC), is developing two survey instruments for measuring conflict related sexual violence and to understand men's motivations, risk factors and perpetration of such violence. Hide