Measures to Address Sexual Violence in Conflict Situations

In its fifth year, the Ghent Gender-based Violence Course in humanitarian settings conducted by UNFPA in collaboration with Ghent University attracted 120 participants. The course was designed to improve knowledge, understanding, and communication skills to effectively prevent and respond to gender-based violence (GBV) in humanitarian settings, and to build capacity to coordinate multi-sectoral responses to GBV in humanitarian settings. A course curriculum has been drafted, tested, and revised over time, based on the evaluations and opinions of course team members, guest faculty, experts and the participants themselves. Hide

UNFPA supported the Global Network of Women Peacebuilders to develop capacities of grassroots women’s activists in Burundi and Nepal to enable them to monitor and advocate at the policy level on Security Council resolution 1325 implementation, with a special focus on sexual and reproductive health and gender-based violence. Workshops were held over 2011 in both these countries and results of the monitoring and advocacy initiatives were presented at a high-level meeting held in New York in October 2011, along the sidelines of the 11th anniversary of the resolution. Hide

In collaboration with ECLAC, UNFPA hosted a multi-stakeholder workshop in Santiago, Chile, in September 2011. The workshop focused on strategies for developing a Women, Peace and Security Curriculum for the Latin American and Caribbean region over 2012, with a focus on gender-based violence. 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

UNFPA continued to be a key partner in the action research programme that has been rolled out in 4 select countries on ending sexual violence against girls and that is being co-led by the Centre for Diseases control, the Clinton Global Initiative and UNICEF. Hide

The development of an e-learning course to address gender-based violence issues in humanitarian settings was developed and rolled out; the course covers a broad swath of other issues under the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) agenda. To access the e-learning course, visit: https://extranet.unfpa.org/Apps/GBVinEmergencies/index.html Hide

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. Hide

In Senegal, OHCHR was part of the national steering committee supporting the Ministry of Gender in the formulation of a national action plan on Security Council Resolution 1325. 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

In West Africa, OHCHR’s Regional Office, together with other UN entities and partners, supported the organization of a round-table of the Ministers of Women’s Affairs of the 16 ECOWAS Member States at the end of which a regional action plan was adopted. The plan has three main objectives: to improve participation of women in conflict prevention in the ECOWAS countries; to ensure effective protection of women and girls in pre-conflict, conflict and post-conflict periods; and to ensure fair participation of women and men in peace, security and reconstruction processes in post-conflict situations. Hide