Please enter text for United Nations Action against Sexual Violence in Conflict UN ACTION

UN Action continued to finance the Programme Manager for the Joint Government-UN Programme on Sexual and Gender Based Violence in Liberia. The Programme Manager worked to develop management and coordination systems as well as to establish benchmarks to monitor the implementation and impact of the Joint Programme.The recruitment specialist continued to develop a roster of senior and mid-level professionals specialized on gender-based violence and who are available for rapid deployment to conflict-affected countries.The Comprehensive Strategy to Combat Sexual Violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) developed by UN Action’s Senior Adviser on Sexual Violence in MONUC, DRC, was launched by the UN and the Government of DRC in March 2009 and formally presented to the UN Security Council on 9 April 2009. The Comprehensive Strategy provides a clear framework for addressing sexual violence in the DRC. The Strategy is based on four interlocking pillars: 1) combating impunity for cases of sexual violence; 2) prevention of sexual violence; 3) security sector reform; and 4) multi-sectoral response to improve access of survivors of sexual violence to a wide range of services.In April 2009, UN Action undertook an assessment of the effectiveness of its strategic support to addressing sexual violence in the DRC. The assessment concluded that the UN Action network should continue to provide strategic support to MONUC and the UNCT to help operationalize the Comprehensive Strategy.UN Action continued to develop the Stop Rape Now website (www.stoprapenow.org). New web features were developed, including an Updates from the Field page, which showcases UN Action efforts to combat sexual violence in Liberia and the DRC. Significant support was garnered following the posting of a photo of UNIFEM Goodwill Ambassador Nicole Kidman at the StopRapeNow site. UN Action is encouraging all UN member entities to contribute photos of their respective Goodwill Ambassadors. UN Action also created a “Fans of SCR1820” page on Facebook, and a UN Action Twitter page, with links from both sites to the News hub on the StopRapeNow website. As at September 2009, there were over 1,380 fans of SCR 1820 on Facebook.As part of the StopRapeNow campaign, and in conjunction with the NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security, UN Action developed tools on Security Council Resolution 1820, including a poster, notebooks, pins and banner-pens. In order to improve collaboration with NGO partners, UN Action chaired a session on sexual violence during the Consultation with Civil Society on the Secretary-General’s UNiTE Campaign in March 2009.UN Action undertook a number of advocacy events throughout September 2009 to coincide with the presentation of Security Council resolution 1888 on sexual violence in armed conflict, which was adopted unanimously by the Security Council on 30 September 2009.Under the aegis of UN Action, WHO was spearheading efforts to develop a standardized instrument and methodology to collect data on conflict-related sexual violence. UNICEF and WHO were leading a process to develop programmatic benchmarks for measuring progress in preventing and responding to sexual violence. Hide

In December 2008, UN Action created a Multi-Donor Trust Fund to pool resources, tightening accountability for joint UN system action against sexual violence in conflict.UN Action supported the recruitment of a Programme Manager to coordinate the Joint Government-UN Programme on Sexual and Gender Based Violence in Liberia. UN Action also provided financial support to UNFPA for two UN system-wide gender-based violence coordinators in Darfur, Sudan. UN Action also provided financial support to UNFPA for the training of GENCAP (Gender Stand-by Capacity) Advisers in November 2008.UN Action hired a recruitment specialist to conduct a global search for gender-based violence programme coordinators/advisers.UN Action implemented DPKO-led research missions to UNMIL, Liberia (September 2008) and MONUC, Democratic Republic of Congo (January 2009), with the aim of finalizing and field-testing an Analytical Inventory of Responses by Peacekeeping Personnel to War-Related Violence Against Women. The Inventory catalogues examples of good practice in protecting women from sexual violence.UN Action convened an OHCHR-led high-level panel on sexual violence in December 2008, as a follow-up to the conference “Women Seeking Justice – Getting Law”, co-financed by UN Action.A range of advocacy resources on the Security Council resolution 1820 (2008) were added to the UN Action ‘Stop Rape Now’ website.In response to the use of sexual violence as a tactic of war in the context of the renewed conflict in Eastern DRC, UN Action issued and distributed a joint advocacy statement. In November 2008, UN Action organized a panel discussion on “Sexual violence against women and children in conflict” as part of the Inter-Parliamentary Union – UN Hearing, and prepared a concept note.UN Action’s Senior Adviser on Sexual Violence in MONUC, DRC, undertook a mapping exercise, in August 2008, of existing and planned activities by international actors on sexual violence; and collaborated with EUPOL to convene a “day of reflection” in November 2008 on strengthening the capacity of the Congolese National Police to prevent and respond to sexual violence.UN Action gave briefings to NGOs and to Missions on sexual violence data-collection, including proposals for more timely and reliable data, as well as benchmarks for measuring progress.UN Action convened a WHO-led experts meeting in Geneva, in December 2008, on “Sexual Violence in Conflict: Data and data-collection methodologies”. The meeting resulted in an agreed research agenda and guidance on information-collection, while providing a meaningful evidence-basis of prevalence data and trend analysis to inform effective interventions. Hide

A Senior Advisor on Sexual Violence was posted to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC).In June 2008, UN Action hired an Advocacy and Women’s Rights Specialist to lead its advocacy efforts under the banner “Stop Rape Now” (see www.stoprapenow.org).In May 2008, UN Action co-sponsored a high-level conference at Wilton Park entitled, “Women targeted or affected by armed conflict: What role for military peacekeepers?”. Government officials, military commanders, NGO representatives and other experts reviewed front-line military tactics to protect women from sexual violence in armed conflict. The outcomes were discussed, in July 2008, in a briefing for Heads of military components of peacekeeping operations.UN Action has developed a PowerPoint presentation on Security Council resolution 1820 (2008) on sexual violence in conflict, to heighten awareness of the implication of the resolution for the work of the UN system. The presentation is available at www.stoprapenow.org. In August 2008, UN Action organized a briefing in New York for NGOs around resolution 1820.UN Action has published two documents to support the UN system’s response to sexual violence in conflict settings. These are posted on UN Action’s website: - Do’s and Don’ts: Reporting and interpreting data on sexual violence from conflict-affected countries- Summary of Ethical and Safety Recommendations for researching, documenting and monitoring sexual violence in emergencies. Hide

UN Action is providing strategic and technical support to selected UN Country Teams and Peace Keeping Operations to strengthen their efforts to prevent sexual violence, protect women, respond to the needs of survivors, and ensure judicial redress. It is also training a cadre of senior GBV Coordinators.UN Action’s advocacy efforts focus on raising public awareness and outrage about rape in war, as well as generating political will from bodies such as the Security Council and Human Rights Council to address rape in war as an issue of international peace and security, and a war crime as well as gross violation of human rights. UN Action is building a knowledge hub, mapping good practices and effective responses to the needs of survivors and their communities. Hide

In February 2007, OHCHR formally joined the UN Action against Sexual Violence in Conflict. Hide