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In Cambodia, OHCHR provided technical assistance for the drafting of a Law on Surrogacy in line with international human rights standards. 
In Ukraine, OHCHR report on conflict related violence influenced the content of   the amended the Criminal Code considered in December 2017 by the Parliament. In particular, a gender sensitive definition and the criminalization of sexual violence.
In Serbia, OHCHR provided substantive and legal advice for the drafting of and amendments to the Law on Domestic Violence and the Criminal Code.
In Honduras, OHCHR jointly with UNWomen, through technical assistance contributed to the strengthening of the definition of the crime of rape – in relation to the concept of “consent” – it also provided support for drafting a proposal on decriminalizing abortion in line with HR standards.
In Guatemala, OHCHR provided technical assistance to Congress in relation to draft bills both to support rights of women in the context of violence (such as the recently adopted reforms to the Criminal Code to prevent child marriage under 18 years) and to ensure that there are not regressions in this regard (draft bill 5272 to criminalize abortion).
In Haiti, OHCHR helped national stakeholders in identifying and addressing discriminatory laws against women for revision of the draft SGBV law in relation to the draft criminal code and criminal procedure code, in accordance with international standards. 

OHCHR  is currently engaged in the development of the UN policy on conflict-related sexual violence for peace operations. 
 In Ukraine, OHCHR jointly with UN Women led the drafting and finalisation of the UN Country Team Submission to the CEDAW Committee. It also participated in the consultations organised CSOs shadow reports to the CEDAW Committee. The Office thereby participated in the confidential briefing of the CEDAW committee, which led to the insertion of some of their recommendations in the Committee concluding observations – followed by the dissemination of the recommendations.

In 2017, OHCHR supported the elaboration by the CEDAW of General recommendation No. 35 on gender-based violence against women, updating general recommendation No. 19, including through the active participation of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women. Support was also provided for the development of global compact for safe, orderly and regular migration envisaged in the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants (A/71/1) of the General Assembly. Including during the Fifth Informal Thematic Session on “Smuggling of migrants, trafficking in persons and contemporary forms of slavery, held on 5 September 2017 in Vienna. Besides this, the SRVAW campaigned for the inclusion of the human rights aspects of possible victims of trafficking, especially women and children from among migrants and refugees, via high-level bilateral discussions.

In Mali, OHCHR training military and government officials in relation to the prevention of CRSV by Malian actors. In 2017, 446 security officials, 132 members of the civil society organizations and 89 officials of the governmental institutions were trained to address and prevent CRSV.  

In Ukraine, OHCHR documented and reported instances of CRSV, affecting women and men, both in the territory controlled by armed groups, and in Government-controlled territory. Following the release of the report in February 2017, OHCHR in Ukraine participated in 15 events to present the key findings of the report and recommendations. Overall approximately 495 people participated in these events at national and local levels from various groups – civil society, State institutions, international community. The report was instrumental to get the Government commitment to work towards addressing CRSV. OHCHR and UN Women helped the Government to develop the Strategy to prevent and address CRSV. In 2018, OHCHR and UN Women will continue joint work to integrate the developed Strategy to prevent and address CRSV into 1325 National Action Plan.

OHCHR-Guatemala provided technical assistance and closely followed up on key transitional justice cases in the country related to sexual violence committed during the armed conflict. This includes the Sepur Zarco case, in which two ex-military officials were found guilty (affirmed on appeal in July 2017), of crimes against humanity in the form of sexual violence and slavery against Q’eqchi’ women during the armed conflict and the ongoing Molina Theissen case, which involves the alleged 1981 rape of Emma Molina Theissen and the disappearance of her 14-year-old brother.

In Serbia, OHCHR organised and facilitated capacity building training sessions, including on topics of VaW and gender-based violence for Government officials. 
In Colombia, OHCHR continued to strengthen its capacity to address sexual and gender based violence in conflict-affected areas, in the context of the Peace Agreement implementation.  This included training sessions on the use of SGBV reference documents, such as the sexual violence case investigation manual and a practical guide to understanding the protocol to follow in the context of SGBV.


In the margins of CSW62 in March 2018, OHCHR organised a consultation bringing together international and regional women’s rights mechanisms to exchange experiences and practices in the protection and promotion of women’s rights. Another event was held on “Defending the Right to Life: Securing Accountability for Violence against Women and LGBTI Persons during Conflict” in support to the SR on summary extra judiciary killings.

In 2017, the WG Discrimination against women and the Special Rapporteur on VAW sent out at least 71 communications on individual cases and legislation/policies not complying with international human rights law.
In Honduras, OHCHR has been monitoring cases of domestic violence, and the protection mechanisms for victims, including through protection shelters for women and girl’s victims or survivors of gender-based violence in several cities. 
In CAR, OHCHR developed protection measures for victims of sexual violence and through engagement with key GBV actors.
In Haiti, OHCHR provided life skills trainings, psychosocial and rehabilitation activities for about 150 women in detention.
In Guatemala, 2017 OHCHR carried out monitoring on the human rights situation of women working in Guatemala’s two larges employment sectors - the textile industry (sweatshops) and agriculture – including with respect to situations of violence and a violation of labour rights. The Office also worked closely with the Ministry of Labour to address these issues, such as through joint labour inspections and the development of action protocols.
In Mali, OHCHR managed to fully establish the Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Arrangements (MARA) technical working group and strategic group that provides systematic, timely, reliable, and objective information on conflict-related sexual violence (which in Mali affects essentially women). 

In Ukraine, OHCHR is part of the UN Gender Theme Group (GTG) comprising all UN agencies and was involved in the 16-days of Activism against gender-based violence Campaign as a part of the UNSG UNiTE campaign. OHCHR also contributed to the development of the prevention of and response Plan to sexual exploitation and abuse (PSEA) released in February 2018.
In Serbia, OHCHR contributed through the UN Trust Fund to support, jointly with UNW, a local NGO projects to combat violence against women living with disabilities in closed institutions.
In Honduras, in the framework of the 16 Days of Activism OHCHR was involved on advocacy campaigns to raise awareness about the impact of gender based violence on women human rights defenders.
In Haiti, OHCHR provided support to the chair of the PSEA Task Force (DSRSG) with substantial information continued working towards the prevention of sexual abuses and exploitation.

In Kosovo, OHCHR and technical partners provided key support services for survivors of gender based violence, including psychosocial counselling and psychotherapeutic services, legal aid and access to economic empowerment programs, benefitting more than 200 women in 2016. After a successful advocacy initiative involving OHCHR, North Mitrovica municipality allocated premises for a shelter for survivors of gender based violence. OHCHR further provided necessary equipment and furniture for the shelter and will organize capacity building of relevant staff who will work with survivors in the shelter.  Moreover, OHCHR ensured sustainability of support services in 2017 and 2018 through technical support to a partner CSO in drafting a project proposal which was recently approved for funding by the EU.

The UNiTE Group for the Americas and the Caribbean, including 9 agencies -PAHO, UNDP, OHCHR, UNICEF, UNFPA, UNHCR, ECLAC, WFP and UN Women- and the IDB and the OAS, developed 12 Key Messages to Eradicate Violence Against Women and Girls in Latin America and the Caribbean. This unprecedented effort led by UN Women, systematized the lessons learned from all the publications and knowledge produced in the context of the UNiTE Campaign in the last 7 years. These messages were launched in the framework of the Regional Conference on Women in Latin America and the Caribbean, which took place in Montevideo in October of 2016. Thereafter, the messages were the basis for the celebrations of November 25th at regional and country level.

In Kosovo, OHCHR conducted research on potential conflict related SGBV (Sexual and Gender Based Violence) survivors among non-majority communities in Kosovo. The research included desk review of all relevant documents, meetings and interviews with all stakeholders that might possess information including governmental entities, victim associations, international organizations and religious communities. It enabled access to information about 51 potential non-majority survivors. The follow-up consist in contacting survivors and facilitating verification of status and subsequent access to reparation programs.