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UN Women organized an international seminar on Gender Based Violence (GBV) in the Gaza Strip in September 2016 with 350 participants representing local and international actors working on GBV including governmental actors, INGOs, UN agencies, humanitarian sectors and clusters, NGOs (from the West bank and Gaza), donors and academics. During two days, participants shared current challenges and opportunities with regards to integrated response to GBV in Gaza, and exchanged national and international experiences around GBV prevention and response in humanitarian settings with the aim of developing concrete, context-specific recommendations for GBV programming in Palestine. The seminar generated very important recommendations including the need to have better inclusion of GBV prevention and response in all stages of humanitarian action in Palestine and the importance of increasing the accountability of different actors to prioritize GBV prevention and response during and after emergencies.
UNHCR deploys Senior Protection Officers (SPOs) with expertise in SGBV to UNHCR operations around the world. These UNHCR staff work for an average of six months per deployment to prioritize SGBV prevention and response at the onset of emergencies. To evaluate the deployment scheme, UNHCR developed a monitoring and evaluation (M&E) framework around a set of 47 essential actions across sectors that – when fully implemented – are deemed most effective at preventing and responding to sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) during humanitarian emergencies.
In Somalia, UNODC is implementing a project funded by UN ACTION to pilot the UNODC/WHO tool on strengthening the medico-legal response to sexual violence. Police officers were trained on criminal justice response to gender-based violence in conflict.
ESCWA is currently developing a study entitled "Women, Peace and Security: The role of institutions at times of peace and war". This study builds on previous work on the implementation of the UNSCR 1325 (2000) on Women, Peace and Security, which has protection as one of its main pillars. Within this framework, ESCWA organised in partnership with the Lebanese American University a conference on "Prioritizing Women, Peace and Security on the Arab Agenda" (8-10 August 2016), where the "Beirut Call for Action" was endorsed by experts from academia, UN agencies and Civil Societies Organizations.
The Global Study on resolution 1325 is a review of 15 years of effort on the part of Member States, Civil Society, UN agencies and the international community to implement this groundbreaking resolution and move the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda forward. The Study was led by independent expert Radhika Coomaraswamy, and was developed based on a series of regional consultations with Civil Society Organizations as well as in-depth research commissioned by leading experts in the WPS field. The Study represents the most comprehensive and updated compilation of the growing evidence that women’s empowerment contributes to the success of peace talks and the achievement of sustainable peace, accelerates economic recovery, strengthens our peace operations, improves our humanitarian assistance, and can help counter violent extremism. According to the Global Study, the main reason for the gap between the robustness of our normative frameworks and the weakness of our implementation on the ground is lack of political will, accountability and resources, and institutional and attittudinal barriers. In the last 15 years, there have been long lists of recommendations but few sticks and carrots to induce compliance, and the Global Study provides key findings and concrete recommendations for implementing 1325, and subsequent WPS resolutions, across a number of areas.
In Afghanistan, the UNSCR 1325 National Action Plan was finalized by the Directorate of Human Rights and Women’s International Affairs (DHRWIA) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) with UN Women technical and financial support. The National Action Plan was officially launched in June 2015 to effectively support the Government in meeting its obligatory responsibilities to advance the Women, Peace and Security Agenda in Afghanistan.
As a member of the Team of Experts, OHCHR supported efforts to strengthen the capacity of national rule of law and justice actors to address impunity for conflict-related sexual violence.
The "Secretary-General Guidance Note on Reparations for victims of Conflict-related Sexual Violence" was launched in June 2014 by OHCHR and UN Women. The implementation of the note has been promoted in a number of contexts and has resulted into legislative revision (Kosovo), introduction of a specific reparation programme (Moldova) and pilot assistance programmes for victims (DRC).
OHCHR advocated the adoption of laws for reparations of survivors of sexual violence and worked to strengthen capacities of national rule of law and justice actors in order to address impunity for conflict-related sexual violence. OHCHR’s Guidance Note on reparations for victims of conflict-related sexual violence was published in June 2014 during the UK Summit on Sexual Violence in Conflict. This guidance note provided policy and operational guidance for Member States, UN agencies, development actors, and civil society organizations regarding reparations for victims of conflict-related sexual violence. In 2015, OHCHR provided support to strengthen the capacity of human rights component in Mali to monitor and investigate conflict-related sexual violence. Inputs and comments were provided on legislation on sexual gender based violence in a variety of countries to ensure compliance with international norms (including in Zambia, Belarus Bolivia, Paraguay, Chile, Somali, and Papua New Guinea). As part of the Team of Experts on the Rule of Law on Sexual Violence in Conflict, OHCHR continued to provide technical advice and capacity-building assistance to national authorities in addressing accountability for conflict-related sexual violence (in Central African Republic, Colombia, Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea, Liberia, Somalia and South Sudan).
In Bosnia and Herzegovina, IOM is working with various UN, government and NGO partners to identify and address gaps in existing care, support and justice systems, and create an effective, comprehensive and standardized approach to assisting survivors of conflict-related sexual violence. The project aims to shed light on the drivers of high rates of sexual violence in conflict situations, but also how sexual violence impedes the full restoration of peace in post-conflict societies. It demonstrates the resolve of the entire UN Country Team in BiH to tackle this issue in a coordinated and systematic manner. IOM’s work in this effort is focused on the development and establishment of a comprehensive legal framework and mechanisms to enable victim-status recognition and on providing reparations for survivors of conflict-related sexual violence regardless of their gender.