Agencies
In Cambodia UNAIDS and partners provided technical support and guidance to the development process of the National Actions Plan to Prevent Violence Against Women, 2019-2023; conducted a Gender Assessment; and developed PEP guidelines, including for survivors of gender-based violence.
In Kenya UNAIDS provided support to National SRHR, SGBN and TB Integration Framework, which was finalised and launched in 2019.
The upcoming SGBV Policy complements the Age, Gender and Diversity (AGD) Policy (UNHCR March 2018), as a concrete measure to help accelerate progress on Sustainable Development Goals 4 and 5. The Policy outlines 10 core actions that UNHCR will take to apply an AGD approach in its work, including reaffirming UNHCR’s five Commitments to Refugee Women: 1) ensuring women and girls participate equally and meaningfully in all decision-making, community management and leadership structures, and committees of persons of concern, 2) are provided with individual registration and documentation, 3) have equal access to and control over management and provision of food, core-relief items, and cash-based interventions, 4) have equal access to economic opportunities, including decent work and quality education and health services and 5) have access to comprehensive SGBV prevention and response services.
UNHCR is involved in the development process of the implementing partner (IP) common assessment tool to ensure IPs meet minimum standards of the UN Protocol on SEA and has made progress on policy alignment to ensure a victim-centered approach guides actions and processes. UNHCR is engaged and provided substantive feedback which fed into the updated IASC Principal 4.
UNODA developed internal guidance on the inclusion of arms control components in national action plans (NAPs) on Women Peace and Security, and The United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific (UNRCPD) provided support to the revision process of Nepal’s NAP which included sexual violence and violence against women.
UNODC continues to support OHCHR and the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) in its work to develop a General Recommendation on the trafficking of women and girls in the context of global migration. As part of this, UNODC co-hosted a regional consultation for Middle East and Northern Africa in cooperation with OHCHR and UN Women in Egypt in November 2019.
In Bolivia, in cooperation with UNDP, UNODC updated the Protocol to Conduct Hearings on Precautionary Measures. In the first seminar on gender-based violence and femicide, UNODC presented ways of measuring gender-based killings of women and girls.
In Guatemala, UNODC’s support to the National Civil Police under the joint UN Global Programme on Essential Services for Women and Girls subject to Violence, resulted in a specialised criminal investigation model and protocol for violence against women cases.
In four regions of Argentina, a project led by the organization FUSA para la Salud Integral con Perspectiva de Género y Derechos Asociación Civil, funded by the UN Trust Fund, has formed an interdisciplinary workgroup to develop policy proposals and strategies to change local laws and policies on violence against women and girls with disabilities so that they adhere to international human rights standards. The organizers of the project are also engaging with and providing training for organizations that advocate for the rights of people with disabilities; thus far, 24 women and girls from such organizations have received training on the rights of women and girls with disabilities and acquired the tools necessary to share what they have learned with a wider audience. Preliminary agreements have been reached with health centres to expand the services they offer, and revised protocols are being reviewed by the ethics committees of those health centres.
The year 2020 is a pivotal year for advancing gender equality worldwide, as the global community takes stock of progress made for women’s rights since the adoption of the Beijing Platform for Action. This information note explores UN Women's upcoming actions throughout 2020 including its multigenerational campaign: “Generation Equality: Realizing Women’s Rights for an Equal Future”, Generation Equality Forums and Action Coalitions. Generation Equality and 2020 information note from ECA available here.
Almost all the countries in the ESA region have functional GBV Working Groups led by UNFPA and the PSEA Task Forces led by UN Women and the UNRCO.
To bring the global commitments to the field and to create an enabling safe, secure and equitable environment in line with the UN Secretary-Generals guidance, a Training of Trainers program on “Gender Parity” and “Prevention of Sexual Harassment, Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA)” was organized in partnership with UN Women HQ with participation by 42 participants from 12 countries in the region representing UN Women, UNPFA, UNHCR, IOM, ICAO and UNDSS in Mombasa, Kenya. Following the training at least 5 countries have replicated the training in their countries and also took initiatives to establish and strengthen the PSEA task forces.
In Burundi, UN Women supported the development of UNCT gender strategy which serves as a frame of reference for in planning process within UNS in Burundi.
WFP’s Gender Policy and Protection Policy both cover elements of addressing Gender Based Violence; both policies are supported by guidance manuals for field based staff.
UNHCR continues its commitments to proactively contribute to numerous inter-agency coordination fora and initiatives, such as the Call to Action on Protection from Gender Based Violence in Emergencies and the Gender-based Violence Area of Responsibility (GBVAoR). Likewise, UNHCR is engaged in the UN Action against Sexual Violence in Conflict and the GBV Accountability Framework, to promote system-wide accountability to SGBV.
UNHCR is also an active member in the IASC Guidelines reference group; different AOR sub-working groups; the Energy in Emergencies Advisory Group and the GBVIMS Steering Committee and sub-working groups, among others.
UNHCR actively and systematically participates in the inter-agency standing committee (IASC) gender reference group (GRG).
UNHCR is involved and co-chairs working groups that align policies and meet minimum standards including the UN SEA Working Group, the High-Level Steering Group and IASC RG2. It has maintained close cooperation with the Office of the Special Coordinator on SEA and the UN Victim’s Rights Advocate. In the last quarter of 2019, UNHCR hosted an investigators conference as the Interim Chair of the CEB Task Force on SH and representing the HC in the current IASC Champion on Protection from SEA and SH.
UNODC is the permanent coordinator and secretariat of the Inter-Agency Coordination Group on Trafficking in Persons (ICAT), established by the General Assembly. The principles of gender equality and the empowerment of women underpin the work of ICAT. For instance, in 2019, ICAT published a brief on the gender dimensions of human trafficking and UNODC coordinated the development of the ICAT submission to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) to support the development of a general recommendation on trafficking in women and girls in the context of global migration.
UNODC is part of the UN Action Against Sexual Violence in Conflict (UN Action) and has implemented projects funded by the UN Action Multi-Partner Trust Fund.