Measures

OHCHR, as a member of the Team of Experts on rule of law, supported the Team and contributed to strengthening the capacity of national rule of law and justice actors to address impunity for conflict-related sexual violence, including in DRC, Cote d’Ivoire and Somalia. Hide

In 2013, the El Salvador Protocol for the Investigation of Feminicide which was developed with the support of OHCHR was adopted by the General Prosecutor Office and has been incorporated into the regular training curriculum of Salvadorian prosecutors. OHCHR organized an expert meeting on victims and witness protection in May 2013 to contribute to the development of a related tool, with a special focus on the protection of victims of sexual and gender-based violence. Hide

In the context of the Swiss week to combat trafficking in persons, OHCHR, in cooperation with ILO, IOM and UNHCR organized an expert panel on all forms of human exploitation, including trafficking. Hide

OHCHR initiated research on how human rights mechanisms have addressed harmful gender stereotypes and wrongful gender stereotyping aimed at informing further work to promote greater attention to states obligations and promising practices. The organization also continued its support to female human rights defenders through awareness-raising on the UN framework on the protection of human rights defenders; a regional workshop in Lebanon on women human rights defenders from Egypt, Tunisia and Morocco which brought together women human rights defenders and UN country representatives, including the SRVAW; an internship for two women human rights defenders from Papua New Guinea in Nepal in order to strengthen their monitoring and documentation capacity on sorcery-related killings of women and violations against women. Hide

OHCHR continued its specialised course on monitoring and investigating conflict- related sexual violence (CRSV) for human rights officers which was translated into French and delivered to the Human Rights Components of MONUSCO. Hide

OHCHR supported fact-finding missions and Commissions of Inquiry which, inter alia, look into violence against women including sexual violence in Mali, and Central African Republic. In October 2013, OHCHR, in collaboration with UN WOMEN, organised a meeting to review efforts to strengthen expertise of Commissions of Inquiry and Fact-Finding Missions in the area of sexual and gender-based violence.

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OHCHR has initiated a study on sorcery- related violence with a focus on PNG, the findings of which will be available in 2014. Hide

During the reporting period, OHCHR, in cooperation with UN Women, convened three validation workshops for the finalization of the Model Protocol for the investigation of femicide in Latin America. The tool aims at strengthening capacities to take gender aspects into account in analyzing the crime scenes and in identifying necessary expert evidence. The Model of Protocol was also presented to the Conference of State Parties to Inter-American Convention on Violence against Women (Belém do Pará Convention) and to the General Assembly of the Ibero-American Association of Public Prosecutors (AIAMPO). The Human Rights Council, at its June 2013 session, adopted resolution 23/25 which recognized the Model Protocol as a good and promising practice (OP 19). Hide

OHCHR supported the formulation and implementation of laws on violence against women in accordance with international human rights standards, including in Iraq and in Panama, where the law also established the specific crime of femicide (2013). In Afghanistan, it released a report on 8 December entitled A Way to Go: An Update on Implementation of the Law on Elimination of Violence against Women in Afghanistan, in which it reported limited results in its implementation. Hide

UNODC conducted a situational assessment on gender-based violence to support national strategic planning efforts of Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia and Swaziland. Hide