Feb 2008 - Sept 2008

UNIFEM, now part of UN Women, contributed to the development of national strategies and plans on gender-based violence in Afghanistan, Liberia and Ecuador.

At the request of the Government of Pakistan, IOM participated in a national consultation in July 2008, on the draft Domestic Violence Bill. IOM is working with UNIFEM and civil society organizations to review and propose amendments to the Prevention and Control of Human Trafficking Ordinance of 2002 which, at present, does not cover internal trafficking.

UNIFEM, now part of UN Women, provided legislative reform support to the Alliance on the elimination of violence against women in Pakistan; and support to the Regional Rights Training Team and UNDP in advocating for the passage of sexual and gender-based violence bills in Fiji and Vanuatu.

UNICEF country offices continued to support the development of legislation pertinent to violence against women and girls.

In collaboration with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), DAW, now part of UN Women, organized an expert group meeting on good practices in legislation on violence against women at the United Nations Office at Vienna, in May 2008. The report of the expert group meeting includes a model framework for legislation on violence against women with detailed recommendations and explanatory commentaries containing examples of good practice.

In partnership with Women Programme Centers (WPCs), UNRWA launched the “Campaign to Combat Violence Against Women”, throughout the region with events and training sessions on the sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) policy and workshops for field staff. UNRWA held workshops on domestic violence, including for Gaza staff and in the West Bank for regional staff. Protection clusters in North Lebanon were set up to train frontline staff on gender-based violence.

In 2008, UNHCR allocated an additional USD 1.5 million for prevention and response to sexual and gender-based violence. Projects include: creating a manager post on sexual and gender-based violence and community outreach teams in the Central African Republic; hiring an expert in Chad; signing agreements with implementing partners in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

ILO’s International Migration Programme (MIGRANT) prepared a global policy-advice report on gender and migration for the International Conference on Gender, Migration and Development: Seizing Opportunities and Upholding Rights (ICGMD) that covered the issue of violence against women migrant workers. The conference took place in September 2008 and was organized with UNIFEM, UNICEF, Migrants Forum in Asia (MFA), and Migrant Rights International (MRI) and resulted in The Manila Call to Action and its Resolution:http://www.icgmd.info/docs/icgmd_manila_call_to_action.pdf

OHCHR entered into a partnership with the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) in order to contribute to shaping policy in the areas of addressing violence against women, the promotion of gender equality and ensure respect of individual gender identity.

DAW, now part of UN Women, prepared reports of the Secretary-General to the sixty-third session of the General Assembly on intensification of efforts to eliminate all forms of violence against women (A/63/214), trafficking in women and girls (A/63/215), and eliminating rape and other forms of sexual violence in all their manifestations, including in conflict and related situations (A/63/216).