Mar 2010 - Sept 2010

In September 2010, UNFPA developed the draft of the sub-regional strategy on Gender-based Violence for Latin America and the Caribbean region via a workshop held in Guatemala.

In Panama, the OHCHR has participated in the Common Country Assessement (CCA)/UN Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) processes of Panama throughout 2010 and has an active role in the inter-agency group of gender and the SG UNITE Campaign. The OHCHR organized a human rights-based approach training in Costa Rica, highlighting, inter alia, issues related to women’s rights and violence against women.

In Gaza, West Bank, Syria, Jordan and Lebanon, UNRWA staff attended training in detecting and counselling victims of gender-based violence. The staff included nurses, midwifes, health counsellors, medical officers, education counsellors, lawyers and social workers. In West Bank, and with the support of the Birzeit University, 4 trainings took place to introduce the concepts of community protection.

UNHCR, UNICEF and UNFPA are currently implementing a Capacity Development Project on gender-based violence, funded by ECHO, which focuses on Nepal, Afghanistan and Pakistan. UNICEF focuses on Ivory Coast, CAR and Chad, and UNFPA focuses on Sudan, Occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) and Iraq. The objective is to train 63 capacity promoters, who will bolster the capacity of 360 international and national staff in the coordination of gender-based violence programming in these nine countries

The OHCHR supported the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences in strengthening partnerships with other human rights mechanisms, both special procedures and treaty bodies, particularly the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). The Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences and CEDAW held discussions on ways to strengthen cooperation in a number of areas of their work.

A UNDP global programme to support country level work is being developed to implement priority action areas including: work with local government and with traditional entities; multi-sectoral projects, especially comprehensive poverty reduction and governance projects; research on impacts, methods and baseline data; dissemination of research; support to the Secretary General’s Campaign to End Violence Against women; and work with NGOs and local campaigns to develop capacity, end recidivism and provide counseling for survivors.

Members of UNHCR’s Executive Committee prepared a draft Conclusion on the rights and protection needs of refugees with disabilities, which included the need to prevent and respond to violence against women refugees with disabilities.

In July 2010, UNODC hosted an Expert Group Meeting to review draft material for the forthcoming International Framework for Action to Implement the Smuggling of Migrants Protocol, a technical assistance tool to support States in the implementation of the Smuggling of Migrants Protocol. The draft tool recommends that the special vulnerability of smuggled migrant women to violence be borne in mind in the design, implementation and review of any measures put in place to protect women against violence.

DAW, now part of UN Women, now part of UN Women, prepared reports of the Secretary General to the sixty-fifth session of the General Assembly on intensification of efforts to eliminate all forms of violence against women (A/65/208), and trafficking in women and girls (A/65/209).On 11 March 2010, the Commission on the Status of Women held an interactive panel discussion on the theme “Unite to End Violence against Women”. A Moderator’s summary of the panel is available on the DAW website at: https://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/beijing15/ievents.html.

In June 2010, the International Labour Conference will hold the first round of discussions on a draft instrument on decent work for domestic workers, and in 2011 will discuss the standard(s) with a view to its adoption. A new standard on decent work for domestic workers will contribute to the effective abolition of child labour within domestic work and help to prevent and eliminate violence against domestic workers of any age.