International Law and Policy

As part of its triple mandate, UN Women has continued to support the development of global normative standards and the full implementation by Member States to of the existing international and regional legal and policy framework on ending violence against women and girls, including the CEDAW Convention and other international and regional human rights treaties, and relevant resolutions of the General Assembly and Human Rights Council, through its operational functions and UN system coordination and broader convening role on EVAWG.  

UNFPA plays a crucial role in supporting international legal and policy development on GBV through its active contribution to global frameworks, advocacy for key resolutions, and provision of technical expertise to shape international policies. 

Key Contributions and Global Frameworks 

At the global policy level, FAO supports the Call-to-Action on Protection from GBV in Emergencies initiatives and is implementing the commitments towards gender equality and the reduction of GBV made in 2015 by the Committee on World Food Security Framework for Action for Food Security and Nutrition in Protracted Crises. 

UNODC supported the 30th Session of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (May 2023), which recommended that Member States should strengthen multidisciplinary and coordinated crime prevention and criminal justice responses to gender-based violence and gender related killing of women and girls, including through in-depth reviews of cases, and exploration of the possibility of establishing domestic homicide and violent death review committees.

At the global policy level, FAO supports the Call-to-Action on Protection from GBV in Emergencies initiatives and is implementing the commitments towards gender equality and the reduction of GBV made in 2015 by the Committee on World Food Security Framework for Action for Food Security and Nutrition in Protracted Crises.

In 2024, the CEDAW Committee adopted its General recommendation No. 40 on the equal and inclusive representation of women in decision-making systems, which highlights achieving 50:50 gender parity across all sectors as pivotal in addressing the root causes of gender-based violence. 

Women human rights defenders have long been at the forefront of efforts to combat violence against women and girls globally, often at great personal risk. Spotlight programmes have worked to support their effort including in Latin America (through the Initiative’s Latin America Regional Programme).

ESCWA participated in several side events at the 65th session of the Commission on the Status of Women in 2021. This included: