United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women

OSAGI, now part of UN Women, is collaborating with the Council of Europe to prepare a “Joint study on trafficking in organs and tissues, including trafficking in human beings for the purpose of removal of organs”. A second round of consultations with partners was held in October 2008 in Strasbourg. Hide

In collaboration with the United Nations International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW), OSAGI , now part of UN Women, organized a virtual dialogue on best practices in national implementation of resolution 1325, in regard to violence against women in conflict and post-conflict situations. As part of its effort to create an online training course on development of national action plans on resolution 1325 for Latin America and the Caribbean and Africa, OSAGI carried out research and analysis of gender-based violence in the relevant regions. Hide

During the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women in 2008, OSAGI, now part of UN Women, and UNFPA organized a panel discussion with the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, which reviewed 15 years (1994-2009) of work of the mandate. OSAGI coordinated the performance of a play, “MIKA”, which highlighted the far-reaching impact of violence against women and which was also performed at United Nations Headquarters in December. Hide

DAW, now part of UN Women, worked to finalize the development of the Secretary-General’s database on violence against women and the website for the database, as well as to coordinate the launch of the database. It also followed up with Member States in order to obtain further responses to the questionnaire for inclusion in the database. DAW followed up with Member States in order to obtain further responses to the questionnaire for inclusion in the database. Hide

OSAGI, now part of UN Women, prepared the annual report of the Secretary-General (S/2008/622) to the Security Council in follow-up to Security Council resolution 1325 (2000). OSAGI continued to chair the Inter-Agency Task Force on women, peace and security, which supports the full implementation of resolution 1325. The Office serviced the open debate of the Security Council on 29 October 2008 and organized side events in partnership with other United Nations entities, Member States and NGOs. A photo exhibition “A Global Crescendo: Women’s Voices from Conflict Zones” at United Nations Headquarters addressed violence against women and girls during armed conflict. Hide

UNIFEM’s, now part of UN Women, support in the formulation, reform and implementation of legislation to address violence against women and girls, in partnership with a wide range of stakeholders, included: domestic violence laws and bills in Indonesia and Thailand; a workshop for ASEAN Member States to review domestic violence legislation and best practices (October 2008); a regional workshop on coordinated community responses to domestic violence with local government representatives and civil society organizations (CSOs) (including UN Trust Fund grantees) from Central and Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States (October 2008); and a workshop on female genital mutilation/ cutting with Christian and Muslim leaders from West Africa (November 2008). Hide

The results of the 2008 grant cycle were announced on 25 November 2008, at an event with the Secretary-General and UNIFEM’s (now part of UN Women) Goodwill Ambassador, Ms. Nicole Kidman. A total of US$22 million in grants were approved, reflecting both multi-sectoral and multi-stakeholder interventions. Hide

OSAGI, now part of UN Women, participates in the work of the task force responsible for preparation of the Secretary-General’s report on Security Council resolution 1820 (2008). Hide

DAW, now part of UN Women, continued to promote and disseminate the ‘Model Framework for Legislation on Violence against Women’, including through presentations at: UNICEF’s Expert Consultation on ‘Legislative Reform to Achieve Human Rights’, held in New York, in November 2008; the Third Conference for Members of Parliamentary Committees on the Status of Women and other Committees Dealing with Gender Equality, convened by the Inter-Parliamentary Union in Geneva, in December 2008, on ‘A parliamentary response to violence against women’; the OSCE Experts’ Seminar on ‘Innovative Approaches to Combating Violence against Women’, held in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, in October 2008; and a round table discussion on domestic violence legislation in Tajikistan, held at the United Nations Office in Tajikistan in October 2008. Hide

UNIFEM, now part of UN Women, provided support to civil society and women’s organizations for initiatives including community-based Multi-purpose Centres in the Democratic Republic of Congo; HIV/AIDS and violence counselling protocols in Peru. Hide