United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

Pursuant to resolution 18/1 of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, UNODC convened an intergovernmental expert group meeting, in Thailand, in November 2009, to develop, consistent with the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (SMR) and the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for Non-custodial Measures (the Tokyo Rules), supplementary rules specific to the treatment of women in detention and in custodial and non-custodial settings. The meeting was attended by experts from twenty-five countries and non-governmental organizations and it endorsed a set of seventy draft rules. Hide

As part of a One-UN project on violence against women, UNODC held a training course in Viet Nam to build the capacity of law enforcement officers to effectively deal with cases of domestic violence. This first train-the-trainers session focused on gender equality principles, common characteristics of domestic violence and best practices in dealing with victims, witnesses and perpetrators. Hide

UNODC convened an Intergovernmental Expert Group Meeting (IEGM) to review and update the Model Strategies and Practical Measures on the Elimination of Violence against Women in the Field of Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, adopted by the General Assembly with its resolution 52/86 in 1997. The IEGM was held in Bangkok, Thailand in March 2009. Hide

UNODC is carrying out training of law enforcement officials in Colombia and India, concentrating on investigation and punishment of trafficking in persons with a gender perspective. Regular training for military officials, including NATO, focusing particularly on trafficking for sexual exploitation is also being provided. Hide

In the Southern African region, under the framework of the United Nations Trust Fund for Human Security and in close collaboration with other UN agencies, UNODC supports activities aimed at strengthening capacity to address gender-based violence as a human rights violation, and empowering survivors, inter-alia, through training. Hide

In the Southern African region, under the framework of the United Nations Trust Fund for Human Security and in close collaboration with other UN agencies, UNODC supports several activities, including counselling and establishment of support groups for male perpetrators and potential perpetrators in order to break the cycle of violence. Hide

UNODC continued to support, and conducted research related to trafficking in persons, including on the nature of trafficking and national and regional responses to trafficking. Hide

Recent publications of UNODC included: child-friendly version of the Guidelines on Justice in Matters involving Child Victims and Witnesses of Crime (published in February 2008); Handbook for Female Prison Staff on Responding to the Specific Needs of Women Prisoners in Afghanistan (published in December 2007 in Dari). Hide

As part of a programme to assist the prison reform in Southern Sudan, UNODC has developed, together with UNMIS, a training programme to build leadership capacity within the prison service and address the circumstances of prisoners with special needs. Hide

In Rajasthan, India, UNODC contributed to an initiative together with MIT’s Poverty Action Lab, to train police officers to respond effectively to violence against women. The programme aimed at improving public perception and trust of the community as well as overall capacity of over 2000 police personnel, including police officers in four women police stations. Hide