Enhanced Capacity of UN Entity in Relation to Violence Against Women

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. In Panama, the OHCHR Regional Office led the preparation of the United Nations Country Team’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) submission, which includes a section on the situation of women in the country, including an alarming increase in cases of femicide. Hide

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. The OHCHR participated, with a resource person, in a human rights-based approach training, at the UN Staff College, for the UNCT in El Salvador, in connection with the preparation of CCA/UNDAF.Gender Advisors of OHCHR were deployed in four regional offices (Fiji, Lebanon, Panama and Senegal). In the Regional Office in Panama, for example, the role of the Gender Advisor, is to integrate gender analysis into the Office’s areas of work and to raise awareness about violence, against women. Hide

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. Hide

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 Hide

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. Hide

As part of its Investigations Learning Programme (ILP), the Investigations Division of OIOS has successfully launched a Sexual Exploitation and Abuse Basic Investigations Training Course for the various investigative entities in the UN system, such as Military Police and Special Investigations Units. Particularly applicable in the peacekeeping context, the SEA training course covers techniques and best practices in several aspects of SEA: investigations, including first response issues; interviewing for SEA cases; field investigation issues; report writing; evidence collection and forensic analysis; and applicable law, with a focus on "the SEA bulletin": ST/SGB/2003/13, Special measures for protection against sexual exploitation and sexual abuse. The course applies a multi-disciplinary approach to learning by using role playing, group work, group discussion, video reviewing and videotaping for interview exercises. Hide

In its risk assessment of Secretariat departments, offices, regional commissions and peacekeeping and political missions, OIOS identified governance and organizational arrangements as a high risk area. OIOS had conducted, in 2008, an audit of the management of the Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues (OSAGI) and the Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW) within the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA). OIOS recommended that DESA, in consultation with the Secretary-General, should consolidate OSAGI and DAW into one single programme within DESA. Hide

In October 2009, the UNAIDS Executive Director established a Task Force, comprised of a wide range of stakeholders, to advise on the development of an Operational Plan for the UNAIDS Action Framework on Women, Girls, Gender Equality and HIV, which was endorsed at the Board meeting in December 2009. The Action Framework and Operational Plan outline core responsibilities for the UN in advancing work on women, girls and HIV at all levels. Hide

UNFPA and WHO jointly hosted a meeting on “Prenatal Sex Selection for Non-Health Reasons” in June 2009 in order to build a common understanding that will lead to the issuance of a joint UN inter-agency statement on the subject. Hide

An OHCHR consultant is implementing the pilot country gender strategy aimed at mainstreaming a gender approach in all of the Office’s programming and activities, including ways to identify and analyze cases of gender-based violence and women’s rights violations. Hide