Support for Legislative Development

In Croatia, UNDP supported the Government with evidence and legal analysis to draft the law, which entered into force in June 2015, on the rights of victims of sexual violence during the conflict of the 1990s. “Law on Rights of Victims of Sexual Violence During the Armed Aggression on the Republic of Croatia During the Homeland War.” This is the first law in the region that provides civilian victims of sexual violence in armed conflict with a comprehensive set of reparation measures: medical and psychosocial rehabilitation, financial compensation, legal aid and symbolic acts of reparation. UNDP supports the Ministry of Veterans’ Affairs in the implementation of mechanisms assessing the eligibility criteria for the status of survivors of sexual violence in armed conflict.

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In 2013, twenty-one countries, with the support of UN Women, took the critical step in adopting laws, policies and plans that provide the authorizing environment for concrete action to be taken to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls. For example, in Bolivia, after 10 years of advocacy by the women’s movement and with the support of UN Women, the Comprehensive Law to Guarantee Women a Life Free of Violence was enacted, recognizing 16 forms of abuse, establishing new criminal offenses and making provision for comprehensive prevention and response measures. Hide

As of end 2013, 12 out of the 15 countries, where the UNFPA-UNICEF Joint Programme on Female Genital Mutilations/Cutting (FGM/C) operates, have developed a legislative framework which criminalizes FGM/C. Legislation has been recently adopted in Ethiopia, Kenya, Guinea and Guinea Bissau banning all forms of FGM/C. Hide

OHCHR supported the formulation and implementation of laws on violence against women in accordance with international human rights standards, including in Iraq and in Panama, where the law also established the specific crime of femicide (2013). In Afghanistan, it released a report on 8 December entitled A Way to Go: An Update on Implementation of the Law on Elimination of Violence against Women in Afghanistan, in which it reported limited results in its implementation. Hide

In Mexico, UNODC supported mainstreaming national and international standards into local legislation regarding prevention, punishment and eradication of violence against women. The organization also provided 6 countries in West and Central Africa, North Africa and the Middle East and the Caucasus with legislative assistance to implement the Trafficking in Persons Protocol. Hide

In partnership with UN-WOMEN and the Norwegian Embassy in Beirut, the ESCWA Centre for Women (ECW) has jointly published a flagship publication entitled “Combating Domestic violence: Policies to Empower Women in the Arab Region”, in addition to a policy brief building on the main findings of this study. Hide

UNDP supported Governments to ratify (republic of Serbia) or implement, through national legal reforms (Albania) the Istanbul Convention (The Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence).UNDP supported the development or revision of laws and constitutions, including the new Constitution in Tunisia with ground-breaking provisions to ensure women’s equality, while explicitly committing to eliminate violence against women; the Constitution of Zimbambwe which removed clauses allowing the application of gender discriminatory customary laws; changes in Criminal Legislation of Albania, increasing sanctions against perpetrators of gender-based and domestic violence; a new law in Kyrgyzstan on social and legal defense and protection from family violence, in partnership with UN Women; the Law against the Trafficking in Human Beings and its Administrative Instructions in Kosovo; revision of laws on women’s access to land rights (especially upon divorce and widowhood) as well as the law on family and marriage, in cooperation with UN Women and UNAIDS (Vietnam); Law 82 on Femicide in Panama and establishment of the Specialized Prosecutors Office on VAW and the National Committee against VAW (CONVIMU); the Domestic Violence Bill to ensure the criminalization of domestic violence in Mauritius; and the draft Family Protection Bill of the Solomon Islands. UNDP also supported the Governments of the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) and Palau in costing the implementation of laws addressing domestic violence. In Zambia, it also supported the establishment of a multi-sectoral mechanism for the implementation of the Anti GBV Act. Hide

UN Women supported new or amended anti-violence legislation in India, Maldives, Mexico, Pakistan, Sierra Leone, Uganda, and Viet Nam - on a range of forms, including sexual harassment in the workplace, domestic violence, femicide, acid violence, and sexual offences. In both Viet Nam and Uganda, elements of anti-violence legislation have been incorporated into larger Family Development and Justice, Law and Order strategies, respectively. Hide

The UNFPA-UNICEF Joint Programme on Female Genital Mutilation supported 12 out of the 15 countries, where it works, to develop a legislative framework to address this harmful practice. Such legislation has been recently adopted in Kenya, Gambia, Guinea Bissau and Somalia. Hide

OHCHR supported the formulation and implementation of laws on violence against women in accordance with international standards in Afghanistan, Timor-Leste, the Kurdistan region of Iraq and Maldives. In Papua New Guinea, following sustained advocacy by OHCHR and its UN partners, the country’s Law Reform Commission proposed a repeal of the country's sorcery act. In January 2013, at the invitation of the Verma Committee in India, OHCHR made a submission on the review of the law relating to sexual assault, elaborating significant legal and policy elements that should be taken into account to prevent, punish and redress violence against women. Hide