United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women

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

From its Say NO to Violence against Women Campaign, UNIFEM, now part of UN Women, delivered over 5 million signatures, including from Heads of State and Ministers from 60 governments and more than 600 Parliamentarians from over 70 countries to the UN Secretary-General, on 25 November 2008, in support of his Campaign UNiTE to End Violence Against Women. Hide

UNIFEM, now part of UN Women, supported the financing of domestic violence courts with senior African judges and, gender-responsive budgeting work that resulted in the earmarking of funds for gender-justice courts and women's prisons in Venezuela. Hide

DAW, now part of UN Women, identified experts and undertook research in preparation for an expert group meeting on legislation on harmful practices. Hide

UNIFEM, now part of UN Women, in partnership with various national government, bi-lateral government (donor), non-governmental and United Nations partners, supported legal aid to women survivors in the North of Uganda; training for Rwandan women survivors on handicraft, health and financial skills; the establishment of two referral centres in Afghanistan; efforts addressing post-election rape, including the development of guidelines to prepare women’s court testimonies in Kenya. Hide