International Legal and Policy Development

DAW, now part of UN Women, prepared reports of the Secretary-General to the sixty-second session of the General Assembly on intensification of efforts to eliminate all forms of violence against women (A/62/201) and violence against women migrant workers (A/62/177); as well as reports of the Secretary-General to the fifty-second session of the Commission on the Status of Women on ending female genital mutilation (E/CN.6/2008/3) and forced marriage of the girl child (E/CN.6/2008/4).In follow–up to General Assembly resolution 61/143, DAW, in collaboration with the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UN ECE) and the United Nations Statistics Division, organized an expert group meeting on “Indicators to measure violence against women”, Geneva, Switzerland, October 2007. DAW and UNSD are supporting a joint dialogue of the Commission on the Status of Women and the Statistical Commission, on 28 February 2008, to discuss the outcomes and proposed indicators of the expert group meeting. DAW has initiated work for the development of a coordinated database on violence against women, as requested by the General Assembly (A/RES/61/143, para. 19). Hide

At the global level, UNICEF contributed extensively to the work of the General Assembly on a comprehensive policy and strategy for victims of abuse and exploitation by United Nations staff and partners. The policy, which was adopted by the General Assembly in resolution A/RES/62/214 in December 2007, explicitly notes the vulnerabilities of women and girls and seeks remedy for harm done to them. Hide

In September 2007, OHCHR provided support to the sixth session of Human Rights Council, on gender integration, where an expert panel considered ways to ensure the integration of a gender perspective into the work of the Council. During its resumed sixth session in December 2007, the Council adopted a resolution on integrating the human rights of women throughout the United Nations system in which it decided to incorporate into its programme of work as a minimum an annual full-day meeting, to discuss the human rights of women.The responsibility to provide support to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women was formally transferred to the OHCHR as of 1 January 2008. In addition to logistical and over-all support, discussions were held with the Committee on the provision of analytical assistance on specific thematic issues, such as sexual violence, honour killings, domestic violence and the implementation of Security Council resolution 1325. Hide

Within the framework of its thematic debate on ‘Aspects of violence against women that pertain directly to the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice’, the Commission, at its seventeenth session from 14-18 April 2008, considered the report of the Secretary-General on crime prevention and criminal justice responses to violence against women and girls. The Commission, in decision 17/1, requested UNODC to convene an intergovernmental group of experts, in cooperation with the institutes of the United Nations Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Programme network, the Commission on the Status of Women and the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, 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. Hide

ESCWA published in 2007 the Report on Women in the Arab region: Achievements, Obstacles and Prospects for Advancement, which reviewed the status of Arab women and their achievements in the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action, the Arab Plan of Action and the Beirut Declaration, a five year plan which includes women’s rights and violence against women among its five priority areas. Hide

In October 2007, the International Conference on the State of Safety in World Cities took place in Mexico. The Conference developed an international framework to support cities in their efforts to address issues of violence and crime, including violence against women; outlined strategies and approaches to address violence against women; and built partnerships between United Nations, and a wide spectrum of stakeholders to address urban crime and violence. Hide

DAW, now part of UN Women, conducts research and analysis and regularly prepares reports of the Secretary-General, in response to inter-governmental mandates, seeking inputs from governments and other stakeholders on progress made and obstacles encountered, and on good practices and lessons learned. Reports cover all forms of violence against women, as well as particular aspects such as trafficking in women, traditional practices harmful to women and girls, and violence against women migrant workers. DAW was responsible for the preparation, and now supports the follow-up to the Secretary-General’s in-depth study on all forms of violence against women (A/61/122/Add. 1 and Corr.1). These reports, including policy recommendations, serve as basis for discussion and action by Governments, in particular the Commission on the Status of Women and the General Assembly.DAW organizes expert group meetings on violence against women. Examples include:- Expert Group Meeting on “Elimination of all forms of discrimination and violence against the girl child”, Florence, Italy, September 2006 (in collaboration with UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre);- Expert Group Meeting on “Violence against women: a statistical overview, challenges and gaps in data collection and methodology and approaches for overcoming them”, Geneva, Switzerland, April 2005 (in collaboration with ECE and WHO);- Expert Group Meeting on “Good practices in combating and eliminating violence against women”, Vienna, Austria, May 2005 (in collaboration with UNODC);- Expert Group Meeting on “Trafficking in women and girls”, Glen Cove, USA November 2002 (in collaboration with UNODC). Hide

UNODC prepares reports for intergovernmental bodies on criminal justice aspects of violence against women. Hide

ESCWA supports the work of intergovernmental bodies, including the Arab Regional Conference Ten Years after Beijing: A Call for Peace in Beirut (2004), which resulted in the five-year work programme that includes women’s rights and violence against women among its five priority areas. In 2004, ESCWA conducted the Arab regional ten-year review and appraisal of implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action, which included attention to violence against women. ESCWA contributes to the Secretary-General’s reports on the situation of and assistance to Palestinian women, analysing the close links between increased poverty and social burdens and increased domestic violence against women. ESCWA contributed to the Secretary-General’s report on the situation of and assistance to Palestinian women (E/CN.6/2008/3). Hide

ILO’s approach to violence against migrant women is also based on the promotion of labour standards for migrant workers within a Decent Work framework. Important standards to specifically promote the protection and welfare of migrant workers, including women, are the Migration for Employment Convention (Revised) 1949 (No.97), Migrant Workers Supplementary Provisions Convention 1975, (N0.143) and the Private Employment Agencies Convention, 1997 (N0.181). Hide