Inter-Agency Mechanisms and Activities

WFP attended 9 IASC meetings in 2015, in which WFP was playing a pivotal role as a member of the standing committee of the GenCap project & the co-chair of the IASC Gender Reference Group. Gender based violence is a key consideration in WFP's Policy on Humanitarian Protection (2012) that outlines the organisation's position on protection and provides a framework for implementation of its responsibilities in this regard. As part of its modus operandi, WFP seeks to implement food assistance programmes that take the interlinkages between hunger and gender-based violence into account. The objective is to ensure that programmes are safe and dignified, and to support an overall environment in which gender-based violence is reduced and the effects of violence on survivors are mitigated.  

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WFP has contributed to the development of the 2015 IASC "Guidelines for Integrating Gender Based Violence Interventions in Humanitarian Action" and is currently a member of  the IASC GBV Guidelines  Global Reference Group, which is responsbile of the global  roll out of the guidelines.

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FAO's Ethics Officer and Senior Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA) Focal Point is actively engaged in the development of inter-agency PSEA SOPs, as part of the Inter Agency Standing Committee Principals renewed commitment to end SEA in humanitarian work.

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UNHCR was actively engaged in the revision of the IASC Guidelines for integrating Gender Based Violence interventions in humanitarian settings published in 2015 and supports the roll-out of the guidelines in the field. In 2016, 11 pilot countries receive training and technical support.

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UN Women with UNIC (United Nations Information Centres) on behalf of the UN System in Cameroon in partnership with the Ministry of Women Empowerment and the Family (MINPROFF) organized the official launching ceremony of 16 days activism within UNSG’s Orange Campaign “UNiTE to End Violence against Women”, on 25 November 2015, on the theme “from peace in the Home to peace in the world, make education safe for all”. The ceremony was presided by the Minister. Discussions centred on efforts made by both the UN and Cameroon to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls, with the Minister condemning the use of women and girls as instruments of terrorism in Cameroon and Nigeria by the Boko Haram terrorist group. The UNSG’s message was read by the Acting UN Resident Coordinator, while UNIC Yaounde prepared and distributed information kits comprised of UNSG message, press releases on actions taken by UN to combat this social ill to the media and participants. The ceremony was reported on the UNIC’s website and Facebook page.

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Within the framework of UN Secretary-General’s campaign “UNiTE to End Violence against Women”, UNIC (United Nations Information Centres) Beirut, Lebanon in partnership with the Theatre Club at the Balamand University in Lebanon produced a theatre play on the issue of violence against women targeting school students - a work that was fully supported and sponsored by the Lebanese Minister of Education and Higher Education. The play, entitled “We Are All Humans”, presented real cases of violence against women within families in Lebanon through a vibrant script and a combination of gestures, songs, music and dance performed by university students. It tackles the hereditary violence against women and sheds light on physical and moral violence practiced directly or indirectly against girls in society. UNIC took part in the script drafting and the directing process to reflect the real objectives of the UNiTE campaign aiming to prevent all forms of violence against women and girls and eliminate this scourge.

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For the 16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence, UN Women led the UNiTE campaign’s global call for action to “Orange the World in 16 Days” and at least 49 countries reported “Orange the World” events and activities. The hashtag #orangeurworld was used by 13,360 users in 24,516 tweets, which reached 37.1 million followers and created 175.8 million impressions. The hashtag #16days was used by 36,422 users in 78,476 tweets, which reached 76.64 million followers and created 519.6 million impressions. This is a new record and exceeds by far last year’s numbers. UN Women’s social mobilization initiative, Say NO – UNiTE to End Violence against Women, transitioned to social media platforms and penetrated online conversations with information and digital advocacy by actively engaging over 130,000 people on Facebook and Twitter and partnered with more than 900 civil society organizations. At regional level, under the leadership of UN Women, and in close collaboration with a number of agencies, the United Nations Country Teams have mobilized governments and civil society, women's and young people organizations, people from the world of art, culture and sports, the media, the private sector, faith-based organizations, women and men from diverse backgrounds around the same cause, to end violence against women and girls. Adherents to the SG Campaign include more than 20 State institutions in Costa Rica, Colombia, Guatemala and Mexico; the States of Mexico and Morelos, and the Superior Justice Court of Chiapas (Mexico), the city of Quito (Ecuador), the Government of Almeria (Spain) and the Latin American Union of Municipalities (UIM). Regional institutions such as the Central American Parliament (PARLACEN), the OAS Inter-American Commission on Women (CIM/OAS) and the Council of Ministers of Women of Central America (COMMCA), have also joined the SG’s campaign.The Asia Pacific UNiTE secretariat widened and deepened regional partnerships, including with youth, which were critical in the unprecedented expansion of Orange Day, a Campaign initiative which reached at least half a million people across the region in 2013. Hide

In 2013, the UN Trust Fund received 2,410 applications from 145 countries, the majority of them from civil society organizations, with total funding requests of over $1.1 billion. In its 17th grant cycle, the UN Trust Fund continued engaging its inter-agency Programme Advisory Committee, at the global level, and sub-regional programme advisory committees and through its competitive process, awarded $8 million for 17 grants, covering 18 countries and territories. Sixteen civil society organizations and the Government of Antigua and Barbuda received grants that are expected to reach 2.3 million beneficiaries by 2017. In line with the UN Trust Fund’s Thematic Window on preventing and addressing violence against adolescent girls, five of these grants will focus on their specific needs.UN Trust Fund programmes are mobilizing communities in order to change beliefs, attitudes and practices that perpetuate and normalize violence. These initiatives are opening up safe spaces for girls in which they can thrive and develop their potential. They are promoting strategies to end impunity for gender-based violence in conflict situations, including by gathering evidence, strengthening prosecution systems and establishing non-judicial, truth-telling mechanisms. Through the Trust Fund’s support, grantees have made great advances in enabling the implementation of legislation that addresses all forms of violence against women and girls. In 2013 alone, the Trust Fund supported programmes that reached more than 3 million women, men, girls and boys around the world, including more than 30,000 survivors of violence. The work of the Trust Fund remains vital in closing the gap between promises and action.Given the promising results of community-based approaches and the central role of social mobilization to enact change, in the 18th grant cycle the UN Trust Fund will specifically and strategically invest in grass-roots women’s organizations and youth-led organizations, in addition to well-established civil society organizations, Governments and United Nations country teams. Programmes that engage groups facing discrimination and exclusion, such as internally displaced persons, refugees, women and girls living in conflict, post-conflict and transitional settings as well as women with disabilities, will also receive special consideration. Hide

UNICEF continued to support the work of the IASC Task Force on Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA), producing the Minimum Operating Standards on PSEA (MOS-PSEA) by UN and non-UN personnel and their accompanying guidelines. The DVD “To Serve with Pride” was also updated. Hide

OHCHR continued to work closely with the Standing Committee on Women, Peace and Security on implementation of Security Council resolution 1325 and within UN Action against Sexual Violence in Conflict and, through this network and in cooperation with all relevant UN entities, has been closely involved in the development of guidance for the operationalization of SC resolutions on conflict-related sexual violence. Hide