Measures

As part of its celebration of International Women’s Day 2008, UNESCO‘s Division for Gender Equality, in collaboration with WHO, hosted the première of the documentary “Mutilation, Women’s Cries”, by the French-Gabonese association Kerciné. A UNESCO video spot to raise awareness and combat violence against women entitled “Being Fed Up” was posted online in April 2008 and is available at:http://www.unesco-ci.org/cgi-bin/media/page.cgi?g=Detailed/128.html;d=1 Hide

ILO’s International Migration Programme (MIGRANT) prepared a global policy-advice report on gender and migration for the International Conference on Gender, Migration and Development: Seizing Opportunities and Upholding Rights (ICGMD) that covered the issue of violence against women migrant workers. The conference took place in September 2008 and was organized with UNIFEM, UNICEF, Migrants Forum in Asia (MFA), and Migrant Rights International (MRI) and resulted in The Manila Call to Action and its Resolution:http://www.icgmd.info/docs/icgmd_manila_call_to_action.pdf Hide

As part of the United Nations Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Programme Network (PNI), UNICRI published the proceedings of a PNI workshop on "Eliminating violence against women: forms, strategies and tools" on the occasion of the seventeenth session of the United Nations Commission On Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (Vienna, 14 April 2008). The publication is available at the following link:http://www.unicri.it/wwk/publications/books/docs/eliminating_violence.pdf Hide

A specialized training for representatives of the Edo State NGO Coalition against Human Trafficking and NAPTIP (the Nigerian National Agency against Trafficking) has been carried out with the support of UNICRI. Hide

In 2008/2009, UNICRI is implementing a second programme to counter trafficking in human beings from Nigeria to Italy, which also includes awareness-raising campaigns and education activities. Towards this end, an agreement was signed in February 2008 between Nigerian Government and UNICRI. Hide

UN Habitat held panel discussions during Kenya’s National Youth Forum in February 2008 on preventing gender-based violence. An award ceremony was held in March 2008 in Costa Rica, as part of the “IV Safer Cities Competitions for Women and Girls - Safety and Security for Women and Girls in Cities”, with the following municipalities receiving awards: San Miguel de Tucumán, Argentina; Maipú, Chile; and Solidaridad, Mexico. Hide

DPI provided communications support for the launch of the Secretary-General’s Campaign “UNiTE to end violence against women”, on 25 February 2008, including generating awareness about the role of the United Nations in efforts to end violence against women. DPI coordinated an inter-agency communications group and produced multimedia information materials on the issue. Guidance on the campaign was disseminated to field offices to ensure that the communications campaign is prioritized. The Department’s network of UN Information Centres (UNICs), based in over 60 countries, participated in promoting the launch. DPI created a website in the official languages for the launch (www.endviolence.un.org); it issued press releases; it produced several radio stories for the campaign; and highlighted inter-agency efforts to address violence against women. The News Centre, a website for journalists worldwide, issued multiple stories which were picked up by the press. DPI provided live coverage of the launch of the campaign, along with the noon press briefing and the lunchtime panel discussion. The i-Seek Intranet site highlighted the Secretary-General’s Campaign and violence against women issues.Substantial media coverage was generated by the launch of the campaign in the international and regional press. The launch was also covered extensively by influential wire services and national media as well.Along with the broadcast network HBO, DPI co-sponsored film screenings at New York’s New School in April 2008, and included a panel discussion on sexual violence. UNTV produced several television stories that were offered to broadcasters through its series “UN in Action” and “21st Century”, including features on violence against women in Nepal, women’s rights in Rwanda and female infanticide in India. DPI’s quarterly journal UN Chronicle published a story on UNIFEM’s partnership with Avon in order to raise money to fight violence against women. Africa Renewal carried in-depth stories on violence against women focusing on Africa. More than 30 stories were also featured on the high-traffic UN News Centre website, including “Ban leads call for greater efforts to end ‘silent war’ of sexual violence in conflict” and “Time to turn commitment to ending gender-based violence into action – Migiro”. Hide

In July 2008, the Executive Committee on Peace and Security (ECPS), chaired by DPA, discussed the issue of sexual violence in conflict and Security Council Resolution 1820 (2008). it was agreed that ECPS would continue to receive regular briefings. The Under-Secretary-General of DPA sent a note to all ECPS members and relevant field presences requesting them to include a paragraph on the implementation of Security Council resolution 1820 (2008) in their reporting to the Security Council. Hide

The DPKO/DFS Policy Directive on Gender Equality in United Nations Peacekeeping Operations (November 2006) highlights DPKO/DFS obligation and commitment to address and prevent sexual and gender-based violence against women in post-conflict contexts, including sexual exploitation and abuse committed by civilian and uniformed personnel. Hide

In February 2008, DPKO/DFS sent a Code Cable to all DPKO/DFS Field Offices on improved and systematic reporting on sexual violence to the Security Council, as had been requested during the 2007 open debate on resolution 1325 (2000). A further Code Cable was sent in June 2008, following the adoption of Security Council resolution 1820 (2008). Hide