United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) UNIFEM Currents: UNIFEM's Electronic Newsletter
 

August 2009 – In This Issue:

Colloquium on Conflict-Related Sexual Violence and Peace Negotiations: Implementing SCR 1820

Anne-Marie Goetz, Chief Adviser of UNIFEM's Governance, Peace and Security Section, addresses press conference on sexual violence on 24 June. UN Photo/Sophie Paris“If sexual violence is not fully addressed in ceasefires and peace processes, there will be no peace for women,” said former UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Jan Egeland at a high-level UN colloquium on peace negotiations in New York on 22-24 June. The colloquium brought together eminent mediators, experts and women’s rights advocates to discuss one of the most neglected aspects of conflict resolution: how to address conflict-related sexual violence in peace processes and peace accords.

At the meeting, held to coincide with the first anniversary of UN Security Council resolution 1820 on sexual violence as a tactic of warfare, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon underscored the need for the issue to be addressed early and comprehensively: “Our first priority must be to include women in peace talks as full and equal partners. If we do not — if we ignore sexual crimes — we trample on the principles of accountability, reconciliation and peace. We fail not just women but all people.”

In recent decades, sexual violence in conflict has increased in scale, organization and brutality around the world. It has been used as a tactic of warfare by armed groups and, in some cases, organized by commanders as a means of terrorizing communities, forcing population flight and supporting genocidal policies. This has been seen in conflicts ranging from the Balkans to the Democratic Republic of the Congo; from Liberia to Colombia; Timor-Leste to Haiti. According to former UN Force Commander Major General Patrick Cammaert, “It has probably become more dangerous to be a woman than a soldier in armed conflict.”

Failure to address sexual violence in peace talks is increasingly linked to the subsequent elevated levels of peacetime rape committed by demobilized fighters and ordinary civilians. “Sexual violence thrives on impunity," UNIFEM Executive Director Inés Alberdi said. "If peace processes do not clearly signal that sexual violence is a prohibited feature of fighting, if prosecutions do not immediately prioritize trials of perpetrators, and if perpetrators move into government and army leadership positions, a climate of impunity is created.”

Peace processes are an entry point to break this cycle of violence and impunity. Peace talks can set in place plans for the future: for judicial responses to sexual violence, for reparations, for a new order of respect for women. At the high-level colloquium, participants generated a few key principles for mediators and negotiating parties to ensure that peace agreements are consistent with UN Security Council resolutions 1820 and 1325. These included:

  • Pre-ceasefire negotiations, including humanitarian access agreements, to address sexual violence;
  • Ceasefires to prohibit and monitor for sexual violence;
  • Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR), and Security Sector Reform (SSR) to prevent sexual violence and ensure women’s security;
  • Justice processes to ensure that issues of sexual violence are addressed with equal priority to other international crimes; and
  • Peace agreements to specify sexual violence victims as reparations beneficiaries, and to address their socio-economic needs in recovery and development frameworks.

The key principles are to be developed into an operational guidance note, along the lines of those that exist for other aspects of peace processes. Also planned is the publication of research papers commissioned by UNIFEM, including analyses of statistics relating to peace agreements.

On 24 June, the Mission of the United Kingdom to the United Nations organized an Arria Formula meeting, an informal arrangement that allows the UN Security Council to be briefed about international peace and security issues by outside experts. At the meeting, the colloquium’s recommendations were shared with Security Council Members. Participants stressed the need for the UN Security Council’s sustained engagement on the issue of sexual violence in conflict, and the need for greater accountability for women’s equal participation in all peace processes, as set out in SCRs 1325 and 1820. Read more.

For more information, please contact Anne Kristin Treiber, annekristin.treiber[at]unifem.org.

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Financial and Economic Crisis Impacts Women and Men Differently

On the occasion of the UN summit of world leaders in June to assess the global financial and economic crisis and its impact on development, UNIFEM and the United Nations Development Programme issued a joint statement, stressing that the crisis has differentiated impacts on women and men, due to pre-existing gender inequalities, levels of poverty and discrimination in society. The statement points out that the crisis is threatening women’s livelihoods and is imposing an additional burden of unpaid care work on women and girls — as governments cut spending on public services — preventing girls from going to school and women from engaging in full-time paid employment. During the summit, UNIFEM co-sponsored three events. Read more.

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Say NO to Violence against Women

Theo Ben Gurirab, President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union and Speaker of the National Assembly of Namibia, signs on to Say NO.Speakers of 16 Parliaments and Chair of Bosnian Council of Ministers Say NO
Speakers and deputy speakers of 15 national parliaments and the Arab Transitional Parliament signed on to UNIFEM’s Say NO to Violence against Women campaign at a meeting of women speakers of parliament in Vienna in July. The meeting was organized by the National Council of Austria and the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), whose president also added his name to Say NO. Read the complete story.
     In June His Excellency Mr. Nikola Špirić, Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, signed on to the campaign at UNIFEM headquarters in New York. By adding his name, H.E. Mr. Špirić joined more than 200 ministers and heads of state from 68 governments, as well as more than five million individuals who have supported UNIFEM’s global call to end violence against women. Read the complete story.

Thailand: Youth Say NO to Violence against Women
In May UNIFEM Goodwill Ambassador HRH Princess Bajrakitiyabha Mahidol of Thailand launched the Youth Say NO to Violence against Women programme, organized by UNIFEM in collaboration with the Office of the Basic Education Commission, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Justice. Preceding the launch, more than 200 students and teachers from eight public schools across Thailand gathered in Udon Thani for a three-day gender sensitivity training, where they developed their own action plan on making gender equality and ending violence against women a theme in existing school-based activities. Student-led actions in the eight pilot schools will subsequently be replicated in other schools throughout the country and ultimately become part of the official curriculum. Read the complete story.

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UNIFEM around the World

Call for Proposals: Fund for Gender Equality
UNIFEM is pleased to announce the first call for proposals for the Fund for Gender Equality. The Fund will accept applications from governmental and non-governmental organizations in developing countries to accelerate progress towards the goal of gender equality and women’s empowerment. The Fund will prioritize 30 innovative, impact-oriented programmes from around the world. The online application will be available on UNIFEM's website from 15 to 30 September. Read the application guidelines.

UN Trust Fund Alert: Drastic Shortfall in Resources Threatens Women’s Safety
The UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women is a leading global source of support for country- and local-level action to end violence against women and girls. It relies on voluntary contributions from governments, the private sector and concerned individuals. Due to the global economic and financial crisis, the UN Trust Fund is facing a dramatic shortfall in donor contributions. This year, the Fund has received more than 1,600 proposals from all over the world. But there is only US$9 million available, not even half of the US$22 million granted last year. Read the complete story.

UNIFEM Executive Director signs onto UNEP’s Seal the Deal campaign.UNIFEM Joins “Seal the Deal” Campaign
UNIFEM Executive Director Inés Alberdi signed on to the United Nations Seal the Deal campaign on 30 July 2009, joining a number of UN agencies and organizations that are encouraging governments to reach an ambitious and effective global climate agreement by the end of this year. The Seal the Deal campaign — launched by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in April 2009 and supported by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) — encourages world leaders to work together to seal the deal on an equitable and effective climate agreement that will bolster the resiliency of vulnerable countries and protect the lives and livelihoods of all. Time is pressing as talks lead up to the Conference of the Parties (COP-15) of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Copenhagen, December 2009. Read the complete story.

Global Programme on Safe Cities for Women and Girls
UNIFEM and UN-HABITAT in June signed a Memorandum of Understanding to join forces in an effort to make cities and towns free from violence against women and girls. The global “Safe Cities” programme builds on an ongoing collaboration between the two organizations in Latin America, and focuses on reducing sexual harassment and violence in urban public spaces, through community empowerment and partnerships with local authorities on practical measures. Read the complete story.

EC and UNIFEM Partner to Support Gender Equality in the Context of HIV and AIDS
The European Commission (EC) and UNIFEM are embarking on a programme that will focus on promoting the leadership of HIV-positive women’s groups and gender equality advocates, to ensure that gender equality priorities are identified, realized and budgeted in national HIV and AIDS responses. The programme will be implemented for three years in Rwanda, Kenya, Jamaica, Papua New Guinea and Cambodia, with a total budget of €2,450,353. Read the complete story.

100/100 Campaign at Mid-Year
In the second year of its 100/100 campaign for resource mobilization, UNIFEM has received contributions from 44 UN Member States, totaling US$25 million in the first six months of 2009. Sixty-seven Governments have pledged their support, with many more on the horizon. This places UNIFEM in a good position to build upon the unprecedented growth in 2008 — with a total of 80 donors for US$51 million — despite the difficulties presented by the current financial crisis. The 100/100 campaign aims to garner the support of 100 UN Member States contributing US$100 million to core resources by the year 2011. Read the complete story.

UNIFEM Johannesburg staff at a training workshop on evaluation.Series of Training Workshops on Evaluation
UNIFEM’s Evaluation Unit has initiated a series of training workshops with the aim of building the skills of UNIFEM staff and partners in all regions to plan, manage and make use of high-quality evaluations from a gender equality and human rights perspective. More than 70 UNIFEM staff and partners successfully completed the first two rounds of training, in Bangkok in June and Johannesburg in July. Read the complete story.

 

AFRICA

Central Africa: UNIFEM Executive Director on Official Visit
UNIFEM Executive Director Inés Alberdi paid her first official visit to the Central Africa region in May. During the ten-day visit, Ms. Alberdi met with high-level officials, gender advocates and activists, including H.E. the President of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, H.E. the President of Burundi, Pierre Nkurunziza, and H.E. the Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Adolphe Muzito. The aim of the visit was to monitor the progress in fostering gender equality and women’s rights in the region, discuss existing challenges and strengthen partnerships with key stakeholders. In all three countries, Ms. Alberdi launched the UNIFEM flagship report, Progress of the World’s Women 2008/2009. Read the complete story.

Rwanda: Centre for Survivors of Violence to Open
In an effort to strengthen support to survivors of child, domestic and gender-based violence, the Rwanda National Police Health Services signed an agreement in July to open a “one-stop centre” of services in Kigali, with joint support from UNIFEM, UNFPA and UNICEF. The centre — which will be located in Kigali’s Kacyriu Police Hospital and named Isange (feel welcome and free in Kinyarwanda) — will offer free and coordinated medical, legal and psycho-social services to violence survivors through trained personnel, in comfortable and confidential surroundings. Read the complete story.

Zimbabwe: Gender Support Programme Launched
The Gender Support Programme (GSP), a fund that aims to enhance gender equality in Zimbabwe, was launched in June with more than US$3 million in funding from the European Commission (EC) and the UK Department for International Development (DFID). Managed by UNIFEM, the fund will support non-governmental, community and faith-based organizations working towards gender equality and women’s empowerment. Read the complete story.

 

AMERICAS & THE CARIBBEAN

UNIFEM at Rock al Parque Music Festival.Colombia: Campaigning against Violence at Music Festival
UNIFEM and the MDG Comprehensive Programme against Gender Violence in Colombia joined forces to promote the UN Secretary-General’s UNiTE to End Violence against Women campaign at the Rock al Parque music festival in Bogotá in June, attended by 350,000 people. Taking part in the annual festival for the second time, UNIFEM aimed to involve youth in the recognition of women’s right to live a life free of violence. Read the complete story.

Ecuador: Rural Women Trained in Information Technology
UNIFEM has embarked on a project with the Association of Women from Rural “Juntas Parroquiales” in Ecuador (AMJUPRE) to encourage rural women to make use of information and communication technologies (ICT). The women receive training in working with web pages, blogs and interactive forums, and learn how to organize video conferences. More than 30 women community leaders attended the first two workshops, and will pass their knowledge on to other women in their “juntas parroquiales.” Read the complete story.

Mexico: Promoting the Rights of Indigenous Women
UNIFEM and the National Commission for the Development of Indigenous Peoples (CDI) in Mexico signed an agreement in June, aiming to strengthen the protection of indigenous women’s rights under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and other human rights mechanisms. UNIFEM and CDI will join forces in their efforts to promote indigenous women’s rights to a life free of violence, access to education and political participation. Read the complete story.

 

ASIA & THE PACIFIC

Pakistan: Consultation on Gender-Sensitive Responses to Humanitarian Crisis
The Ministry of Women’s Development in Pakistan, with support from UNIFEM, convened a national consultation workshop in July on gender-sensitive responses to the ongoing humanitarian crisis and women’s participation in peacebuilding. As a result of conflict, there are estimated to be more than two million internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Pakistan. The workshop sought to take stock of the situation, identify gender concerns in the early recovery process and reflect on ways to strengthen women’s participation in post-conflict rehabilitation, in line with Pakistan’s commitment to implement UN Security Council resolution 1325. A task force was appointed to follow up on recommendations. Read the complete story.

Timor-Leste: Delegation to Present Country's First Report to CEDAW Committee
Ahead of the presentation of Timor-Leste’s first periodic report on the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), a preparatory mock session was organized by the CEDAW Southeast Asia Programme of UNIFEM in Dili in June. Timor-Leste ratified CEDAW in 2003, committing to protect, promote and fulfil women’s human rights. The mock session was intended to prepare the six-member State Delegation of Timor-Leste for its presentation to the CEDAW Committee at its 44th Session in New York. Read the complete story.

 

CEE/CIS

The FYR of Macedonia: Parliamentary Hearing on Gender-Responsive Budgeting
A public hearing on gender-responsive budgeting (GRB) took place at the National Assembly of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia in Skopje in May, organized by the Parliamentary Committee for Equal Opportunities, within the framework of UNIFEM’s sub-regional programme on GRB. The purpose of the hearing was to introduce the concept of GRB, to discuss the role of the Parliament in the mainstreaming of gender perspectives in budgetary processes and to exchange experiences with experts from the Netherlands and Austria. It was agreed that capacities need to be strengthened at all levels. Read the complete story.

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Other News

E-Discussion: Women in Local Governments
iKnow Politics is hosting an online discussion on Women in Local Goverments from 10 to 24 August. Join the discussion [ en | fr | es ].

Conversations for a Better World: New Blog on Development Issues
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) is launching Conversations for a Better World, a collaborative blog where people can exchange ideas and opinions on development issues. Each month, the blog has an editorial focus on one topic, starting in July with “Women and the Economic Crisis.” Visit the website.

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Recent Speeches & Statements

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Upcoming Events

Job Vacancies

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About UNIFEM Currents

UNIFEM Currents is the electronic news bulletin of the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM). It provides up-to-date information briefs on UNIFEM initiatives, successes, events, projects and activities worldwide. It is published several times per year and delivered by e-mail. Click here to subscribe to UNIFEM Currents.


UNIFEM is the women’s fund at the United Nations. It provides financial and technical assistance to innovative programmes and strategies to foster women's empowerment and gender equality. Placing the advancement of women's human rights at the centre of all of its efforts, UNIFEM focuses its activities on reducing feminized poverty; ending violence against women; reversing the spread of HIV/AIDS among women and girls; and achieving gender equality in democratic governance in times of peace as well as war. For more information, visit www.unifem.org.

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