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November 2009 – In This Issue:
UNIFEM Welcomes Strong Support by the
General Assembly for the Establishment of a New Gender Entity
UN General Assembly resolution
63/311 on system-wide coherence, adopted on 14 September, paves
the way for the creation of a single UN body to promote the rights
and well-being of women worldwide and work towards gender equality.
In a statement, UNIFEM welcomed the unanimous strong support by the
General Assembly for the establishment of a new gender entity. “This
is an important step towards addressing the gaps and challenges in
the existing UN gender architecture. Effecting the consolidation
will strengthen the effectiveness of the UN system, including UNIFEM,
in advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment.” Read
the complete statement.
New Security Council Resolutions
Strengthen Women’s Protection in Conflict and Participation in
Peacebuilding
Nine years after the adoption of UN Security Council resolution 1325
on women, peace and security, the Council has signalled its intention
to deepen accountability to women and girls in situations of armed
conflict by passing two consecutive resolutions that strengthen women’s
protection and address their exclusion from peacebuilding.
Security Council resolution
1888 (30 September 2009) provides concrete building blocks to advance the
implementation of SCR
1820 (2008) on sexual violence in conflict. The resolution specifically mandates
peacekeeping missions to protect women and children from sexual violence during
armed conflict and requests the UN Secretary-General to appoint a Special Representative
to provide leadership in addressing the issue.
Security Council resolution
1889 (5 October 2009) builds on SCR
1325 and pays particular attention to its implementation in the immediate
post-conflict, peacebuilding period. The resolution urges Member States,
UN bodies, donors and civil society to ensure that women’s protection and
empowerment is taken into account during post-conflict needs assessment and planning,
and is factored into subsequent funding and programming.
“With these two
new resolutions we are all challenged to enhance women’s
peace leadership and greatly improve women’s protection in conflict,” UNIFEM
Executive Director Inés Alberdi said in a statement welcoming the resolutions. Read
the complete statement.
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Launching in November: Say NO – UNiTE
to End Violence against Women
 In
November, UNIFEM will launch Say
NO – UNiTE to End Violence
against Women, a global call for actions on ending violence against
women and girls. It is presented by UNIFEM as a contribution to advance
the objectives of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s campaign UNiTE
to End Violence against Women through social mobilization. Building
upon the momentum generated during its first phase — when more
than 5 million people signed on to a global call to make ending violence
against women a top priority worldwide — Say NO aims to trigger
and highlight actions by individuals, governments and civil society
partners.
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UNIFEM around the
World
 Clinton Global Initiative Selects UN Trust Fund to End Violence
against Women as Commitment to Action
The UNIFEM-administered UN
Trust Fund to End Violence against Women was featured as a Commitment to
Action by the Clinton Global
Initiative (CGI) during the CGI Annual Meeting in New York in September.
A Commitment to Action is a unique feature of CGI membership and translates practical
goals into meaningful and measurable results. After making a commitment, members
report to CGI on progress made over time. Read
more.
UNIFEM is also part of a new initiative to address the rights violations and
health impacts of sexual violence against girls, which was launched at the CGI
Annual Meeting. The initiative brings together the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC), five UN organizations (UNICEF, UNAIDS, UNFPA, UNIFEM, WHO)
and private sector supporters. Read
more.
Spain Contributes EUR 31.5 Million to UNIFEM in 2009
The Government of Spain will contribute EUR 31.5 million to UNIFEM
this year, as part of its efforts to boost official development assistance
and in line with the emphasis on gender equality and women’s
empowerment in its international cooperation policy. Increasing its
total contribution by EUR 12 million from 2008, Spain is designating
half the amount in 2009 for UNIFEM core funds. Read
more.
AFRICA
West Africa: Women Particularly Vulnerable to the Negative Impact
of Climate Change
Being the main providers of food and responsible for the collection
of water and firewood, women in Africa are particularly vulnerable
to the negative impact of climate change. UNIFEM’s Regional Programme
Director for West Africa, Cecile Mukarubuga, called attention to this
fact at a regional conference that was convened to harmonize the position
of West African states in preparation for the United
Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December. Read
more.
 Rwanda:
Empowering Women through Cooperatives
With the objective of improving the socio-economic conditions
of rural women and their families in the poor Bugesera district in
Rwanda, UNIFEM is supporting women’s cooperatives in the small
town of Gashora. By training cooperative members on micro-credit financing,
as well as on how to boost production and their access to local
markets, the aim is to increase the capacity of the cooperatives
to achieve a higher and more sustainable income. As women become economically
empowered within the household, they are also less likely to suffer
domestic violence. Read
more.
AMERICAS & THE CARIBBEAN
Latin America: Economic Policies and Stimulation Packages Must Not
Overlook Women
A coordination workshop for UNIFEM programmes on women’s economic
security and rights in Latin America was held in Quito in Ecuador in
October, with a focus on the current economic crisis. Participants
pointed out that women’s contributions have been largely
overlooked and highlighted the need for public policies and stimulation
packages to take into account women’s roles as economic actors. Read
more.
El Salvador: UNIFEM Opens a Regional Training Centre for Women’s
Entrepreneurship
UNIFEM, through its regional programme Women and Local Economic Development
(MyDEL), has opened a training centre specializing in women’s
entrepreneurship and local economic development. Located in Morazán,
El Salvador, the training centre will offer courses and host conferences,
allowing participants from across Latin America to share experiences. Read
more.
ARAB STATES
 Palestinian
Women Mark the International Day of Rural Women
UNIFEM and the Palestinian Ministry of Women’s Affairs organized for the
first time in the Occupied Palestinian Territory an event marking the International
Day of Rural Women. The Minister of Women’s Affairs, Ms. Rabiha Diab, attended
a traditional pastoral breakfast organized by local women in the village of Anata
in East Jerusalem, where UNIFEM implements its Sabaya
programme. The Minister stressed the fundamental role that rural women play
in the Palestinian economy. Read
more.
ASIA & THE PACIFIC
 Afghanistan:
Photo Exhibition on Women and the Afghan Elections
UNIFEM and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit
(GTZ) launched the photo exhibition “Women Count” in Kabul
on 31 October. The photos document women’s challenges and achievements
in the presidential and provincial council elections in Afghanistan
in August. The exhibition features photographs taken by local Afghan
photographers across the country, highlighting the participation of
women as voters, candidates and electoral workers. Read
more.
 Japan: UNIFEM Liaison Office Opens in Sakai City
UNIFEM has opened a liaison office in Sakai City, Japan. The office
will represent UNIFEM to the Government of Japan, relate with NGOs,
the media and the diplomatic community, and share information about
UNIFEM’s work. The liaison office in Sakai City is established
along the lines of UNIFEM liaison offices in Brussels and Madrid.
It is UNIFEM’s first donor liaison office in Asia, and builds
on the efforts of the National Committee for UNIFEM in Japan. Read
more.
Philippines: Landmark Legislation for Gender Equality Officially Enacted
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, President of the Philippines, signed the country’s
Magna Carta of Women in Manila in August, formally enacting legislation
for gender equality that women’s rights groups have been lobbying
for in the last seven years. The landmark legislation is closely aligned
to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
against Women (CEDAW), which, with assitance from UNIFEM's CEDAW South
East Asia Programme, provided the framework for the Magna Carta. Read
more.
50 Million Women in Asia at Risk of Contracting HIV from Intimate
Partners
An estimated 50 million women in Asia, who are either married or in
long-term relationships with men who engage in high-risk sexual behaviours,
are at risk of becoming infected with HIV from their partners, according
to a report published by UNAIDS in partnership with UNIFEM and other
agencies. Read
more.
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Recent Speeches & Statements
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Recent Publications
 Afghanistan’s
Parliament in the Making: Gendered Understandings and Practices
of Politics in a Transitional Country (2009).
Based on interviews with male and female parliamentarians
in Afghanistan, the report analyzes the role of women Members
of Parliament and the challenges they face.
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 Promoting
Gender Equality in HIV and AIDS Responses: Making Aid More
Effective Through Tracking Results (2009). This
publication presents the key findings of the expert consultation “Tracking
and Monitoring Gender Equality and HIV/AIDS in Aid Effectiveness.” It
highlights the need for a framework that links structural,
social and individual determinants of gender inequality as
well as presents opportunities (provided by the Paris Declaration)
to strengthen the focus on intersections between HIV, violence
against women, and sexual and reproductive health access
and rights. The publication also underscores the need for
comprehensive gender equality indicators for use in monitoring
progress to meet key targets and goals outlined within the
United Nations Declaration of Commitment on HIV and AIDS.
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 A
User’s Guide to Measuring Gender-Sensitive Basic Service
Delivery (2009). This guide is intended to contribute
to the development and more effective use of gender-sensitive
indicators so that services are delivered more efficiently
and effectively to women. It should be seen as a generic
and basic tool to map and anlyse governance of basic service
delivery from a gender perspective. It includes indicators
and measurement tools and presents examples of newly developed
and innovative measurement initiatives in women’s access
to public services.
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 Results-Based
Initiatives – Women’s Economic Empowerment Works.
We Can Prove It. (2009). In partnership with
governement agencies, development groups, civil society organizations
and donors, UNIFEM works to implement Results-Based Initiatives
(RBIs) to advance and measure the impacts of women’s
economic empowerment. This brochure is a snapshot of what
results-based initiatives are and how they work to economically
empower women.
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 Adivasi
Women – Engaging with Climate Change (2009).
This study aims to decipher the gendered impact of climate
change in indigenous societies in Asia with a particular
focus on the Adivasi ethnic and tribal group of India. In
conclusion, the study offers policy recommendations to enhance
women’s resiliency to these impacts.
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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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