UNIFEMANNUAL REPORT 2007-2008 UNIFEM is the women’s fund at the United Nations. It provides Mission & financial and technical assistance to innovative programmes and Mandate 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 four strategic areas: ■ Strengthening women’s economic security and rights; ■ Ending violence against women; ■ Reversing the spread of HIV/AIDS among women and girls; ■ Achieving gender equality in democratic governance in times of peace as well as war. UNIFEM was created by a UN General Assembly resolution in 1976, following a call from women’s organizations attending the 1975 UN First World Conference on Women in Mexico City. UNIFEM’s mandate is to: ■ Support innovative and experimental activities benefiting women in line with national and regional priorities; ■ Serve as a catalyst, with the goal of ensuring the appropriate involvement of women in mainstream development activities, as often as possible at the pre-investment stage; ■ Play an innovative and catalytic role in relation to the United Nations’ overall system of development cooperation. (GA resolution 39/125) UNIFEM ANNUAL REPORT 2007-2008 Message by Ine´s Alberdi, Executive Director, UNIFEM 2 Contents Message by Kemal Dervi¸s, Administrator, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) 3 AFRICA Expanding the Scope of National Security 4 Empowering Women in Politics 6 ASIA/PACIFIC & ARAB STATES Legislating Women’s Rights 8 Opening Doors to Decent Jobs 10 LATIN AMERICA & THE CARIBBEAN Planning Municipalities with and for Women 1 2 Engaging Men against Violence 14 EUROPE & CIS Reforming Development for Women 16 GLOBAL Putting Sexual Violence on the Security Agenda 18 Forging New Partnerships to End Violence against Women 20 Financial Statements 22 A Global Network of Support 24 S ERE H P S HEMI – I D ORAN M BRUNO BY OTO H P ER V O C Financing for Gender Equality Sharon Capeling-Alakija and Margaret actors to analyse budgets from a Snyder. This is a watershed moment for gender perspective can contribute to work on gender equality and women’s increasing resources for needed action; empowerment. We are at the halfway and allocating resources to ensure point to the 2015 deadline for achieving implementation of hard-won legislation the Millennium Development Goals and national plans to end violence (MDGs). World leaders will be holding against women is a prerequisite for critical consultations in 2008 – from the reducing the impact of violence on High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness families and communities. Women in Accra to the High-Level Event on the will be watching the outcomes of the MDGs in New York to the Financing deliberations to see what commitments for Development Conference in Doha. for these and other gender equality These will take place as skyrocketing priorities are agreed on by world food and fuel costs, environmental leaders. disasters and entrenched conflicts are UNIFEM will remain an active producing development emergencies proponent of opening new opportunities in many communities. Women pay a for women and promoting their rights, particularly heavy price in the context including in 2008 through its flagship Message by Ine´s Alberdi, of these emergencies and also have a publication, Progress of the World’s Executive Director, UNIFEM unique contribution to make to solving Women, which will pose thought- them. UNIFEM is working with partners provoking and provocative questions on Over the past worldwide to advocate tirelessly at accountability to the global commitment year, UNIFEM these key gatherings of world leaders to advance gender equality and Message support has again for more visibility, voice and resources women’s empowerment. demonstrated dedicated to advancing gender equality I look forward to working with the how innovative and women’s rights. extraordinarily broad base of partners and catalytic efforts can trigger Financing for development, peace and supporters in government, civil visible progress towards women’s and security takes on new urgency in society, the multilateral and bilateral empowerment. In Mauritania, for light of the food crisis and especially communities and the private sector that example, women for the first time for women, given sharp inequities UNIFEM has fostered in the past 32 opened the door wide to political in access to resources, from land to years. This base continues to expand, participation. In the occupied decent wages. As the global community and UNIFEM could not have succeeded Palestinian territories, women started affirms principles for aid effectiveness without it. I also want to publicly to run their own businesses, earning and priorities for development thank the entire staff of UNIFEM and incomes in a fragile economy while effectiveness – and also how to pay my colleagues in the United Nations changing social attitudes towards for these – it is critical that we scale up who have extended me such a warm women’s employment. In Latin America, investments in strategies for women’s welcome and whose dedication and women got involved in urban planning empowerment and gender equality, commitment make me understand what to secure commitments to make cities particularly in those already proven a unique privilege I have been given. more secure. effective. Putting in place temporary I am delighted to be joining UNIFEM special measures can be effective in as its fourth Executive Director since it ensuring that more women will have a was founded in 1976 and to follow on voice in governance; building capacity the great achievements of its previous of ministries of finance and other Executive Directors: Noeleen Heyzer, governmental and non-governmental Ine´s Alberdi 2 UNIFEM ANNUAL REPORT 2007-2008 Achieving the Millennium Development Goals Message by Kemal Dervi¸s, Administrator, UNDP ender equality is not only a change discriminatory systems and indicator of the growing commitment goal in itself, but a prerequi- attitudes that curtail women’s full of governments to support women’s site for reaching all the other economic and social participation. empowerment. Given the central international development Such investments can create afford- importance of gender equality and goals, including the Mil- able, quality childcare and provide the rising demand for its services, G lennium Development Goals. Just access to clean energy sources and UNIFEM requires further new re- past the halfway mark to the 2015 water in the home so that women sources to continue achieving results deadline for achieving the MDGs, can reconcile paid work and family and expanding the scope of its it is clear that we must do more to life. They can empower women to work. Its knowledge, advocacy and achieve gender equality and promote participate in public decision-making practical experience not only help it women's rights. structures where they have the op- advance women’s rights through its Across the world, too many portunity to shape social and eco- own programmes, but also make it women continue to be under-pro- nomic policies. an important partner and source of tected and underpaid members of UNIFEM has shown how these expertise for other agencies within their societies. In many developing investments pay off, as this annual the UN family. SY countries today, women are denied report chronicles. Through its pro- As we look towards 2015, we access to property, credit and other grammes around the world, UNIFEM should all redouble our efforts to- ourte C building blocks of development. In is helping to break down barriers wards creating more equitable, pros- oto many cases they still walk for miles to women’s political participation, perous societies that – by upholding H PH each day hauling water and firewood revise discriminatory labour laws gender equality – achieve the full rigt ; to use in their homes, and have little and address women’s vulnerability promise of the MDGs. unigem or no time to go to school or to earn to HIV, including from gender-based of SY enough money to cover their basic violence. needs. There is a need for significantly ourte C With appropriate support, how- enhanced investments in women oto H P ever, women can transform their and girls. The increase in resources left lives. The right investments can help to UNIFEM in 2007 is a welcome Kemal Dervi¸s, 3 Expanding the Scope of National Security Sexual and “Freeing this important part of the cases of violence, taking advantage gender-based population from violence is the basis of its presence in communities Africa violence of sustainable development and throughout the country. Knowing threatens human security.” that fast help is available has in turn the safety of Brutal and widespread sexual encouraged more reports of violent millions of women, and destabilizes violence was part of Rwanda’s 1994 incidents. A gender-based violence families and communities, yet it genocide; its devastating legacy is desk at military headquarters is often shrouded in shame and still very much felt in the country. coordinates closely with a similar silence. In 2007, the Rwanda Partnering with UNIFEM, and desk for the police. Defence Forces (RDF) broke new drawing on successful initiatives Since prevention and ground by placing the scale and with the National Police, the RDF protection are key, outreach to severity of this kind of violence has embarked on a campaign to communities has been central among the major threats to national train several thousand military to the RDF’s campaign. Clubs to security. “There is no way we officers and cadets to understand, help raise awareness have been can talk about security when our help prevent and respond to sexual established across the country and mothers, sisters and wives are and gender-based violence. Since a community-based watch-dog suffering from serious crimes,” the campaign started, the Rwandan system now provides early alerts on says Captain Aimable Mushabe.