UNIFEM

The Women’s Fund at the United Nations

UNIFEM• UNIFEM was created in 1976 following a

call from women’s organizations attending the 1975 UN First World Conference on Women in Mexico City.

• UNIFEM has projects in over 100 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Central and Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States.

UNIFEMThe Mandate:• To support innovative and

experimental activities benefiting women in line with national and regional priorities.

• To serve as a catalyst, with the goal of ensuring the appropriate involvement of women in mainstream development activities.

UNIFEM• Placing the realization of women’s human

rights and security at the center of all of its efforts, UNIFEM focuses its activities on four strategic goals:

UNIFEM• 1. Reducing women’s poverty and

exclusion.• 2. Ending violence against women.• 3. Halting and reversing the spread of

HIV/AIDS among women and girls.• 4. Supporting women’s leadership in

governance and post-conflict reconstruction.

UNIFEM

• Noeleen Heyzer is the Executive Director of UNIFEM. She was born in Singapore.

• UNIFEM has 15 Regional Program Directors and operates on a global scale.

• UNIFEM has a growing network of affiliated gender advisors and specialists in its partner countries.

UNIFEM

• Gender concerns are absolutely central to UNIFEM.

• The organization is active in all regions at different levels:

UNIFEM• National level: UNIFEM works with national

governments to formulate and implement laws and policies to promote gender equality in such areas as land and inheritance rights, decent work for women and ending violence against women.

UNIFEM• Institutional Level: UNIFEM works with

institutions to make them more accountable to gender equality and women’s rights and to strengthen the capacity of women’s rights advocates.

UNIFEM• UNIFEM works for and with women of

partner countries.• 100% of the fund is devoted to the world’s

women.• Both welfare and empowerment

approaches are employed.

UNIFEM

• Two projects will serve as examples of UNIFEM’S commitment to the transformation of gender relations in the partner nations.

• Sudan and Aceh, Indonesia: Women in Crisis

UNIFEM IN SUDAN

UNIFEM• Sudan• History: Since independence in 1956,

Sudan has been ruled by a series of unstable parliamentary governments and military regimes. Over the past forty years, civil war between the north and the south has resulted in the death of over 2 million. A peace agreement has been reached but its implementation has been uneven.

UNIFEM IN SUDAN• The Impact of the Conflict on Women

in Sudan:– Extreme Poverty– Forced Servitude – Erasure in politics– Lack of freedom to travel– Arranged marriages– Gender-based violence

•

UNIFEM IN SUDAN

• The Main Project: Promoting women’s involvement in post-war development.

• Goal: To have women participate on the national and local levels in reconstruction so that their voices cannot be ignored and their needs will be addressed.

UNIFEM IN SUDAN

• Research: On the ground, UNIFEM has carried out consultations with Sudanese women, extensive field missions and analysis of key issues for women to create a Joint Assessment Mission.

UNIFEM IN SUDAN

• Training– Over 50 Sudanese women traveled to

Oslo to attend a gender symposium that created a strategic space where Sudanese women stood in solidarity with each other and their communities and defined a common agenda on urgent needs for reconstruction.

UNIFEM IN SUDAN

• Following the symposium, two female representatives were chosen to attend the donor’s conference for the Sudan. There , the two women called for a gender-responsive budgeting approach and affirmative action in the governance structures.

• This empowered the attendants at the symposium and at the conference.

UNIFEM IN SUDAN

• Successes in Sudan– UNIFEM convened a national women’s

conference to develop a national action plan for gender sensitive implementation of the peace agreement.

– Appointed gender advisors to UN peace keeping missions inside of the Sudan.

– Supported the efforts of women’s organizations to maintain broad-based support for the peace process.

UNIFEM IN ACEH, INDONESIA

UNIFEM IN ACEH

• Following the tsunami that hit South and Southeast Asia on December 26, 2004, UNIFEM moved in to help those affected by the catastrophe.

UNIFEM IN ACEHProgram Expenditures: 2.7 Million

disbursed

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

Protection

Livelihoods

Capacity Building

UNIFEM IN ACEH

• LEADERSHIP AND CAPACITY BUILDING: Local structures/Local Knowledge/Local Agency– Bottom-up and top-down programs– Training and support for grass roots

organizations and government partners– L&CB accounts for almost ½ of the

funds disbursed

UNIFEM IN ACEH: On the Ground

Welfare

-450 women in shelters have resumed work in businesses (pottery production/fishing/garment trading)

- Mobile training unit helping young women learn computer skills and administrative skills to ease transition into job market

UNIFEM IN ACEH: On the Ground

Empowerment-A UNIFEM micro credit fund to allow 10

local financial institutions to provide small funds to small businesses run by women.

UNIFEM IN ACEH: In Politics

• Increased building capacity of leadership of women’s organizations to advocate for women’s rights in reconstruction processes.

• The Aceh Bureau for Reconstruction and Rehabilitation agreed to recognize and consult with Aceh Women’s council

UNIFEM

• Because it was created for the world’s women, UNIFEM is 100% committed to not only helping women live free and safe lives, but also, UNIFEM is committed to transforming gender relations and empowering women around the globe.