13/70 Joint workplan of the Division for the Advancement of Women and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights - Report of the Secretary-General

United Nations A/HRC/13/70–E/CN.6/2010/7

General Assembly Economic and Social Council

Distr.: General 1 December 2009

Original: English

09-62685 (E) 101209 *0962685*

Human Rights Council Thirteenth session 1-26 March 2010 Agenda item 2

Commission on the Status of Women Fifty-fourth session 1-12 March 2010 Item 3 (a) of the provisional agenda* Follow-up to the Fourth World Conference on Women and to the twenty- third special session of the General Assembly, entitled “Women 2000: gender equality, development and peace for the twenty-first century”: implementation of strategic objectives and action in critical areas of concern and further actions and initiatives

Joint workplan of the Division for the Advancement of Women and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

Report of the Secretary-General

Summary The present report provides a review of the implementation of the 2009 joint workplan of the Division for the Advancement of Women and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. It also contains the joint workplan for 2010.

* E/CN.6/2010/1.

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I. Introduction

1. The present report is submitted in accordance with Commission on the Status of Women resolution 39/5, Commission on Human Rights resolution 1997/43, and Human Rights Council resolution 6/30. A joint workplan is prepared annually by the Division for the Advancement of Women of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). The workplan for 2009 is contained in document A/HRC/10/42- E/CN.6/2009/7.

2. Cooperation between OHCHR and the Division for the Advancement of Women continued in 2009 with the goal of achieving equality between women and men and the promotion and protection of women’s human rights. The major activities that were carried out jointly are outlined below, as are plans for joint activities for 2010.

II. Review of the implementation of the joint workplan for 2009

3. During the implementation of the current joint workplan, the exchange of information continued between OHCHR, the Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs and the Division for the Advancement of Women. The Division and OHCHR continued to cooperate within the framework of inter-agency mechanisms, especially the Inter-Agency Network on Women and Gender Equality, under the leadership of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women. The Division and OHCHR participated in the eighth session of the Inter-Agency Network from 24 to 26 February 2009 in New York, contributing to discussions on all items on the agenda. Both entities participated in several of the task forces of the Inter-Agency Network, including its Task Force on Violence against Women, convened jointly by the Division and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). Both entities also participated in a working group of the Inter-Agency Network related to the thirtieth anniversary of the adoption of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. OHCHR also contributed to the inventory of activities of the United Nations system on violence against women, compiled twice yearly by the Division as part of the activities of the Task Force on Violence against Women.

4. Both entities continued to participate in the Inter-Agency Cooperation Group against Trafficking in Persons, chaired by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, as well as in decision-making concerning grants by the United Nations Trust Fund in Support of Actions to Eliminate Violence against Women. The Division and OHCHR also continued their collaboration within the context of the Executive Committee on Economic and Social Affairs, specifically in the cluster on the advancement of women, which is convened jointly by the Division for the Advancement of Women and the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA).

5. Two regional OHCHR staff members participated in an expert group meeting on good practices in legislation to address harmful practices in Addis Ababa from 25 to 28 May 2009, organized jointly by the Division for the Advancement of Women and ECA. The expert group meeting was part of the Division’s ongoing work to develop tools for stakeholders to address violence against women. Based on the

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outcomes of the meeting, the Division will prepare a supplement to the Handbook for legislation on violence against women developed by the Division in 2009 (see http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/vaw/v-handbook.htm).

6. The Division for the Advancement of Women and OHCHR continued to support the work of human rights treaty bodies and the implementation of the major international human rights instruments, including through exchange of information and dissemination of information about the human rights treaty system. The Director of the Division for the Advancement of Women addressed the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women on 21 July 2009 during the forty- fourth session of the Committee, held in New York. The Division provided inputs to documentation prepared by OHCHR in connection with the Committee, in particular to the report submitted to the sixty-fourth session of the General Assembly on the status of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (A/64/342). The report described progress in alleviating the backlog of reports under review during 2009; the working methods with regard to the Optional Protocol; the elaboration and adoption by the Committee of general recommendation No. 26 on migrant workers; and the adoption by the Committee of statements on the commemoration of the sixtieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Gaza, the international financial crisis and its consequences for the human rights of women and girls, and gender and climate change.

7. The Division for the Advancement of Women and OHCHR continued to update their databases and websites. In particular, in view of the thirtieth anniversary of the adoption of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, both entities have established a link to the website that was developed for the anniversary by the working group of the Inter-Agency Network on Women and Gender Equality, which included the United Nations Development Fund for Women, OHCHR, the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Children’s Fund, UNFPA and the Division. A commemorative event was also jointly organized by the working group on 3 December 2009 in New York. The event featured an interactive panel with selected activists, academics, journalists and members of national judiciaries, who shared personal experiences of how the Convention and its Optional Protocol have shaped national responses to women’s human rights issues. The working group also prepared kits on the Convention for United Nations country teams to support country and regional anniversary events to celebrate advances made in women’s human rights.

8. OHCHR and the Division for the Advancement of Women, respectively, convened a number of meetings, including training seminars and other capacity- building activities, to support implementation of human rights treaties, including with respect to preparation of reports and follow-up to concluding observations at the national level. The Division supported the convening of workshops in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea Bissau and Timor-Leste. The Division continued its multiphased support to the Government of Liberia to strengthen capacity for implementation of the Convention and supported the participation of Government officials from Liberia at the forty-fourth session of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. The Division supported the convening of a multi-stakeholder workshop in Sierra Leone. OHCHR participated in

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the multi-stakeholder workshop in Côte d’Ivoire organized by the Division in December 2009 in order to give assistance in the preparation of overdue reports.

9. The Division for the Advancement of Women continued its interaction with special procedures mandate holders. In particular, the Division maintained contact with the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, in the follow-up to the Secretary-General’s in-depth study on all forms of violence against women and General Assembly resolutions 61/143, 62/133 and 63/155 on the intensification of efforts to eliminate all forms of violence against women.

10. Collaboration in support of intergovernmental bodies continued. In March 2009, the Chairperson of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women and the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences addressed the Commission on the Status of Women at its fifty- third session. The Special Rapporteur addressed the Commission following the adoption of Human Rights Council resolution 7/24 which, for the first time since the creation of the mandate of the Special Rapporteur, requested the mandate holder to make an annual oral presentation to the Commission.

11. Coordination of the preparation of reports to be submitted to intergovernmental bodies continued. At the invitation of the Division, OHCHR provided inputs to the reports of the Secretary-General on intensification of efforts to eliminate all forms of violence against women (A/64/151) and on violence against women migrant workers (A/64/152), which were submitted to the General Assembly at its sixty-fourth session. OHCHR also provided inputs to the reports of the Secretary-General on the situation of and assistance to Palestinian women (E/CN.6/2009/5) and on women, the girl child and HIV/AIDS (E/CN.6/2009/6), which were submitted to the Commission on the Status of Women at its fifty-third session. OHCHR contributed to the report of the Secretary-General on mainstreaming a gender perspective into all policies and programmes in the United Nations system, submitted to the Economic and Social Council (E/2009/71).

III. Joint workplan for 2010

A. Promotion of the human rights of women and mainstreaming of gender perspectives in the field of human rights

12. The Division for the Advancement of Women and OHCHR will continue to implement their mandated responsibilities with regard to women’s human rights in follow-up to the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and the outcome of the twenty-third special session of the General Assembly, and other relevant mandates. The Division will cooperate with OHCHR and exchange information of relevance in support of the work of human rights treaty bodies and enhanced mainstreaming of gender perspectives in their work.

13. The Division for the Advancement of Women and OHCHR will continue to support the participation of the Chairperson of the Commission on the Status of Women and of the President of the Human Rights Council in each other’s sessions and the participation of the Chairperson of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women and the Special Rapporteur on violence against

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women, its causes and consequences in the fifty-fifth session of the Commission on the Status of Women.

14. The Division for the Advancement of Women and OHCHR will continue to seek input and provide comments for reports to be submitted to intergovernmental bodies and special procedures, as relevant, including the Special Rapporteur on violence against women and other special procedures mandates. In responding to the request of the Human Rights Council in its resolution 12/17, OHCHR will prepare a thematic study on women’s equality before the law in close cooperation with the Division, for submission to the Council at its fifteenth session. The Division will continue to monitor progress with respect to integrating gender perspectives into the work of intergovernmental and expert bodies and exchange information with the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences and other mandate holders, as relevant.

15. The Division for the Advancement of Women and OHCHR will exchange information and cooperate on follow-up to any actions the Commission on the Status of Women may take at its fifty-fourth session and any actions the Human Rights Council may take in 2009, as relevant. The Division and OHCHR will continue to exchange information and seek to collaborate in assisting the Human Rights Council to integrate gender perspectives into its work, including during panel discussions and side events, and OHCHR will regularly provide information about the Council’s work programme and related documentation.

B. Technical cooperation, advisory services and meetings

16. The Division for the Advancement of Women and OHCHR will continue to improve timely information exchange and coordination on technical cooperation activities, in particular by sharing plans for such activities, and will cooperate whenever possible in such activities. Staff from each entity will be invited to contribute to and participate in relevant workshops, as appropriate. In particular, the Division and OHCHR will endeavour to strengthen cooperation in respect to support to reporting by States parties under article 18 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and follow-up to the concluding observations of the Committee, in accordance with relevant recommendations by the Committee. The Division will keep OHCHR informed of any relevant planned activities with a view to involving OHCHR.

C. Awareness-raising and outreach

17. The Division for the Advancement of Women will continue to provide information on its website about all developments in the area of women’s human rights, including a link to the WomenWatch portal. OHCHR will moderate a month- long online discussion on “Women and human rights” starting in mid-January 2010 to contribute to the series of WomenWatch online discussions on specific critical areas of concern, organized by the Inter-Agency Network on Women and Gender Equality and coordinated by the Division. The outcomes of the online discussions will provide inputs to the fifty-fourth session of the Commission on the Status of Women and the 15-year review of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.

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18. OHCHR has identified “discrimination, in particular racial discrimination, discrimination on the grounds of sex and against others who are marginalized” as one of its six thematic strategic priority areas for the 2010-2011 biennium. This theme will be given specific focus in public information work and OHCHR will coordinate with the Division, as relevant.

D. Inter-agency cooperation

19. OHCHR and the Division for the Advancement of Women will continue to cooperate within the framework of inter-agency mechanisms, including the Inter- Agency Network on Women and Gender Equality under the leadership of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women, to advance gender equality and the empowerment of women.

20. OHCHR and the Division for the Advancement of Women will strengthen cooperation on promoting a human rights approach to combating trafficking, including through participation in the Inter-agency Cooperation Group against Trafficking in Persons and other initiatives.