Crisis Prevention and Recovery Newsletter

UN Action is an initiative involving 12 UN entities (DPA, DPKO, OCHA, OHCHR, UNAIDS, UNDP, UNFPA, UNHCR, UNICEF, UNIFEM, WFP and WHO) with the goal of ending sexual violence in crisis and post-crisis situations. The initiative is committed to aligning the United Nations’ work behind national efforts to address sexual violence and deepening partnerships with the many non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and civil society actors already engaged in this work. Since the launch of the initiative in March 2007, UN Action has developed its strategic approach to include three major pillars of work: advocacy, country-level support and knowledge-building.

As part of its efforts, UN Action recently launched a global campaign to end sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). This campaign, led by UNICEF on behalf of UN Action and the V-Day Campaign, is focused on fundraising to strengthen NGOs’ capacity in the DRC to respond to sexual violence. The campaign aims to increase attention to the situation in DRC through a strong communications component. In the August 2007 edition of Glamour magazine, Eve Ensler’s article on sexual violence in DRC was printed, which resulted in raising additional funds for UN Action’s campaign. On 7 October 2007, The New York Times printed a story about the alarming situation among women and girls in Eastern DRC.

In addition, UN Action has supported the UN country team in Darfur by encouraging coordination efforts among the UN entities working in Darfur and providing protection, legal redress, and other services to survivors of sexual violence. UNDP Darfur is also collaborating with the African Union Assistance Mission in Sudan (AU/AMIS) Training Unit, conducting training for AU/AMIS Women's Desk Officers on sexual and gender-based violence. The training provides participants with the practical skills needed to support survivors of sexual violence and to strengthen possible prevention and protection mechanisms.

Gender-Sensitive Police Reform in Post-Conflict Societies

Security Council Resolution 1325 mandates UN agencies and member states to strengthen women’s participation during peace processes. However, women face formidable constraints engaging in public life after conflict, not the least because of the threat or experience of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV). Women’s physical security is therefore a prerequisite to their effective participation in peace building.

Police reform is one of the mainstays of post-conflict recovery, as effective governance is derived from effective law enforcement. Based on the identification of best practices of gender-sensitive police reform (GSPR) in Kosovo, Liberia, Sierra Leona and elsewhere, UNIFEM and UNDP produced a policy briefing paper aimed at promoting GSPR through the development of minimum standards for policing policies and operations. This paper provides guidance to governments and civil society organizations on how to conduct GSPR.

The paper highlights four key elements for GSPR. First, police forces need to strengthen efforts to bring legal mandates to reality, adjusting their doctrines to gender-equality principles. Second, there is a need for a deep reform of operating services, protocols and procedures on how to deal with cases of SGBV and other women-specific needs. Third, women need to be more represented amongst police personnel at all levels of command. Fourth, accountability systems need to be improved to ensure that police forces remain engaged in providing security to women. For more information on this paper, visit or contact alejandro.alvarez@undp.org.