UNITED
NATIONS PROGRAMS, FUNDS aND SPECIALIZED AGENCIES
Within the United Nations system, there are a number of organizations
that form part of the UN system. UN programs
and funds work to improve the conditions of specific populations,
such as the United Nations Development Fund for Women and the
United Nations Children's Fund. The UN programs and funds are
self-governed and have their own budgets and secretariats.
A number of independent organizations, known as specialized
agencies, are linked to the UN through cooperative agreements.
Specialized agencies are autonomous bodies that are created through
international agreements. These specialized agencies have a wide
spectrum of international responsibilities and work on a number
of related issues, such as economic, social, education and health
issues. Some of the specialized agencies also address issues that
are relevant to ending violence against women
Finally, some intergovernmental organizations, such as the International
Organization for Migration, maintain close ties with the United
Nations although they are not officially a part of the UN system.
Such organizations often work closely with UN programs and specialized
agencies and well as non-governmental organizations.
Programs
and Funds
United
Nations Development Program (UNDP)
The United Nations Development Program
(UNDP) works globally to promote development and to eradicate poverty.
UNDP is the largest provider of grants for sustainable human development
in the UN system, and currently operates in 174 countries and territories.
UNDP promotes gender equality in all of its activities and also through
a specific fund, the United Nations Development Fund for Women. Since
1987, the UNDP Gender in Development
Program (GIDP) has ensured that gender issues are integrated into
all of the UNDP practice areas.
United
Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM)
The United Nations Development
Program's Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) is the agency primarily
devoted to ending violence against women, through promoting the human
rights of women and girls. UNIFEM works to strengthen the capacity of
national and regional non-governmental women's organizations, to increase
women's access to international human rights mechanisms, to bring women's
human rights into the mainstream of the UN system and to develop approaches
to eliminate violence against women that promote action by governments
and inter-governmental agencies.
UNIFEM also supports the Trust
Fund in Support of Actions to Eliminate Violence Against Women,
created in 1997 by the UN General Assembly after the Fourth World Conference
on Women in Beijing. The goal of the Trust Fund is to identify and
support
innovative projects aimed specifically at preventing and eliminating
violence against women around the world. Since the creation of the
Trust
Fund, UNIFEM has provided grants to 105 projects implemented in more
than 65 countries worldwide. UNIFEM also uses the Trust Fund as a method
to inform the entire UN system, national governments and civil society
about strategies for eliminating violence against women. UNIFEM provides
comprehensive information on the Trust
Fund application procedure, such as the types
of activities that are funded, who can apply for funding and general
proposal requirements.
United
Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)
The United Nations
Population Fund (UNFPA) is the largest internationally funded
source of population assistance to developing countries. UNFPA
works to advance gender equality and to end violence against women.
UNFPA approaches gender-based
violence as a both a major health and serious human rights
concern. In 2000, the UNFPA State of the World's Population Report
(Lives Together, Worlds Apart), addressed Ending
Violence Against Women and Girls. The UNFPA has created an
interactive guide to understanding that violence against women
and girls is a public
health priority
The UNFPA is one of a number of UN bodies that is working to combat
trafficking in women and children, through its human
trafficking program. UNFPA's planned activities to combat trafficking
include the provision of technical assistance to governmental agencies
to increase their capacity to develop anti-trafficking measures, to
provide services for victims of trafficking and to promote awareness
of the issue through advocacy campaigns.
United
Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)
The United Nations Children's Fund
(UNICEF) is the UN agency that advocates for the protection of children's
rights. UNICEF emphasizes the special needs of girls and also works
to eliminate all forms of violence against children. UNICEF recognizes
the important links between the human rights of children and of women,
and therefore funds some international projects that focus on women's
issues. In 2000, the research arm of UNICEF, the Innocenti
Research Center, published a report on Domestic
Violence against Women and Girls which discusses the cause and consequences
of the problem as well as the obligations of national governments to
eliminate this form of violence.
Specialized
Agencies
International Labor Organziation (ILO)
The International
Labor Organization (ILO) is the UN specialized agency that
promotes internationally recognized human and labor rights. The
ILO formulates policies to improve working conditions and employment
opportunities, as well as global labor standards, through conventions
and recommendations. The ILO, through its Conditions of Work Branch,
addresses sexual harassment and violence in the workplace. The
Conditions of Work Branch has published an Annotated bibliography
on sexual harassment at work, which gives a range of references
to other materials on the subject of sexual harassment. The ILO
has also published a guide to combating sexual harassment at work,
which provides a basis for understanding the nature of workplace
violence and suggests ways to prevent it in the future. This publication
can be ordered from the ILO directly.
World
Health Organization (WHO)
The World Health
Organization (WHO), through the Women's Health and Development
(WHD) office, focuses on how health care providers can prevent
violence against women and manage its consequences. Within the
WHO, the Task Force on Violence and Health coordinates all work
on violence being carried out by various WHO programs including
WHD. The WHO addresses domestic violence, or interpersonal violence,
through the Department
for Injuries and Violence Prevention which was created in
2000.
International
Organization for Migration (IOM)
The United Nations also maintains a close affiliation with the
International Organization for Migration
(IOM), an intergovernmental humanitarian organization. The
IOM works in cooperation with national governments, the United
Nations and with NGOs. The IOM has carried out a number of counter-trafficking
activities in the CIS/CEE, including projects in Albania, Azerbaijan,
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Kosovo, Macedonia, Moldova,
Romania, Tajikistan and Ukraine. The IOM conducts information
campaigns and research on the issue of trafficking, and also provides
services, such as counseling and reintegration, for victims of
trafficking. The IOM also offers technical assistance to governments
to strengthen their legal systems.