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Towards gender equality through sanitation access

This discussion paper reviews the extensive literature on sanitation to show that inadequate access to this basic service prevents the realization of a range of human rights and of gender equality. We recognize that “dignity” is a highly culture- and gender-specific term; we therefore argue that sanitation for all—sanitation that serves all genders equally—must be designed and planned explicitly for the unique needs of women and girls. We cover sanitation design, planning and financing for hygienic defecation, and for relieving oneself during the day at work or school. These needs are sometimes euphemistically referred to as nature’s “long call” (defecation) and “short call” (urination); the absence of safe facilities for these needs disproportionately affects women and girls. In addition, women and adolescent girls menstruate, and they need safe sanitation services to manage, hygienically and with dignity, this “monthly call”. We review the findings of the small but rapidly growing literature on menstrual hygiene management, with emphasis on menstruation management and a girl’s right to education. Finally, we review the work and life conditions of those working the “back-end” of the sanitation system, such as manual scavengers and sanitation workers. The paper concludes that safe sanitation is a gateway service for dignity, health and gender equality. In particular, sanitation in public or shared spaces must become a priority-planning sector for sustainable development.

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The Indian labour market: a gender perspective

This paper provides an in-depth analysis of trends in labour market outcomes of women in India based on unit level data sets of employment and unemployment surveys undertaken in 1999-2000, 2004-2005, and 2011-2012. The paper analyzes the gender differentials that exist in the employment status of women and men despite the existence of legal and policy framework for the empowerment of women in the country. The research finds that the labour force participate rates of women are not only less than half of those of men, but also declined in 2011-2012. Age, marital status, presence of children, socio-religious status, area of residence, level of education and relative affluence of households are some of the determinants of labour force participation of women and men in India.

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Promoting the rights, needs and agency of women and girls in humanitarian action

With continued population growth, urbanization, stretched natural resources, protracted conflict and the impact of climate change becoming more apparent, the number of humanitarian crises continues to grow, as does the number of communities requiring humanitarian assistance. Within these communities, women and girls are often disproportionately at risk to the effects of these crises. They are more likely to lose their means of livelihood and are exposed to a heightened risk of gender-based violence. Further, in the aftermath of disasters, their specific humanitarian needs are often neither adequately identified nor addressed in the ensuing response by governments and humanitarian agencies alike. To address this omission, UN Women is committed to ensuring equality among all women, men, girls and boys affected by disasters, both as beneficiaries of humanitarian action and as contributors to its planning and implementation. This brochure provides an overview and examples of how UN Women promotes gender equality and women’s empowerment in its humanitarian work around the world.

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Transforming equality: UN Women in Eastern and Southern Africa

With a regional office based in the United Nations Complex, Nairobi, and country offices covering sixteen nations, with a presence in an additional ten countries, UN Women is well positioned to continue its work on gender equality in Eastern and Southern Africa.The report presents a glimpse into some of the activities and programmes lead by the regional office that have had measurable impacts, and which can be further grown with donor support.

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Compendium of good practices in training for gender equality

The Compendium of Good Practices in Training for Gender Equality aims to make both an empirical and an analytical contribution to the field of training for gender equality. The Compendium offers in-depth information on 10 different good practices, including detailed outlines of training courses, examples of dealing with challenges and a collection of tools and activities for use in training for gender equality.

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Investing in gender-equal sustainable development

This paper develops an agenda for investing in sustainable development, with particular emphasis on local priorities, poverty alleviation and gender equality. Sustainable development can take many different pathways, even within the dominant ‘three-pillar’ paradigm (economy-environment-society) of sustainability. The paper thus argues that any sustainable development pathway must include an explicit commitment to gender equality in both its conceptualization and implementation. It highlights four ‘mundane’ sectors in which investments at scale could be potentially transformative and should therefore be substantially increased: domestic water, safe sanitation, clean(er)-burning cookstoves, and domestic electricity services.

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Gender equality and sustainable development: a pathways approach

The challenges of building pathways to sustainability and enhancing gender equality are both urgent. This paper explores why they must be addressed together, and how this might be done. It begins by showing the moral, ethical and practical reasons why gender equality must be integral to sustainable development. Integrating gender equality with sustainable development requires profound conceptual understanding of both concepts and their inter-linkages. Thus the paper puts forward a ‘gendered pathways approach’, as a conceptual framework for addressing the interactions, tensions and trade-offs between different dimensions of gender equality and of sustainability. Finally, the paper addresses the policy and political challenges of transforming pathways towards greater gender equality and sustainability.

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Fund for gender equality evaluations 2011–2015: meta-analysis

UN Women’s multi-donor Fund for Gender Equality (FGE) was launched in 2009 to fast-track commitments to gender equality focused on women’s economic and political empowerment at local, national and regional levels. The Fund provides multi-year grants ranging from US$ 100,000 to US$ 3 million directly to women’s organizations in developing countries. The evaluation function is a stated priority of the FGE to ensure institutional accountability, learning, and communication of results. Using a decentralized approach to evaluation in which grant holders, with FGE guidance, undertake independent evaluations using UN standards, the Fund has developed a vast library of evaluation reports in the past six years containing a rich set of findings and recommendations. This independent meta analysis is a systematic review of findings, conclusions, lessons and recommendations from FGE evaluations produced between 2011 and 2015 that were rated as satisfactory or above according to the UN Women Global Evaluation Report Assessment and Analysis System (GERAAS) standards for evaluation reports. The primary objective of the meta analysis was to extract, analyse and communicate evidence from high-quality evaluation reports in order to support the FGE to develop constructive lessons for future systematic strengthening of programming, organizational effectiveness and the evaluation function. The meta analysis also provides evidence-based information and insights about what works for whom in regards to women’s political and economic empowerment and the processes and approach of the FGE. Apart from an important internal learning and accountability tool for UN Women, its donors and grantees, the report intends to be of use to women’s rights funders, civil society organizations and development practitioners.

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Women and violent radicalization in Jordan

Jordan remains stable amidst regional tensions but is not immune to radicalization threats. Preventing violent extremism and integrating the participation and concerns of women in peace and security has become a priority for the Government of Jordan, especially as it fulfills its commitments to UN Security Council resolutions 1325 and 2242 on women, peace and security. UN Women Jordan and the Jordanian National Commission for Women commissioned Al-Hayat Center for Civil Society Development - RASED and Search for Common Ground conducted a study on the gendered dimensions of radicalization in Jordan. The research focused on the perceptions of men and women of radicalization in their communities, the risks that women and girls may face from radicalization, the roles that women occupy in both the radicalization and deradicalization processes, and whether current efforts at deradicalization are gender-sensitive. The study found that both men and women perceive radicalization to be occurring in their communities and in universities. The majority of respondents also believed that women are at greater risk from radicalization than men and that it could exacerbate existing limitations on women’s freedom and access to their rights. The study also examines the role of religious leaders and mothers in radicalization. The findings from the study inform the development of Jordan’s National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security as well as future programming efforts aimed at preventing violent extremism.

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Driving the gender-responsive implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

At the 60th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW60) in March 2016, Member States reiterated their commitment in the 2030 Agenda to significantly increase investments to close the gender gap, to strengthen support for gender equality institutions at all levels, and to systematically embed gender perspectives into all aspects of implementation, including in their work on data and statistics, indicators, follow-up and review, and to build accountability and give primacy to women’s leadership at all levels. The CSW60 Agreed Conclusions laid out the strategy and road map for gender-responsive implementation of all Sustainable Development Goals. “Driving the Gender-Responsive Implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” highlights the key messages and presents an analysis of the CSW60 agreed conclusions.

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The conflict did not bring us flowers: the need for comprehensive reparations for conflict-related sexual violence in Kosovo

Reparations for conflict-related sexual violence remain a pressing issue in many parts of the world. Sexual violence has been a feature of almost all conflicts to date, yet remains under-reported and under-acknowledged. In recent years, increased emphasis has been placed on the issue, paving the way for prevention and accountability mechanisms, along with increased attention to the needs and rights of survivors of sexual violence. In Kosovo, significant efforts have been undertaken to enact a legal framework to provide comprehensive reparations to survivors of sexual violence in the lead up to, during, and immediately after the 1998 - 1999 armed conflict. However, survivors remain in difficult circumstances as the legal framework required to enable survivors to obtain reparations is yet to be implemented . With the financial support of the European Union, UN Women Kosovo commissioned this study to complement the existing initiatives in Kosovo with updated research, focused on bringing survivor voices and perspectives to the forefront of future policy and programme design. It brings together best practices in the design and implementation of reparations, including those outlined in the 2014 United Nations Secretary General's Guidance Note on Reparations for Conflict-Related Sexual Violence, international law on the right to reparation, and the views, expectations and needs of survivors of conflict-related sexual violence in Kosovo. It aims to complement efforts to date, and to ensure the right to reparation for survivors of conflict-related sexual violence that is victim-centric, gender-sensitive and transformative.

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Government of Albania - United Nations programme of cooperation 2012-2016: programme review 2015

This 2015 programme review report presents the progress and results achieved by national partners and supported by the United Nations in Albania under the four pillars of the Government of Albania – United Nations Programme of Cooperation (PoC) 2012-2016, namely: (i) Human Rights; (ii) Inclusive Social Policies; (iii) Governance and Rule of Law; and (iv) Regional and Local Development. Additionally, it provides a brief overview of the implementation challenges and lessons learned, potential forthcoming United Nations support to the country, and the preliminary financial position for the year 2015.

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Millennium Development Goals: 2015 progress chart

This chart presents the final assessment of progress towards selected key targets relating to each MDG. The assessment provides two types of information: progress trends and levels of development, which are based on information available as of June 2015.

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Looking back, leaping forward: moving from MDGs to SDGs in Europe and Central Asia

This report takes stock of the progress achieved in Europe and Central Asia under the MDGs with the aim to chart the elements that are crucial for a successful transition to the SDGs. It draws on the experiences derived from the implementation of the MDGs, but also addresses the new challenges and opportunities for integrated interventions that come with the much more complex 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda. The report is structured into three parts. First, it takes stock of the progress achieved in the implementation of the MDGs. It aims to identify the main challenges at the beginning of the MDG period, how these were addressed and what has been achieved. The second section places the MDGs in the context of the wider SDG framework by identifying the unfinished agenda under the MDGs and discussing how the areas covered by the MDGs are now reflected in the 2030 Agenda. The final section describes some of the initial steps that governments in the region are taking to implement the 2030 Agenda and the ways in which the regional UN system can support these efforts. It concludes by identifying and assessing a number of risks that may influence SDG achievement and stressing the importance of collaboration for successful implementation.

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Standard operating procedures for countries adopting the 'Delivering as One' approach

Following the implementation of the ‘Delivering as One’ approach in 8 pilot countries, a second generation of “Delivering as One” was called for in 2012 and more than forty countries have formally adopted it. Efforts under 'Delivering as one' have now matured to the point where this set of Standard Operating Procedures is developed. They will enable the United Nations to function more effectively and foster greater collaboration and teamwork. The document is structured according to the core elements of the ‘Delivering As One’ approach: One Programme, Common Budgetary Framework (and One Fund), One Leader, Operating as One and Communicating as One.

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Eight case studies on integrating the United Nations’ normative and operational work

The United Nations System has shown the importance and use of international norms and standards for the UN Country Teams (UNCTs) in identifying and designing intervention strategies in various contexts. While the particular instruments and mechanisms vary from country to country, the common thread is the use of the human rights-based approach (HRBA) in every case study. This report shows how different UN agencies, in widely different situations, have developed and carried out joint programming for the implementation of United Nations norms and standards. Findings, lessons and recommendations drawn from the case studies are presented in this report.

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The Sustainable Development Goals are coming to life: stories of country implementation and UN support

This publication provides a glimpse into the early efforts of 16 countries across regions to bring the global SDGs to life, and the role United Nations Country Teams (UNCTs) play in the process. It illustrates how these countries are beginning to integrate the 2030 Agenda into visions, strategies and plans at the national, sub-national and local levels. The country efforts include raising public awareness, seeking engagement of different stakeholders, adapting the SDGs to national and local contexts, increasing coherence across policy areas and between levels of government, assessing risk and strengthening monitoring and accountability mechanisms.

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The Sustainable Development Goals are coming to life: stories of country implementation and UN support

This publication provides a glimpse into the early efforts of 16 countries across regions to bring the global SDGs to life, and the role United Nations Country Teams (UNCTs) play in the process. It illustrates how these countries are beginning to integrate the 2030 Agenda into visions, strategies and plans at the national, sub-national and local levels. The country efforts include raising public awareness, seeking engagement of different stakeholders, adapting the SDGs to national and local contexts, increasing coherence across policy areas and between levels of government, assessing risk and strengthening monitoring and accountability mechanisms.

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Baseline investigation of horticulture value chain in Upper Egypt

The “pro poor Horticulture Chain in Upper Egypt project” was a joint programme between specialized agencies and entities of the United Nations working in collaboration with national counterparts. The overall objective of the project was to enhance the efficiency and productivity of Upper Egypt’s small farmers and agricultural workers, and also to build the capacity of small Farmers’ Associations (FAs). This document is the result of a 2010 baseline investigation of the horticulture value chain in Upper Egypt and provides a better understanding of challenges faced by small farmers and also presents a comprehensive gap assessment of the local Farmers Associations and Post-harvest Centers (PHCs).

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An evidence-based review of MDG-F experiences: a contribution to the QCPR process

This document was prepared by the MDG-F in 2012 to systemize its experience to date in joint programming and implementation through its 130 joint programmes in 50 countries across five regions in eight thematic areas. The document includes evidence based lessons and good practices on issues closely related to those that were discussed during the Quadrennial Comprehensive Policy Review (QCPR), with the goal of contributing to this QCPR process. These issues include: 1. The coherence, effectiveness, relevance, and efficiency of development programmes; 2. National ownership of development processes and results; 3. Capacity development and sustainability of development results; and 4. Mutual accountability.

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A snapshot of views and experiences piloting new development approaches through the MDG Achievement Fund in Ethiopia

With support from the MDG Achievement Fund, the government of Ethiopia and the United Nations (UN) tested new approaches for involving some of the most vulnerable people more actively in the country’s development process. Through five programmes, new development approaches were piloted with impressive results. In addition to adopting a holistic, cross-sectorial approach, each programme focused on investing in individuals’ capabilities and social opportunities. They also strengthened entire communities through economic and self-help groups. This snapshot covers programme highlights, strategies implemented, and lessons learned from the field.

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Climate resilient farming communities in Agusan del Norte, Philippines

This report was part of a project that aimed to develop and test financial safety nets for vulnerable populations, especially women, and to develop the capacities of vulnerable populations to participate and avail of the benefits under economic diversification and a democratized governance system. A component of this project was the Social Amelioration Program (SAP) which was an amelioration and welfare scheme for sugar workers derived from the contribution of the millers and planters in the Philippines. The results of the vulnerability and adaptation analysis and the farm value chain analysis were able to identify the different risk factors the pilot project sites and the farming communities are susceptible to. It concludes with recommendations on how to ensure success in the administration of the Social Amelioration Program.

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The best practices and lessons learned from the MDG-F joint programme: Supporting gender equality and women’s rights in Timor-Leste

This documentation presents seven case studies implemented under the MDG-F Joint Programme ‘Supporting Gender Equality and Women’s Rights in Timor-Leste’ from which lessons can be drawn as good practices, enhancement, replication, or up-scaling of similar initiatives in the future. The sustainability of the initiatives is taken into account and the document concludes with lessons learned (strengths and weaknesses) that are important for UN agencies and practitioners that continue to support the government in their efforts to achieve gender-equality.

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Taking a value chain approach towards local economic development and women's economic empowerment in Vietnam

Recognizing the need to increase income and to promote employment opportunities for the rural poor in Viet Nam, the Government of Viet Nam and the United Nations launched a Joint Programme on Green Production and Trade to Increase Income and Employment Opportunities for the Rural Poor in 2010. The programme supports the handicrafts sector, recognizing its importance as a major source of income for smallholder farmers and landless poor, and has a high potential for creating employment opportunities in rural areas by promoting entrepreneurship and sustainable production. This document presents the experience of the programme in strengthening the Sericulture value chain in Quy Cahu district of Nghe An province and shows how strengthening the value chain contributed to economic empowerment of women and their negotiation power, increased income and employment opportunities in rural areas, and preservation of the environment and local ethnic minority traditions. This document zooms in on the Hoa Tien Textile Cooperative, a group of women weavers that belong to the Thai ethnic minority.

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Improved capabilities and resources to build women’s economic and social security

This document presents lessons and results of specific relevance to shaping the post-2015 development framework in regards to improved capabilities and resources including improved knowledge and health and access to resources and opportunities to build women’s economic and social security. It presents case studies of 10 different programmes implemented by the MDG Achievement Fund (MDG-F) in Bangladesh, Bolivia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ecuador, Egypt, Ethiopia, Honduras, Namibia, Timor-Leste, Viet Nam. Each case identifies the the key actors, objectives, strategy, results, sustainability analysis and lessons learned.

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