UN agencies bet on joint drive to foster gender parity
Gender equality symbol. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and UN Women have launched a joint campaign to enhance gender equality across the globe.
What you need to know:
- The UN Office on Drugs and Crime and UN Women have signed an agreement that guides the implementation of initiatives touching on women, peace, and security agenda.
- UNODC executive director Ghada Waly noted that the agreement helps devise more effective strategies for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and UN Women have launched a joint campaign to enhance gender equality across the globe.
The two agencies have signed a memorandum of understanding to work together to strengthen efforts aimed at promoting gender equality and meeting specific needs of women and girls when addressing the drug problem.
The agreement guides the implementation of initiatives touching on women, peace, and security agenda, thus helping counter gender-based violence (GBV), organised crime, corruption, and terrorism.
UNODC executive director Ghada Waly noted that by recognising different ways in which women are affected by violence, corruption and other crimes, the agreement helps devise more effective strategies for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly Goal 5 of gender equality and Goal 16 of peace, justice and strong institutions.
“By encouraging women’s leadership and participation in criminal justice systems, we can better protect and support victims of crime," said the executive director.
UN Women executive director Sima Bahous said women are hit harder and in unique ways by crime, whether broad patterns such as organised crime or specific crimes such as GBV that target them directly.
"Despite being hard hit, women are not yet committed to driving solutions that mitigate the impact of crime while bolstering prevention efforts. By joining our efforts to address crime from a gendered perspective, we will be able to ensure that the differentiated impacts of crime on women are accounted for, and that they are able to more effectively contribute to mitigation and prevention efforts,” said Ms Bahaos.
Also read: Let’s embrace equality for a better society
The MoU is complemented by a strategic framework, which outlines key directions for cooperation in data collection, research, and analysis; programmes and operations; policy development; and on advocacy, visibility and resource mobilisation.
UNODC seeks to achieve peace, security, human rights, and sustainable development for all by assisting member states in addressing the evolving challenges posed by drugs, crime, terrorism, and corruption.
Through its 2021-25 strategic plan, the organisation is working to provide normative, research and technical support to member states through comprehensive and innovative approaches, with particular attention to gender equality, non-discrimination, respect for human rights and the empowerment of women and youth.
