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UNIFEM welcomes strong focus on strengthening women's political participation though UN Democracy Fund

UNIFEM will receive US$3.7 million (approximately 10.5 per cent) of which US$2.5 million will support NGO activities and US$1.2 million will be directly executed by UNIFEM. UNIFEM will receive direct support to strengthen women’s political participation in the Great Lakes Region of Africa, and in Ecuador, Haitiand Nepal. Another eight projects will be implemented by civil society partners. These include projects to strengthen women’s participation in democratic decision-making in Cambodia (implemented by the Committee to Promote Women’s Political Participation), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (implemented by Femmes Afrique Solidarité), Nigeria (implemented by Alliances for Africa) and Kosovo (implemented by the Women’s Peace Coalition). Inter Press Service will implement a programme to encourage gender-sensitive media reporting on elections in Africa, and in Argentina, Fundación Mujeres en Igualdad will support women to organize against corruption. In Chile, Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales will monitor government commitments to gender equality and women’s rights, and in Morocco, the Consultative Council on Human Rights will promote implementation of the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, highlighting the need for stronger protection of women’s rights.

“We are very gratified by this positive response. Beyond support for UNIFEM and our partners, we see it as a very positive sign that 47 out of 125 supported initiatives have a strong focus on gender equality and women’s rights,” said UNIFEM Deputy Director Joanne Sandler. “The message that democratic governance is not possible without women’s full and equal participation is increasingly recognized.”

Of the six thematic areas defined as funding priorities for the first wave of proposed projects, “civic education, electoral support and strengthening of political parties” has the highest share of projects with a strong gender equality focus (19 out of 35 approved initiatives), followed by “democratic dialogue and constitutional processes” (14 out of 32 approved projects) and “human rights and fundamental freedoms” (5 out of 11 approved projects). About 30 per cent of the proposals on “access to information” and “civil society empowerment” also have a focus on enhancing women’s participation and influence. Only one proposal on “accountability, transparency and integrity” emphasizes gender.

Addressing women's relatively low levels of participation in representative politics (their share of seats in national assemblies around the world averages only 16 per cent) is a global priority and a key indicator of progress towards gender equality overall. Women’s effectiveness at promoting women’s rights once in public office, however, is dependent upon many other factors besides their numbers. “Institutional changes are needed in civil society, the media, political parties, legislatures, and the judicial system, in order to support women’s policy agendas and to make the transition from policies to practice,” says Anne Marie Goetz, UNIFEM Advisor on Governance, Peace and Security. “This is precisely why so many of the UNIFEM-supported UNDEF projects focus upon building women’s political effectiveness through innovative efforts to support gender equality in the media, political parties, accountability systems, and legislatures."

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