Press
release
Embargoed until 10.30 a.m. (EST), 24 November
2009
UNITED NATIONS SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON CALLS FOR
IMMEDIATE ACTION TO END VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
UN chief launches
Network of Men Leaders to support efforts; announces $10.5 million in new
grants for initiatives to end violence against women and girls
23
November 2009 – Marking the 10th anniversary of the International
Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will call Tuesday for increased action to deal with
the global pandemic of violence against women and girls.
“We must
demand accountability for the violations, and take concrete steps to end
impunity. We must listen to and support
the survivors,” said the Secretary-General in his message on the Day.
At UN
Headquarters, the Secretary-General will launch his Network of Men Leaders, a
major new initiative of his UNiTE to End Violence
against Women campaign. Each member of the Network – current and former
politicians, activists, religious and community leaders, and others – will work
to support the longstanding efforts of women and civil society organizations
worldwide to end violence, undertaking actions from raising public awareness to
advocating for adequate laws.
Secretary-General
Ban will also announce new grants for projects on the ground to be awarded this
year by the UN Trust Fund in Support of Actions to Eliminate Violence against
Women, managed by UNIFEM, which amount to $10.5 million for 13 initiatives in
18 countries and territories.
Resources
for the Fund, which gives grants to support innovative regional, local and
national initiatives, fall drastically short for meeting a vast demand, with grant
requests totalling $857 million received just for
2009. To address this funding gap, the target
of raising an annual $100 million for the Fund by 2015 has been set by the
Secretary-General as an objective of his UNiTE
campaign.
Dozens
of events will take place around the world to mark the International Day,
organized by UN offices working with government and civil society partners,
including the regional launch in
By
2015, the UNiTE campaign aims to achieve the
following five goals in all countries:
- Adopt
and enforce national laws to address and punish all forms of violence
against women and girls
- Adopt
and implement multi-sectoral national action
plans
- Strengthen
data collection on the prevalence of violence against women and girls
- Increase
public awareness and social mobilization
- Address
sexual violence in conflict
###
Current members of the
Secretary-General’s Network of Men Leaders
·
Juan Carlos Areán,
Program Director of the Family Violence Prevention Fund
·
Gary Barker,
·
Ted Bunch, Co-founder of the National
Association of Men and Women Committed to Ending Violence against Women
·
Paulo Coelho, novelist and United Nations
Messenger of Peace
·
Franco Fattini,
Minister of Foreign Affairs of
·
Cesar Gaviria
Trujillo, former President of Colombia and former Secretary General of the
Organization of American States
·
Ricardo Lagos, former President of Chile
·
Andrew Levack,
Co-chair of MenEngageAlliance
·
Todd Minerson,
Executive Director of the White Ribbon Campaign
·
Emmanuel Ochora, Gulu Youth for Action in
·
Dean Peacock, founder of Building
Partnerships to End Men’s Violence
·
José Luis Rodríguez
Zapatero, Prime Minister of
·
Knut Storberget,
Minister of Justice and Police of
·
Archbishop Desmond Tutu, winner of the Nobel
Peace Prize
Programme for UN Headquarters, 24 November
At 10.00
a.m. in the Trusteeship Council Chamber, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will launch his Network of Men Leaders at the
official observance of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence
against Women.
A
roundtable discussion on “Involving Men and Boys in Ending Violence against
Women” will follow in the Trusteeship Council Chamber, with remarks by Deputy
Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro.
The Secretary-General will brief the press at
10.40 a.m. in Room S-226. He will be joined by:
·
H.E. Mr. Knut
Storberget, Minister of Justice and Police of
·
HRH Princess
Bajrakitiyabha Mahidol of
·
Ms. Ghida A. Anani, UN Trust Fund Grantee and Program Coordinator for
KAFA (“Enough”) Violence & Exploitation,
All
events will be webcast live at www.un.org/webcast
Press contact for the UNiTE campaign:
Charlotte Scaddan, Department of
Public Information, tel:
+1-917-367-9378, email: [email protected]
Press contact for UNIFEM and the UN Trust Fund: Oisika Chakrabati, UNIFEM, +1 212 906-6506,
email: [email protected]
For more on the Secretary-General’s UNiTE
to End Violence against Women campaign, visit: http://endviolence.un.org
Full details of new Trust Fund grants are available at: www.unifem.org