Americas

Americas

UN chief calls for more funding to end violence against women

23 November 2011 20:30 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki- moon on Wednesday called for annual donations of 100 million U.S. dollars to the UN Trust Fund to better finance the UN-led efforts to end violence against women, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

Ban made the call at a meeting here to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, which was observed annually on Nov. 25.

He urged governments and the corporate sector to increase funding to the UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women.

On Dec. 17, 1999, the UN General Assembly designated Nov. 25 as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. The UN invited governments, international organizations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to organize activities to raise public awareness of the problem on this day. "We would like the Fund to be able to do even more, but demand for support continues to outstrip resources," Ban said.

Stepping up donations to the Trust Fund -- now marking its 15th anniversary of grant-giving to support innovative regional, local and national projects -- is a major target of the UN chief’s UNiTE to End Violence against Women campaign.

Every year, millions of women and girls worldwide suffer some form of violence, be it domestic violence, rape, female genital mutilation or cutting, dowry-related killing, trafficking, sexual violence in conflict-related situations, or other manifestations of abuse.

"This violence spans the globe," Ban said. "And it is predominantly inflicted by men. These are the facts."

Since its operation in 1997, the Fund has awarded more than 77 million U.S. dollars to 339 projects in 126 countries and territories. However, resources for the Fund fall drastically short, meeting less than 5 percent of the vast demand.

"This year alone, the Fund has received more than 2,500 applications requesting nearly 1.2 billion U.S. dollars. I appeal to all our partners to help us meet this vast unmet need," Ban said.

"Our challenge is to ensure that the message of ’zero tolerance ’ is heard far and wide," Ban said. "To do that, we must engage all of society -- and especially young people -- and in particular young men and boys."

"On this International Day, I urge governments and partners around the world to harness the energy, ideas and leadership of young people to help us to end this pandemic," he said. "We want people everywhere to speak up. To say ’No’ to violence against women and girls."

The focus of this year’s International Day is youth leadership in preventing and ending gender-based violence. At the UN Headquarters in New York, the secretary-general hosted a breakfast for young people and highlighted their important role of them in his UNiTE campaign.

UN Women Executive Director Michelle Bachelet also made remarks at the official observance of the International Day at the UN Headquarters, where they will be joined by youth recipients of UN Trust Fund grants. Disney actress and first-ever UN Youth Champion Monique Coleman moderated the event.

Dozens of events also took place around the world, organized by UN offices in collaboration with government and civil society partners, including the regional components of the UNiTE campaign in Africa, Asia and the Pacific, and Latin America and the Caribbean.

Launched in 2008, the UNiTE campaign aims to raise public awareness and increase political will and resources for preventing and responding to all forms of violence against women and girls in all parts of the world.

UNiTE also works to engage men as part of the solution to end gender-based violence. Since its launch in 2009, members of the secretary-general’s Network of Men Leaders have undertaken specific actions to end violence against women and girls, from raising public awareness to meeting with young men and boys.