[WiLT] UN Trust Fund To End Violence Against Women Call For Proposals - 17 April

[WiL Admin]

UN Trust Fund To End Violence Against Women Issues Annual Call For
Proposals

Focus: Closing the Gap on the Implementation of National and Local
Laws, Policies and Action Plans that Address Violence against Women

The United Nations Trust Fund to End Violence against Women (UN Trust
Fund) launched its global annual call for proposals to support
country-level efforts to end violence against women and girls on 6
March 2009. The complete Call for Proposals detailing criteria,
eligibility requirements and complete guidelines on how to apply is
available at http://www.unifem.org/untfevaw/. The deadline for
application is 17 April 2009.

The Call for Proposals continues the UN Trust Fund's focus on
supporting the implementation of national and local laws, policies and
action plans that address violence against women and girls. Civil
society organizations, governments, and UN Country Teams in
partnership with governments and civil society are invited to submit
applications for a minimum of US$100,000 to a maximum of US$1 million
for a duration of up to three years.

Last year, the UN Trust Fund received a total of 1,068 proposals and
US$22 million were awarded to 28 initiatives in 38 countries and
territories.

Established in 1996 by the UN General Assembly and managed by UNIFEM
on behalf of the UN system, the UN Trust Fund is an essential source
of support for innovative programmes to end violence against women and
girls.

The UN Trust Fund has been investing in growth of its global knowledge
base on effective approaches of "how to" end violence against women
and girls. In this way it is uniquely placed to function as a global
observatory of emerging good practices, contributing to programming
excellence, maximization of results and efficient use of resources.

Inés Alberdi, UNIFEM Executive Director, said: "The UN Trust Fund has
been working since 2005 on turning existing national laws, policies
and action plans to end violence against women into reality for
women's and girls' lives. It is responding to help countries fulfill
their commitments. By doing so, it is also contributing to achieving
the main objectives of the Secretary-General's UNiTE to End Violence
against Women campaign -- such as the enforcement of national laws,
the implementation of multisectoral action plans, support to data
collection systtems, social mobilization and prevention strategies,
and addressing sexual violence in conflict situations."

As one of its benchmarks, the UN Secretary-General's campaign has set
an annual target of the UN Trust Fund to a minimum of US$100 million
by 2015, in order to make existing commitments to ending violence
against women a reality.

The UN Trust Fund relies on the generous support from governments, the
private sector, non-profit organizations and individuals. In 2008,
donors included the governments of Australia, Austria, Brazil,
Finland, Ireland, Liechtenstein, the Netherlands, Norway, the Republic
of Korea, Slovenia, Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, and the United States
of America; Avon Products Inc. through its Avon Empowerment Fund;
Johnson and Johnson and Tag Hauer; as well as the UN Foundation, Zonta
International, Berlin-based Cinema for Peace and National Committees
for UNIFEM. UNIFEM Goodwill Ambassador Nicole Kidman has mobilized
support, including as spokesperson for UNIFEM's Say NO to Violence
against Women campaign.

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UNIFEM is the women's fund at the United Nations. It provides
financial and technical assistance to innovative programmes and
strategies to foster women's empowerment and gender equality. Placing
the advancement of women's human rights at the centre of all of its
efforts, UNIFEM focuses its activities on reducing feminized poverty;
ending violence against women; reversing the spread of HIV/AIDS among
women and girls; and achieving gender equality in democratic
governance in times of peace as well as war.

For more information, visit www.unifem.org.
UNIFEM, 304 East 45th Street, 15th Floor, New York, NY 10017.
Tel: +1 212 906-6400. Fax: +1 212 906-6705.