Example 2
Oslo Conference on Sexual and Gender-Based Violence
In 2019, the governments of Norway, Iraq, Somalia and the United Arab Emirates; OCHA; UNFPA; and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), with invaluable support from Norwegian Church Aid, hosted the international conference “Ending Sexual and Gender-Based Violence in Humanitarian Crises” in Oslo. The conference brought together GBV survivors, GBV specialists, national and international civil society organizations, global leaders, and regional and international organizations to make commitments to end sexual and gender-based violence in humanitarian crises, in conflict and disaster.
The conference represented a critical opportunity for UNICEF’s executive director to express the organization’s commitments to GBV at such a high-level event for the first time. UNICEF’s GBV in Emergencies team made use of the opportunity to disseminate organizational commitments on GBV, including GBV risk mitigation, internally and externally. For this purpose, the team created communication materials, including on GBV risk mitigation, to disseminate their ongoing efforts.
Internally, the executive director’s speech was available on UNICEF’s intranet where all staff members could access it. A follow-up email was sent to all staff to share the commitments in the Oslo Conference. For humanitarian response, UNICEF’s director of the Office of Emergency Programmes also sent an email to reiterate the organization’s commitment to GBV risk mitigation. The commitments included:
- Increase the visibility of GBV in UNICEF's Humanitarian Appeals for Children (HAC): 50% of HACs to include GBV by 2020; 100% by 2021.
- Increase the visibility of GBV in UNICEF-led clusters' HNOs and HRPs: at least 10 HNO/HRPs for 2020 include GBV risk analysis and risk mitigation measures across all UNICEF-led clusters.
The series of internal communications after the Oslo conference helped UNICEF to more systematically integrate GBV risk mitigation.The GBV specialists offer direct field support to country cluster teams by assisting in the implementation of GBV risk mitigation actions, documenting best practices, and facilitating peer learning and knowledge exchange. Their work includes conducting annual HNO/HRP a