Outcome LAC_D_3.1

The legislative frameworks in LAC countries are aligned with international human rights standards on EVAWG and femicide/feminicide, and their implementation is monitored by women's civil society organizations, including youth and women facing multiple forms of discrimination.

UN Women contributed significantly to the strengthening of the capacities of government institutions for the development and strengthening of their national legal frameworks to prevent and respond to violence against women, including femicide/feminicide, and hence, reduce the rates of femicide/feminicide in the region. UN Women continued its partnership with the Gender Specialized Network of the Iberoamerican Association of Public Ministries, (AIAMP, in Spanish) which is represented by public prosecutors from 22 countries (Andorra, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Spain, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal, Uruguay and Venezuela), and the Follow-up Mechanism of the Belém do Pará Convention, two institutions that work towards creating and advocating for better human rights standards across the region. The 22 countries represented in the AIAMP increased their capacities to promote, influence and implement gender-responsive legislation, particularly legislation related to violence against women and girls in the context of organized crime, and on the investigation of sexual violence, through the support of UN Women. In addition, an enabling environment for civil society organizations to monitor and provide inputs to the development of ending violence against women legal frameworks at the national and regional level was created, by a small grants mechanism that disbursed, together with UNDP, USD 240,000 to strengthen the capacities of civil society organizations.

The legislative frameworks in LAC countries are aligned with international human rights standards on EVAWG and femicide/feminicide, and their implementation is monitored by women's civil society organizations, including youth and women facing multiple forms of discrimination.

To advance laws, policies, and strategies in the region t he review of various types of legislations was completed in partnership with the Interamerican Mechanism for the Follow-up of the implementation of the Belem Do Pará Convention (MESECVI). Protocols, capacities, and resilience of the shelters’ sector in the region in the context of COVID-19 were strengthened. A set of recommendations were developed together with the Specialized Gender Network (REG) of the Iberoamerican Association of Public Ministries (AIAMP) to strengthen knowledge and capacities of Public Ministries for the investigation and litigation of femicides that occur within the framework of the dynamics of organized crime in the region. In partnership with the Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL), UN Women supported the development of the La Esperanza Protocol, an international protocol to establish guidelines to investigate threats of violence against human rights defenders, with a special gender focus, that will allow a comprehensive approach to combat impunity for these crimes in Latin America and the Caribbean. The NGO Católicas por el Derecho a Decidir implemented actions on a local and national level to prevent and combat VAWG. Others CSOs that received UNW support were: Coordinadora Nacional de Mujeres Indigenas de Panamá (CONAMUIP) Panamá, Centro de Estudios de la Mujer in Honduras, and Centro de Investigación, Capacitación y Apoyo a la Mujer (CICAM) in Guatemala.