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Country Indexes
outcome XM-DAC-41146-ECA_D_1.1
Duty bearers implement and finance evidence-based gender-responsive normative frameworks and policies, including in the context of crisis response and recovery.
I n 2024, duty bearers across the ECA region strengthened their implementation and financing of evidence-based gender-responsive normative frameworks and policies, including those addressing crisis response and recovery, through targeted support and capacity development facilitated by UN Women ECARO. Key achievements include: National and local governments in 89 percent of UN programme countries in the ECA region ( 16 out of 18 ) engaged in gender mainstreaming through gender-responsive budgeting (GRB) . Albania and Serbia remain regional leaders in integrating GRB into national and local public finance management (PFM) systems. Both countries are among the 19 percent of nations that track and publicly disclose allocations for gender equality and women’s empowerment ( SDG target 5.c.1 ). Thanks to UN Women’s technical support, Western Balkan countries increased annual budget allocations for gender equality, averaging 7.3 percent (10 percent in Albania), registering 206 gender-focused public budget programs and over 1,000 gender performance indicators. Additionally, 108 local governments integrated GRB policies and took more than 180 initiatives in policy and budget planning. Other countries in the region (Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Türkiye and Uzbekistan) continued developing policies to mainstream gender in PFM. B y 2024 ECA region’s commitment in implementing the W omen, Peace, and Security ( WPS ) agenda remains strong with 82 percent of member states/territories (46 total) in the UNECE region hav ing NAPs on WPS , representing 41 percent globally. Between 2023 and 2024, eight countries adopted their NAPs, including Albania in 2024 . Additionally, 5 countries ( Armenia, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan , and Ukraine ) began developing the next generation of their NAPs in 2024, with plans for adoption in 2025. Two countries ( Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia ) submitted their new NAPs to the government for review in late 2024. Azerbaijan is expected to adopt its first-ever NAP on WPS in 2025; the draft was developed by women-led organizations in cooperation with state entities in early 2024. With ECARO’s support, a detailed justification for the first Regional Action Plan on WPS for Central Asia was developed and submitted to the foreign ministries of five Central Asian countries, aiming for development in 2025. UN Women also facilitated opportunities for partners to exchange lessons learned on NAP development and implementation. In Ukraine, the Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan (HNRP) and the 2024 Ukraine Situation Regional Refugee Response Plan (RRRP) incorporated gender considerations, addressing the needs of groups in situation of vulnerability , including women, older people, and people with disabilities, especially in accessing healthcare and protection services. These plans complement and align international humanitarian responses with national strategies. UN Women focused on advocating for temporary special measures, including gender quotas for elected and appointed positions, and provided technical support to United Nations Country Teams (UNCTs) to advance gender-responsive legal frameworks . A notable success was achieved in Uzbekistan, where a 40 percent gender quota for parliamentary elections was enacted, with rank and placement rules and a strict enforcement mechanism. The original approach and theory of change for this outcome remain relevant, but significant challenges persist, including: Insufficient political will and competing national priorities. Low analytical capacity among public officials. Gender values that are unsupportive of gender equality. Insufficient gender data for quality evidence-based policymaking. Gender backlash creating resistance to transformative actions. Weak monitoring mechanisms, ongoing conflicts, and fragmented collaboration between governments and civil society. To address these challenges, it is essential to continue using evidence to challenge gender stereotypes and implement and finance comprehensive policies across all levels of governance and society. This includes promoting inclusive decision-making, repealing discriminatory laws, and ensuring equal leadership and participation for all groups in policy and budgetary processes.
outcome XM-DAC-41146-ECA_D_1.2
Women and girls fully and equally participate in leadership and decision-making processes and benefit from gender-responsive governance.
In 2024, women and girls across the ECA region strengthened their participation in leadership and decision-making processes and benefited from gender-responsive governance through UN Women ECARO’s targeted interventions and initiatives. 811 women in the region are more prepared for greater leadership roles and to run for elections through UN Women Campaign and Leadership Curriculum implementation in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kazakhstan, Serbia, Türkiye, and Ukraine, , of which dozens have been elected so far. Policymakers, the media, and civil society in Kyrgyzstan, Türkiye, as well as in the wider region have better access to evidence-based research for policy making to address violence against women in politics (VAWP) through the launch of new qualitative and quantitative research on the prevalence of VAWP. Lawyers and policy advocates have increased skills to incorporate gender and political participation into Constitutional reform processes, including in the climate of gender pushbacks, through UN Women training on Constitutions and Gender. Women and youth peace activists, along with women-led organizations (WLOs), have significantly influenced the WPS agenda in the region. Through dialogues, they impacted frameworks like the Pact of the Future and the 2025 Peacebuilding Architecture Review. In Chi?inau, Moldova, 60 women leaders and WLO representatives from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine shared best practices on implementing the WPS Agenda and agreed on a common vision for women's leadership in creating a more equitable and peaceful future, focusing on human security and gender equality. The first day of the WPS Forum in Kyrgyzstan provided as a platform for women activists and peacebuilders, including 39 Afghan women activists, for discussing regional security and cooperation on WPS. Additionally, 25 activists at the WPS Expert Consultation in Kazakhstan developed a justification for the WPS Regional Action Plan for Central Asia, to be finalized in 2025. The South Caucasus Women’s Think Tank, supported by ECARO, contributed to peace efforts by developing a unified approach to address common concerns in negotiations. ECARO also integrated WPS and Youth, Peace, and Security (YPS) agendas, with youth activists contributing to COP29 discussions on gender-responsive climate security and peace. These efforts highlight the growing influence of women and youth in regional and global peacebuilding. Through ECARO’ s support , WLOs have gained critical opportunities to enhance their roles in disaster response, particularly considering the adoption of the Sendai Platform Gender Action Plan (GAP) in March 2024. This laid the foundation for a Community of Practice (CoP) dedicated to promoting women’s leadership in DRR and fostering collaboration for inclusive disaster management. Looking ahead to 2025, UN Women plans to institutionalize its engagement with WLOs through the CoP, further supporting women’s leadership and gender-responsive disaster management strategies. Expert consultations convened by ECARO, gathered over 50 representatives from WLOs and women’s rights organizations in Armenia, and resulted in actionable proposals addressing key priorities, gaps, and resource needs, which informed strategic discussions on the transition process and a gender-responsive Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus. These proposals are intended to guide national and international stakeholders, including the Armenian government and the international community. 17 representatives from women’s and LGBTQIA-led organizations in Moldova, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia gained a deeper understanding of resource mobilization strategies and funding opportunities for gender equality initiatives in the Ukraine refugee response. It also facilitated valuable knowledge-sharing between WLO and women’s rights organizations, fostering sustainable collaborations and strengthening CSO capacity in the region. The Theory of Change (ToC) remains valid and applicable. In the final year of the SN implementation, UN Women will prioritize intensifying efforts to advance a progress on women’s participation and leadership, particularly in response to the ongoing war and multiple crises.
outcome XM-DAC-41146-ECA_D_1.3
Women and girls live a life free from all forms of discrimination, violence and harmful social norms.
Discriminatory gender norms and stereotypes remain highly prevalent in the countries of ECA, manifesting among other things in high prevalence rates of gender-based violence (GBV). GBV remains an urgent concern throughout the region, affecting all segments of society. Beijing+25 reports from member states noted increased national efforts to expand legal protections, enhance support services, and prevent violence through educational campaigns. However, challenges remain in ensuring the implementation of these frameworks, especially in conflict-affected regions such as Ukraine, where the ongoing conflict has exacerbated violence risks for women and girls. Violence is manifested in multiple forms from intimate partner violence to digital harassment. In particular, technology-facilitated VAWG has exacerbated the risks faced by women in public and political life, including journalists, human rights defenders, and politicians, as demonstrated by the troubling increase in online violence. ECARO continues to focus on addressing discriminatory social norms as underlying causes of all forms of gender-based discrimination, including specifically through the EU 4 Gender Equality programme : Together against gender stereotypes and gender-based violence implemented jointly with UNFPA with the funding from European Union and covering six countries - Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. More than 6 million people have been reached by communications and awareness raising campaigns on elimination of gender stereotypes. According to the Follow-up Assessment on Gender Norms and Stereotypes and initial analysis of the developed monitoring tools, there is an increase of adherence to positive social norms among men and youth covered by the programme. 7 programme partners (mostly civil society organizations) incorporated new monitoring tools produced by the programme to better measure impact and effectiveness of their interventions on promotion of gender equality and addressing discriminatory social norms. 41 programme partners, including civil society, media, private sector, religions and state institutions increased their knowledge on gender-based discrimination and stereotypes. ECARO continues its collaborative relationship with EIGE and Council of Europe (COE). With regards to the latest as observers of the Committee of Experts on combating technology-facilitated violence against women and girls (GEC/PC-eVIO) and with EIGE in the design of the new joint programme EU 4 Gender Equality: Women’s Economic Empowerment and Violence against Women in the Western Balkans funded by the European Commission. The programme, to be jointly implemented with UNDP, will take decisive action to empower women economically in the Western Balkans and to counter the worrying trend of violence against women and girls online . Thus far the original strategy and the Theory of Change (ToC) for this outcome is largely still applicable. However, given the start of a new regional joint programme with UNDP, the ToC and accompanying strategy is being slightly revised for 2025 to allow for greater focus on prevention and response to technology-facilitated violence and leveraging UN Women’s ongoing work on entrepreneurial or entrepreneurship ecosystems. For the interventions of social norms change, UN Women will continue investing in meaningful collaboration and participatory approaches with women-led organizations and civil society organizations aligned with local needs and dealing with backlash, especially as it affects the most marginalized groups.
outcome XM-DAC-41146-ECA_D_1.4
The UN System demonstrates greater accountability to advance progress on GEWE across the humanitarian-development-peace nexus.
The UN System demonstrated greater accountability in advancing progress on GEWE in ECA region across the humanitarian-development-peace nexus, supported by collaborative efforts within the Regional Collaborative Platform for Europe and Central Asia (RCP-ECA), the Issue-Based Coalition on Gender Equality (IBC-GE), the Regional Gender Task Force (RGTF), and other inter-agency coordination mechanisms. These platforms addressed pressing gender equality issues through regular meetings and inter-agency activities aligned with their respective workplans, promoting coordinated and impactful action on GEWE. Key achievements include: - Creation of an enabling environment at the country level for mainstreaming GEWE in the new generation of CCAs and Cooperation Frameworks under development in 2024. This was achieved through timely, tailored capacity-building responses to UNCT requests, coordinated via the IBC-GE (co-chaired by ECARO) in close collaboration with other UN entities. These efforts enhanced UNCTs’ understanding of practical GEWE application in strategic planning, awareness of UN system standards, and effective use of tools such as the UNCT-SWAP and the Gender Equality Marker (GEM). - Continued co-leadership of the Regional Gender Task Force under the Ukraine Situation Refugee Coordination Forum with OXFAM International. The forum, attended by over 20 organizations, including UN entities and local and international NGOs, addressed gender equality issues affecting refugees in Ukraine’s neighboring countries. Building on previous successes and ECARO’s ongoing support, 94 percent of UNCTs in the ECA region reported under the UNCT SWAP scorecard in 2024 (only one country not participating, due to specific country circumstances). UN Women ECARO supported SWAP reporting and standards, including GEM application through participatory online training under the IBC-GE, engaging over 200 participants across all UNCTs in the region. In 2024, eight UNCTs reported on the revised UNCT-SWAP indicator for GEM application, enhancing transparency and accountability in resourcing GEWE as a cross-cutting issue. Capacity-building initiatives also focused on integrating and tracking GEWE financing. Supporting UNCTs in meeting UN standards for GEWE integration in CCAs and Cooperation Frameworks was a priority in 2024, including through ECARO's active engagement in the regional Peer Support Group and bilateral assistance provided to UN Women country colleagues and UNCTs. These accomplishments position the ECA region to deliver on key coordination results and prorities, including the Secretary-General's Gender Equality Acceleration Plan and the new QCPR, in 2025.
outcome XM-DAC-41146-ECA_O_1
Assuring an accountable organization through principled performance.
Quantum has provided increasing challenges in monitoring of quality data due to incomplete payroll expenses, unposted support costs and in addition to fully functional month end certification system for regional monitoring of dashboard. Despite this the regional office ensured that core resources allocated during the year was fully allocated prioritising allocation to country offices. 37.748 USD was allocated to country offices in July out of Regional Office additional resources. Accountability of delivering on resources was duly monitored to ensure that ECA surpasses set target and delivers 100 percent on W0001 & W0023.Showing 1 - 5 of 9