Outcome SLV_D_1.3

Outcome 1.3 of the SN aligned to Outcome 6 of the UNSDCF: By 2026, Salvadoran institutions strengthen democratic governance by guaranteeing the rule of law and inclusive political and civic participation, as well as preventing and combating corruption, promoting transparency and accountability.

In 2024, UN Women contributed to strengthening democratic governance by enhancing institutional capacities to address gender-related challenges and advancing gender-sensitive governance practices. Through technical assistance provided to new municipal governments and the Human Rights Ombudsman's Office, these institutions strengthened their mandates on human rights and gender equality. UN Women supported the inclusion of gender considerations in local decision-making by sensitizing municipal actors on gender-sensitive competencies and planning . The office also increased visibility and advocacy for gender parity in leadership by raising awareness about the importance of women’s participation in public office through targeted campaigns, promoting equal participation of women and men in electoral processes. To facilitate the implementation of gender-responsive policies, UN Women developed practical tools and resources, including gender-sensitive municipal planning models and manuals for addressing digital violence. These frameworks provided clear guidance for local governments and stakeholders to integrate gender perspectives into their operations. Strategic partnerships with the Human Rights Ombudsman's Office, the Salvadoran Institute for Women's Development (ISDEMU), and the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, among others, were instrumental in achieving these results.

Outcome 1.3 of the SN aligned to Outcome 6 of the UNSDCF: By 2026, Salvadoran institutions strengthen democratic governance by guaranteeing the rule of law and inclusive political and civic participation, as well as preventing and combating corruption, promoting transparency and accountability.

Outcome 1.3 of the SN aligned to Outcome 6 of the UNSDCF: By 2026, Salvadoran institutions strengthen democratic governance by guaranteeing the rule of law and inclusive political and civic participation, as well as preventing and combating corruption, promoting transparency and accountability. The outcome was partially achieved in the course of 2022, as Salvadoran institutions made progress in strengthening democratic governance. UN Women gave its contribution to the promotion of democracy by fostering gender mainstreaming in municipal institutions. UN Women and ISDEMU carried out a series of joint actions to consolidate ISDEMU’s planning processes with a gender perspective at the local level. For such a purpose, a tool had been developed in the previous years and applied to three municipalities in El Salvador. During the year 2022, it was scaled up to 50 Salvadoran municipalities with the technical assistance of ISDEMU and UN Women and the capacity-building of universities to facilitate its use at the municipal level. Even though more efforts are required to include a gender perspective at the local level, the participation of more than 50 mayors and more than 1,000 people from municipal councils and technical staff represents an important step towards the fulfillment of this goal, as the engagement of local institutions contributes to generating a new vision of gender at the local level and sets the basis for a continuous collaboration in the coming years. At the same time, UN Women contributed to raising awareness about the importance of women in politics, by ensuring, in partnership with UNDP and the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, the publication of the Report on women's political participation in El País ; Such a document helps to identify gender gaps in politics in 8 dimensions (municipal, political parties, central government, Legislative Assembly, Supreme Electoral Tribunal, Supreme Court of Justice) and can constitute a relevant input in the year 2023 to promote more women's political participation. Based on progress to date, the original strategy and theory of change for this outcome remains largely applicable. However, given the current polarized political context, Salvadoran institutions are less open to the proposed work that includes strengthening the rule of law and inclusive political and civic participation, as well as preventing and combating corruption, promoting transparency and accountability. The actions and strategies that will be used this year for its fulfillment will focus more on actions carried out through inter-agency coordination or with other international actors, to ensure its implementation and impact on society.

Outcome 1.3 of the SN aligned to Outcome 6 of the UNSDCF: By 2026, Salvadoran institutions strengthen democratic governance by guaranteeing the rule of law and inclusive political and civic participation, as well as preventing and combating corruption, promoting transparency and accountability.

During the year 2023, UN Women has worked with different State institutions to strengthen democratic governance, the following are mentioned below: a. With the approval of the Protocol for Attention to Women Victims of Political Violence and its public launch, held on May 30, 2023, the need to socialize the Protocol and train TSE staff responsible for its implementation and attention to women who file complaints was identified. UN Women, together with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and Consortium for the Strengthening of Elections and Political Processes (CEPPS), supported efforts to ensure the applicability of the Protocol and state actions aimed at preventing political violence against women and providing care to provide justice and reparations to those who face political violence. Socialization includes the development of an inter-institutional road map with the Supreme Court of Justice, the Attorney General's Office, and the National Civil Police. At the end of the process, more than 300 people from the different institutions have been trained. b. With the Attorney General's Office of the Republic, technical assistance was provided to develop the design and creation of a self-training module on the role of the prosecutor in electoral events, which is already installed in the virtual training space of the Prosecutor Training School of the Attorney General's Office of the Republic (FGR). The module has a duration of 32 hours and contains 6 topics related to the rights of citizenship, the Rights of the Population in Conditions of Vulnerability and its approach in electoral events, Electoral and Related Crimes, electoral infractions, and the role of the FGR in elections, types, areas and modalities of violence against women and how to address them from the prosecutor's function. The module has begun to be used and is expected to strengthen the capacities of 1200 prosecutors who will participate in electoral events for the 2024 elections. This training program is a response to the need to provide prosecutorial staff with the necessary skills and knowledge to act properly in a complex environment, especially in the framework of the elections to be held in 2024, seeking to empower prosecutorial staff, providing them with the tools to be active agents in the supervision and improvement of electoral processes; this includes building the capacity to identify and address situations that may compromise equality and legality, from the identification of electoral crimes to the promotion of accessibility for populations in conditions of vulnerability.