Annex 8

Follow-up of the Programme for Action (PFA) from the UN Fourth World Conference on Women, Beijing 1995 as regards Norway’s development cooperation, 2010

Since 2005/2006, women’s rights and gender equality have become a major focus of international development cooperation. In 2008, the Government presented for the first time a separate white paper on the objectives and emphases of this work. Report No. 11 (2007– 2008) to the Storting On Equal Terms: Women’s Rights and Gender Equality in International Development Policy initiates a proactive policy with seven primary objectives:

  • Women and men are to participate on equal terms in political processes
  • Women and men are to participate on equal terms in economic processes
  • Women and men are to have equal access to education
  • Women have a right to adequate health services and to control of their own bodies and sexuality
  • Women are entitled to a life free of violence
  • Women are to have an equal role in peace and reconciliation efforts
  • Women and men are to participate on equal terms in efforts to combat climate change, environmental degradation and humanitarian crises

In consistency with the PFA, importance is attached to integration of gender perspectives throughout Norwegian international development policy. It is also established as a goal that there be steady growth in the share of the development assistance budget devoted to efforts relating to women and gender equality. This is a joint responsibility for the whole administration. Developments are measured and reported in the budget proposition of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Proposition No. 1 to the Storting).

Two new action plans were presented during the period. The Government’s Action Plan for Implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000) on Women, Peace and Security was launched in 2006 (see separate section).

The Action Plan for Women’s Rights and Gender Equality in Development Cooperation was launched on 8 March 2007. Thissupplements related thematically delimited policy documents concerning women, peace and security; female genital mutilation; human trafficking; HIV/AIDS; children and youth, sexual minorities/LGBT, etc. The action plan is based on the UN Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and the Beijing PFA. It proposes targeted efforts to promote women’s political and economic empowerment, sexual and reproductive health and rights and elimination of gender-based violence complemented by measures for integration of gender perspectives in health and education, peace and reconciliation, good governance and democratisation, oil and energy, the environment and climate change. The action plan was prepared as a response to a critical evaluation of the previous women and gender equality strategy (1997–2005) showing evaporation of responsibility and competence and, on the whole, low priority of gender equality. On the basis of this criticism, a turnaround was initiated, emphasising the following factors:

  • Strong leadership that demands results
  • Revitalising targeted measures and a dual approach
  • Resources in the form of money, personnel and expertise
  • Rights orientation
  • Radical policy: Norway must be a prime mover and mainstay in the fight against all forms of gender discrimination. This includes playing a proactive and supportive role in efforts to promote safe abortion on demand and in recognising sexual minorities.
  • South orientation, consistent with the Paris Declaration: support the objectives, plans and expertise of the partner countries themselves regarding women’s rights and gender equality
  • Strengthen women’s forces for organisation and change in civil society and central government and multilaterally (combination of bottom-up and top-down)
  • Promote increased attention to and acceptance of women’s rights and gender equality and the potential this holds for economic growth and sustainable development.

Organisation

In consistency with the principle of mainstreaming and current policy guidelines, all departments and sections of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and foreign service missions are independently responsible for showing due regard for women’s rights and gender equality within their terms of reference. This responsibility lies with the senior staff, but a number of departments, sections and foreign service missions have also appointed resource persons for gender equality. Initiatives, expertise and coordination in relation to matters concerning women and gender equality lie with special gender teams at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Norad. The gender teams cooperate with responsible departments and sections on including gender equality considerations in management of embassies and agencies and in the design of procedures for taking cross-cutting issues into consideration. The number of permanent posts in the gender area has increased considerably since 2005. Efforts to combat FGM and human trafficking are covered by separate action plans. Work on LGBT is thematically linked to human rights and democratisation efforts, and is carried out both through multilateral fora/processes and via Norwegian embassies. A special guide has been developed for embassies’ work on LGBT. Efforts to combat FGM are concentrated in the areas of the Horn of Africa and northern and eastern Africa.[1]

Earmarking of funds and gender equality analysis of the budget

In 2007, annual earmarking of a total of NOK 390 million was introduced for targeted cooperation on women and gender equality. The earmarked amount was further increased in 2008 and 2009, and currently amounts to almost NOK 600 million per year. The further earmarking of funds has enabled an increase in support to UNIFEM’s core budget from NOK 18 million in 2006 to NOK 75 million in 2009 and targeted follow-up of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security. However, the most important single initiative is the establishment in 2007 of a separate allocation for Women and Gender Equality, which now amounts to NOK 300 million per year. The allocation is used to support the implementation of the Action Plan for Women’s Rights and Gender Equality. An assessment of the allocation shows that it has contributed to an intensified focus on gender equality at the embassies. Forty per cent of the allocation was donated to local, national, regional and international NGOs that promote women’s rights. In 2008, almost half of the allocation was channelled through multilateral organisations and thematic funds, e.g. efforts to combat FGM, fistula and violence against women. Support via the allocation has enabled the establishment of a new database, index and Internet tool for qualitative, cultural and rights-based aspects of gender equality (GID-DB) developed by the OECD DAC Development Centre, the database and mentor programme iKnowPolitics for women in politics, a cooperation between UNDP and UNIFEM, and the establishment of the African Women’s Rights Observatory, a monitoring tool under the auspices of the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA).

A systematic review of reporting on objectives and results achieved in relation to gender equality in the development assistance budget has resulted in an increase in development assistance targeting women in all budget chapters. In 2008, Norway contributed NOK 4.8 billion to development assistance targeting women. This involves a doubling of the amount of assistance and an increase from 20% to 30% of total development assistance since 2005.

Technical support to the embassies

Since 2008, Norad has developed a method for gender review of embassies’ portfolios. This tool has met with positive interest, but also reveals a need for greater expertise and resources in order to achieve gender equality objectives. Regional gender equality seminars for the embassies and gender equality modules and gatherings in connection with senior management gatherings and other training activities promote exchange of experience and competence building. The embassies gradually provide more reports, and report more clearly, on gender equality as an element of the ordinary operational planning.

Building gender equality competence in Norad’s specialist departments

Norad has begun work on internal exchange of experience for competence building, integration and operationalising of the gender perspective in the areas of energy, oil, the environment, climate change, industrial development, health, education, research and economics. This is intended to enhance Norad’s capacity to apply gender perspectives in technical assistance to the embassies within the various sectors.

The Forum for Women and Development (FOKUS) is the most important national partner in efforts for women and development. Fokus has more than 70 member organisations in Norway and a large number of partner organisations in the South. FOKUS receives support from Norad. Its budget has increased from NOK 18 million in 2006 to 29 million in 2009. FOKUS holds an annual conference between Norwegian gender equality organisations and the authorities (Ministry of Children, Equality and Social Inclusion and Ministry of Foreign Affairs), and provides input to Norwegian positions under CSW. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Norad require the non-governmental development organisations to integrate considerations regarding women and gender equality. Particular attention can be drawn to Care Norway, whose most important strategy involves establishing savings and loan groups that provide women with an independent financial status and increased influence over their own and their families’ circumstances. Care is a member of FOKUS.

Norad holds monthly network meetings with civil society on current gender equality topics.

International cooperative partners and arenas

The United Nations is an important arena for Norwegian international development policy (see also the account of the UN MDGs). Since the UN reform panel submitted its recommendations in 2006, Norway has actively supported the establishment of a unified, strong and independent gender equality unit. In this connection, we have cooperated with NGOs via the Gender Equality Architecture Reform (GEAR) Campaign, and have built alliances with countries in the North and South. The UN Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) provides a basis for raising the topic of women and gender equality in the policy dialogue with partner countries. Norway also supports NGO shadow reports from partner countries (e.g. Jordan in 2007). Norway became a member of the Human Rights Council in 2009, and gives priority to efforts to combat laws that discriminate against women, violence against women, violation of LGBT rights and maternal mortality as human rights violations. Norway also participates in donor cooperation under the auspices of the OECD DAC Network on Gender Equality, which has placed a major focus on gender and aid effectiveness in recent years.

Experience so far of work at home and abroad

An evaluation of Norwegian development cooperation[2] shows that we have inadequate capacity to follow up development assistance at country level and that there is weakdocumentation as regards women and gender equality. Norway is after all only a small actor, and it is difficult to attribute changes at country level to Norwegian supported efforts. An external review of the implementation of the Action Plan for Women’s Rights and Gender Equality, which was completed in 2009, concluded that the action plan’s mandate should be extended with a keener focus on systematic implementation, challenges associated with integration of gender perspectives in bilateral cooperation on the environment/climate change, oil, energy and industrial development and on documentation of experience at country level. The review found us to be relatively competent as regards multilateral cooperation.

In response to these challenges, we plan to sharpen our efforts in relation to a selection of embassies, and give priority to support for integration of gender perspectives in the major efforts regarding energy, oil, climate change/the environment and industrial development. Among other things, the allocation for women and gender equality is to be applied in a more targeted way to this purpose.

[1] A report on efforts to combat FGM was issued in 2009 cf. CSW Resolution 52/2 Ending female genital mutilation.

[2] Evaluation of Norwegian development cooperation, Annual Report 2008, Norad 2009