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About UNIFEM
UNIFEM is the United Nations’ development fund for women; an international organization which promotes gender equality and women’s human rights. UNIFEM supports programs both at a national level and an international level that aim to enhance gender equality.
For women’s human rights to be acknowledged; UNIFEM’s work is based on four strategic goals. These are:
■ Enhancing women’s economic security and rights,
■ Ending violence against women
■ Reducing the prevalence of HIV and AIDS among women and girls, and
■ Advancing gender justice in democratic governance in stable and fragile states.
Two key documents for UNIFEM’s work are the Beijing platform for action and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). In addition UN Security Council resolutions 1325 on women, peace and security, and 1820 on sexual violence in conflict are crucial references for UNIFEM’s work in support of women in conflict and post-conflict situations.
Read more about UNIFEM at www.unifem.org
UNIFEM national committee in Sweden
The Swedish national committee was found in 1986. There is a continuous work to reach the four strategic goals to improve women’s conditions. The Swedish national committee works to reach the goals through membership programs, fundraising efforts to support UNIFEM programs worldwide, and through public education about UNIFEM, global women’s issues and the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). An equally important part of the Committee’s work consists of generating dialogue and lobbying Swedish politicians to increase their support of UNIFEM and to raise gender issues in Swedish foreign politics.
In 2009 a campaign on Trade Unions against Trafficking was carried out. The Swedish model was presented as an example on how to deal with this serious problem. In Sweden the demand is criminalized and not the supply. In other words, it is a problem of demand. The participants were educated on this issue so that they themselves could educate others.
Another example of this method to educate educators is our campaign Gender Equality is a Human Right. During this campaign we educated a people on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and how the UN, governments and civil society work with gender equality. A book about CEDAW and the Beijing platform for action was produced as a support for the educators.
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