Partner News

In Paraguay, the Ministry of Women, along with the Superior Electoral Court, UN Women and UNDP have developed the project + MujeresMejorDemocracia.

Among the tasks that this initiative has developed is developing a guide that seeks to increase the participation of women making use of electoral management bodies. The guide was presented on Tuesday, November 3, in Godoi Palace, seat of the Vice President of the Republic of Paraguay. This guide is the result of a research paper four years and offers practical guidance on how to increase the participation of women in processes of political decision making, as well as in institutions. In the presentation of the Guide they intervened the Minister of Women, Ana Maria Baiardi, the Representative of UN Women Carolina Taborga, Deputy UNDP Representative, Roberto Galvez, Judge Electoral Fabiana Marin and the Director of the Division of Public Policy UN Women, Begoña Lasagabaster. The event ended with the intervention of Deisy Llano, Director of Electoral Services.

In this link you can find more information on the initiative.

In Paraguay, the Ministry of Women, along with the Superior Electoral Court, UN Women and UNDP have developed the project + MujeresMejorDemocracia.

Among the tasks that this initiative has developed is developing a guide that seeks to increase the participation of women making use of electoral management bodies. The guide was presented on Tuesday, November 3, in Godoi Palace, seat of the Vice President of the Republic of Paraguay. This guide is the result of a research paper four years and offers practical guidance on how to increase the participation of women in processes of political decision making, as well as in institutions. In the presentation of the Guide they intervened the Minister of Women, Ana Maria Baiardi, the Representative of UN Women Carolina Taborga, Deputy UNDP Representative, Roberto Galvez, Judge Electoral Fabiana Marin and the Director of the Division of Public Policy UN Women, Begoña Lasagabaster. The event ended with the intervention of Deisy Llano, Director of Electoral Services.

In this link you can find more information on the initiative.

In Paraguay, the Ministry of Women, along with the Superior Electoral Court, UN Women and UNDP have developed the project + MujeresMejorDemocracia.

Among the tasks that this initiative has developed is developing a guide that seeks to increase the participation of women making use of electoral management bodies. The guide was presented on Tuesday, November 3, in Godoi Palace, seat of the Vice President of the Republic of Paraguay. This guide is the result of a research paper four years and offers practical guidance on how to increase the participation of women in processes of political decision making, as well as in institutions. In the presentation of the Guide they intervened the Minister of Women, Ana Maria Baiardi, the Representative of UN Women Carolina Taborga, Deputy UNDP Representative, Roberto Galvez, Judge Electoral Fabiana Marin and the Director of the Division of Public Policy UN Women, Begoña Lasagabaster. The event ended with the intervention of Deisy Llano, Director of Electoral Services.

In this link you can find more information on the initiative.

The joint publication of UNDP and UN Women entitled ‘Inclusive Electoral processes: A Guide for Electoral Management Bodies on Promoting Gender Equality and Women’s Participation’ is a valuable contribution for electoral administrations and the international assistance providers who seek to adopt gender-sensitive practices in their work and internal processes

By drawing on the experiences from experts and practitioners on electoral assistance and women’s political participation from across regions, the Guide highlights the important work being carried out by the UN and by EMBs. It offers concrete examples of steps which can be taken to remove remaining barriers and showcases innovative and successful programming interventions.  By committing to gender equality through a gender policy or by including gender elements in the EMB’s strategic plan, the Guide makes the case that EMSs can become models of gender-sensitive institutions and further contribute to the achievement of gender equality and empowerment of women in political and electoral processes. 

The Guide is available in English, French, Spanish, Russian and Romanian. To access the various language versions, please click here

The joint publication of UNDP and UN Women entitled ‘Inclusive Electoral processes: A Guide for Electoral Management Bodies on Promoting Gender Equality and Women’s Participation’ is a valuable contribution for electoral administrations and the international assistance providers who seek to adopt gender-sensitive practices in their work and internal processes

By drawing on the experiences from experts and practitioners on electoral assistance and women’s political participation from across regions, the Guide highlights the important work being carried out by the UN and by EMBs. It offers concrete examples of steps which can be taken to remove remaining barriers and showcases innovative and successful programming interventions.  By committing to gender equality through a gender policy or by including gender elements in the EMB’s strategic plan, the Guide makes the case that EMSs can become models of gender-sensitive institutions and further contribute to the achievement of gender equality and empowerment of women in political and electoral processes. 

The Guide is available in English, French, Spanish, Russian and Romanian. To access the various language versions, please click here

The joint publication of UNDP and UN Women entitled ‘Inclusive Electoral processes: A Guide for Electoral Management Bodies on Promoting Gender Equality and Women’s Participation’ is a valuable contribution for electoral administrations and the international assistance providers who seek to adopt gender-sensitive practices in their work and internal processes

By drawing on the experiences from experts and practitioners on electoral assistance and women’s political participation from across regions, the Guide highlights the important work being carried out by the UN and by EMBs. It offers concrete examples of steps which can be taken to remove remaining barriers and showcases innovative and successful programming interventions.  By committing to gender equality through a gender policy or by including gender elements in the EMB’s strategic plan, the Guide makes the case that EMSs can become models of gender-sensitive institutions and further contribute to the achievement of gender equality and empowerment of women in political and electoral processes. 

The Guide is available in English, French, Spanish, Russian and Romanian. To access the various language versions, please click here

Throughout her impressive career, Barbara Mikulski, the senior U.S. senator from Maryland, has been one of the fiercest advocates in Congress for the advancement of women and girls. So much so that, over her 30 years representing Maryland in the Senate, Mikulski has assumed the unofficial title of “Dean of Women,” acting as a mentor to newly elected female senators, Democrats and Republicans alike. On May 12, Mikulski will give special remarks at NDI’s annualMadeleine K. Albright Luncheon, which honors a grassroots women’s organization promoting the participation of women and girls in politics.

We invite our users to read the complete article published April 30 2015

Throughout her impressive career, Barbara Mikulski, the senior U.S. senator from Maryland, has been one of the fiercest advocates in Congress for the advancement of women and girls. So much so that, over her 30 years representing Maryland in the Senate, Mikulski has assumed the unofficial title of “Dean of Women,” acting as a mentor to newly elected female senators, Democrats and Republicans alike. On May 12, Mikulski will give special remarks at NDI’s annualMadeleine K. Albright Luncheon, which honors a grassroots women’s organization promoting the participation of women and girls in politics.

We invite our users to read the complete article published April 30 2015

Throughout her impressive career, Barbara Mikulski, the senior U.S. senator from Maryland, has been one of the fiercest advocates in Congress for the advancement of women and girls. So much so that, over her 30 years representing Maryland in the Senate, Mikulski has assumed the unofficial title of “Dean of Women,” acting as a mentor to newly elected female senators, Democrats and Republicans alike. On May 12, Mikulski will give special remarks at NDI’s annualMadeleine K. Albright Luncheon, which honors a grassroots women’s organization promoting the participation of women and girls in politics.

We invite our users to read the complete article published April 30 2015

Nearly 30 members of Niger’s national assembly discussed the relationship between gender and Islam during a one-day forum organized by NDI in Sadoré (40 km from Niamey, the capital of Niger) on March 7. Their objective  was to familiarize members of parliament (MPs) with the different schools of thought that exist within Islam on themes connected to gender, human rights and education.

The adult literacy rate in Niger is 28.7 percent and the fertility rate is 7.6 children per woman.  While Niger has ratified most international treaties and conventions on women rights, the integration of these into national law is incomplete. Laws that would strengthen the position of (young) women or promote gender equality are often perceived as controversial by faith-based groups within the 95 percent Muslim society.

We invite our users to read the complete article here

Nearly 30 members of Niger’s national assembly discussed the relationship between gender and Islam during a one-day forum organized by NDI in Sadoré (40 km from Niamey, the capital of Niger) on March 7. Their objective  was to familiarize members of parliament (MPs) with the different schools of thought that exist within Islam on themes connected to gender, human rights and education.

The adult literacy rate in Niger is 28.7 percent and the fertility rate is 7.6 children per woman.  While Niger has ratified most international treaties and conventions on women rights, the integration of these into national law is incomplete. Laws that would strengthen the position of (young) women or promote gender equality are often perceived as controversial by faith-based groups within the 95 percent Muslim society.

We invite our users to read the complete article here

Nearly 30 members of Niger’s national assembly discussed the relationship between gender and Islam during a one-day forum organized by NDI in Sadoré (40 km from Niamey, the capital of Niger) on March 7. Their objective  was to familiarize members of parliament (MPs) with the different schools of thought that exist within Islam on themes connected to gender, human rights and education.

The adult literacy rate in Niger is 28.7 percent and the fertility rate is 7.6 children per woman.  While Niger has ratified most international treaties and conventions on women rights, the integration of these into national law is incomplete. Laws that would strengthen the position of (young) women or promote gender equality are often perceived as controversial by faith-based groups within the 95 percent Muslim society.

We invite our users to read the complete article here

Written by Isaura Lopes Ramos, Communications Officer at the joint UNDP/UNFPS/UNICEF office of Cabo Verde. 

Gender responsive budgeting (GRB) is government planning, programming and budgeting that contributes to the advancement of gender equality and the fulfillment of women's rights. It entails identifying and reflecting needed interventions to address gender gaps in sector and local government policies, plans and budgets.

In Cabo Verde, the Institute for Gender Equality and Gender Equity (ICIEG) is the executive’s main instrument to promote Gender Equity Policies and National strategies. Back in 2010, ICIEG was supported by UN Women and UNDP to design and carryout an assessment exercise, identifying the shortcomings with regards to gender equity effective mainstreaming in Government’s formulation of strategies, planning and budgeting models.

This led to the development of an Action Plan for the implementation of a Gender responsive budgeting and Planning Programme (PGRB), involving various government sectors, Parliament and civil society. Specifically, taking into account the critical role of Parliament to approve the state budget and oversee its implementation, as well as the impact of such process in gender targets and milestones, one of the strategies adopted within the scope of UNDP Action Plan and the Pro PALOP-TL SAI

[1]

was to specifically work with the Network of Women Parliamentarians (RMP-CV), in partnership with UN Women.

With the support of the Pro PALOP-TL SAI, RMP-CV started a series of field visits to the main municipalities of the country, in order to effectively ensure legislative oversight of gender equity national targets and approved executive policies and identify the main challenges for meeting the implementation of the Gender based Violence (GBV) Law.

On each island visited, Women MPs included a number of meetings with institutions which deal with the problem of GBV, such as the Town Council, the National Police, the Office of the Attorney General, the official Law Centre, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the associations which work with women victims of violence, as well as meetings with rural communities.

This work in the field was followed and complemented by expert support and guidance provided by a Gender senior advisor, within Pro PALOP-TL SAI scope and in collaboration with UNW. The approach was to enhance Parliament Budget and Expenditure oversight through the strengthening of Women MPs and RMP-CV’s capacity to carrying out an in-depth result based analysis of 2015 Executive’s Budget Proposal with a special focus on the differential costs and impact on men and women.

The gender sensitive analysis of the Executive’s Budget Proposal for 2015 carried out by RMP-CV has shown that:

• The funds allocated for the implementation of the law are coming mostly from donor donations;
• The total financial support to implement the law has to be substantially increased;
• To implement the measures of the National Plan to Fight Gender Based Violence and the National Plan for Gender Equality additional allocation of funds is needed for the program “Strengthening Gender Equality and Equity”.

Following the discussions in the National Assembly to enact the Executive’s Budget Proposal for the2015 General State Budget, the Network of Cabo Verde Women MPs has continued its advocacy working a more assertive and knowledgeable way, bringing the discussion directly into the Special Parliament Committees involving the Executive and Ministers responsible for programmes which could be financing those measures, according to the nature, results and targets of their respective programmes.

The implementation of proposed gender sensitive specific actions and measures in 2015 will require a total sum of 1,320,662 USD (128,483,201 CVE), just 0.38% of the funds allocated for those programmes.

The approach was to avoid negative impact in fiscal discipline required and promoted by the Executive and the Ministry of Finance.

This was possible by reallocating systematically less than 1% of the available funds while providing specific results-based content and targets to those programmes.

The approach was very successful and had a critical impact in the advocacy actions led by RMP-CV during the 2015 Executive’s Budget Proposal discussions. In this context, a first milestone was immediately reached: the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Health, Cristina Fontes Lima, who is also responsible for the ICIEG, while addressing the Special Commission on Health and Social Issues, announced the integration of measures addressing gender equality into her own Ministry, as well as an allocation of 82,000 USD (approximatively 8 million CVE) for building the capacity of the ICIEG.

More recently and after the 2015 State Budget debate, a second and not less important milestone was also reached: 4 years after the approval of the GBV Law by the Parliament, the executive finally setup specific procedures and implementation framework, including the measures and steps to compensate the victims of GBV.

RMP-CV continues the fight for more gender equity, looking for alternative approaches and addressing the challenges facing more equitable opportunities for women in Cabo Verde Islands. UNDP continues to provide technical and financial support to these actions, in collaboration with UN Women Office in Cabo Verde and within the framework of Pro PALOP-TL SAI.

The project has a multi-country approach and carries out actions in all 6 ACP Portuguese Speaking Countries (Angola, Cabo Verde, Guinea Bissau, Mozambique, São Tomé e Príncipe and Timor-Leste) to strengthen capacities of supreme audit institutions, parliaments and elected MPs, as well as civil society organisations in order to allow a more efficient external and independent control of public finances and legislative budget oversight.

On the basis of the good practice in effectively advocating and ensuring budget oversight promoting gender equity, RMP-CV is expected to become a frontline responder in south-south exchanges and peer learning actions within Pro PALOP-TL SAI actions promoting legislative oversight targeting gender equality.

Written by Isaura Lopes Ramos, Communications Officer at the joint UNDP/UNFPS/UNICEF office of Cabo Verde. 

Gender responsive budgeting (GRB) is government planning, programming and budgeting that contributes to the advancement of gender equality and the fulfillment of women's rights. It entails identifying and reflecting needed interventions to address gender gaps in sector and local government policies, plans and budgets.

In Cabo Verde, the Institute for Gender Equality and Gender Equity (ICIEG) is the executive’s main instrument to promote Gender Equity Policies and National strategies. Back in 2010, ICIEG was supported by UN Women and UNDP to design and carryout an assessment exercise, identifying the shortcomings with regards to gender equity effective mainstreaming in Government’s formulation of strategies, planning and budgeting models.

This led to the development of an Action Plan for the implementation of a Gender responsive budgeting and Planning Programme (PGRB), involving various government sectors, Parliament and civil society. Specifically, taking into account the critical role of Parliament to approve the state budget and oversee its implementation, as well as the impact of such process in gender targets and milestones, one of the strategies adopted within the scope of UNDP Action Plan and the Pro PALOP-TL SAI

[1]

was to specifically work with the Network of Women Parliamentarians (RMP-CV), in partnership with UN Women.

With the support of the Pro PALOP-TL SAI, RMP-CV started a series of field visits to the main municipalities of the country, in order to effectively ensure legislative oversight of gender equity national targets and approved executive policies and identify the main challenges for meeting the implementation of the Gender based Violence (GBV) Law.

On each island visited, Women MPs included a number of meetings with institutions which deal with the problem of GBV, such as the Town Council, the National Police, the Office of the Attorney General, the official Law Centre, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the associations which work with women victims of violence, as well as meetings with rural communities.

This work in the field was followed and complemented by expert support and guidance provided by a Gender senior advisor, within Pro PALOP-TL SAI scope and in collaboration with UNW. The approach was to enhance Parliament Budget and Expenditure oversight through the strengthening of Women MPs and RMP-CV’s capacity to carrying out an in-depth result based analysis of 2015 Executive’s Budget Proposal with a special focus on the differential costs and impact on men and women.

The gender sensitive analysis of the Executive’s Budget Proposal for 2015 carried out by RMP-CV has shown that:

• The funds allocated for the implementation of the law are coming mostly from donor donations;
• The total financial support to implement the law has to be substantially increased;
• To implement the measures of the National Plan to Fight Gender Based Violence and the National Plan for Gender Equality additional allocation of funds is needed for the program “Strengthening Gender Equality and Equity”.

Following the discussions in the National Assembly to enact the Executive’s Budget Proposal for the2015 General State Budget, the Network of Cabo Verde Women MPs has continued its advocacy working a more assertive and knowledgeable way, bringing the discussion directly into the Special Parliament Committees involving the Executive and Ministers responsible for programmes which could be financing those measures, according to the nature, results and targets of their respective programmes.

The implementation of proposed gender sensitive specific actions and measures in 2015 will require a total sum of 1,320,662 USD (128,483,201 CVE), just 0.38% of the funds allocated for those programmes.

The approach was to avoid negative impact in fiscal discipline required and promoted by the Executive and the Ministry of Finance.

This was possible by reallocating systematically less than 1% of the available funds while providing specific results-based content and targets to those programmes.

The approach was very successful and had a critical impact in the advocacy actions led by RMP-CV during the 2015 Executive’s Budget Proposal discussions. In this context, a first milestone was immediately reached: the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Health, Cristina Fontes Lima, who is also responsible for the ICIEG, while addressing the Special Commission on Health and Social Issues, announced the integration of measures addressing gender equality into her own Ministry, as well as an allocation of 82,000 USD (approximatively 8 million CVE) for building the capacity of the ICIEG.

More recently and after the 2015 State Budget debate, a second and not less important milestone was also reached: 4 years after the approval of the GBV Law by the Parliament, the executive finally setup specific procedures and implementation framework, including the measures and steps to compensate the victims of GBV.

RMP-CV continues the fight for more gender equity, looking for alternative approaches and addressing the challenges facing more equitable opportunities for women in Cabo Verde Islands. UNDP continues to provide technical and financial support to these actions, in collaboration with UN Women Office in Cabo Verde and within the framework of Pro PALOP-TL SAI.

The project has a multi-country approach and carries out actions in all 6 ACP Portuguese Speaking Countries (Angola, Cabo Verde, Guinea Bissau, Mozambique, São Tomé e Príncipe and Timor-Leste) to strengthen capacities of supreme audit institutions, parliaments and elected MPs, as well as civil society organisations in order to allow a more efficient external and independent control of public finances and legislative budget oversight.

On the basis of the good practice in effectively advocating and ensuring budget oversight promoting gender equity, RMP-CV is expected to become a frontline responder in south-south exchanges and peer learning actions within Pro PALOP-TL SAI actions promoting legislative oversight targeting gender equality.

Written by Isaura Lopes Ramos, Communications Officer at the joint UNDP/UNFPS/UNICEF office of Cabo Verde. 

Gender responsive budgeting (GRB) is government planning, programming and budgeting that contributes to the advancement of gender equality and the fulfillment of women's rights. It entails identifying and reflecting needed interventions to address gender gaps in sector and local government policies, plans and budgets.

In Cabo Verde, the Institute for Gender Equality and Gender Equity (ICIEG) is the executive’s main instrument to promote Gender Equity Policies and National strategies. Back in 2010, ICIEG was supported by UN Women and UNDP to design and carryout an assessment exercise, identifying the shortcomings with regards to gender equity effective mainstreaming in Government’s formulation of strategies, planning and budgeting models.

This led to the development of an Action Plan for the implementation of a Gender responsive budgeting and Planning Programme (PGRB), involving various government sectors, Parliament and civil society. Specifically, taking into account the critical role of Parliament to approve the state budget and oversee its implementation, as well as the impact of such process in gender targets and milestones, one of the strategies adopted within the scope of UNDP Action Plan and the Pro PALOP-TL SAI

[1]

was to specifically work with the Network of Women Parliamentarians (RMP-CV), in partnership with UN Women.

With the support of the Pro PALOP-TL SAI, RMP-CV started a series of field visits to the main municipalities of the country, in order to effectively ensure legislative oversight of gender equity national targets and approved executive policies and identify the main challenges for meeting the implementation of the Gender based Violence (GBV) Law.

On each island visited, Women MPs included a number of meetings with institutions which deal with the problem of GBV, such as the Town Council, the National Police, the Office of the Attorney General, the official Law Centre, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the associations which work with women victims of violence, as well as meetings with rural communities.

This work in the field was followed and complemented by expert support and guidance provided by a Gender senior advisor, within Pro PALOP-TL SAI scope and in collaboration with UNW. The approach was to enhance Parliament Budget and Expenditure oversight through the strengthening of Women MPs and RMP-CV’s capacity to carrying out an in-depth result based analysis of 2015 Executive’s Budget Proposal with a special focus on the differential costs and impact on men and women.

The gender sensitive analysis of the Executive’s Budget Proposal for 2015 carried out by RMP-CV has shown that:

• The funds allocated for the implementation of the law are coming mostly from donor donations;
• The total financial support to implement the law has to be substantially increased;
• To implement the measures of the National Plan to Fight Gender Based Violence and the National Plan for Gender Equality additional allocation of funds is needed for the program “Strengthening Gender Equality and Equity”.

Following the discussions in the National Assembly to enact the Executive’s Budget Proposal for the2015 General State Budget, the Network of Cabo Verde Women MPs has continued its advocacy working a more assertive and knowledgeable way, bringing the discussion directly into the Special Parliament Committees involving the Executive and Ministers responsible for programmes which could be financing those measures, according to the nature, results and targets of their respective programmes.

The implementation of proposed gender sensitive specific actions and measures in 2015 will require a total sum of 1,320,662 USD (128,483,201 CVE), just 0.38% of the funds allocated for those programmes.

The approach was to avoid negative impact in fiscal discipline required and promoted by the Executive and the Ministry of Finance.

This was possible by reallocating systematically less than 1% of the available funds while providing specific results-based content and targets to those programmes.

The approach was very successful and had a critical impact in the advocacy actions led by RMP-CV during the 2015 Executive’s Budget Proposal discussions. In this context, a first milestone was immediately reached: the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Health, Cristina Fontes Lima, who is also responsible for the ICIEG, while addressing the Special Commission on Health and Social Issues, announced the integration of measures addressing gender equality into her own Ministry, as well as an allocation of 82,000 USD (approximatively 8 million CVE) for building the capacity of the ICIEG.

More recently and after the 2015 State Budget debate, a second and not less important milestone was also reached: 4 years after the approval of the GBV Law by the Parliament, the executive finally setup specific procedures and implementation framework, including the measures and steps to compensate the victims of GBV.

RMP-CV continues the fight for more gender equity, looking for alternative approaches and addressing the challenges facing more equitable opportunities for women in Cabo Verde Islands. UNDP continues to provide technical and financial support to these actions, in collaboration with UN Women Office in Cabo Verde and within the framework of Pro PALOP-TL SAI.

The project has a multi-country approach and carries out actions in all 6 ACP Portuguese Speaking Countries (Angola, Cabo Verde, Guinea Bissau, Mozambique, São Tomé e Príncipe and Timor-Leste) to strengthen capacities of supreme audit institutions, parliaments and elected MPs, as well as civil society organisations in order to allow a more efficient external and independent control of public finances and legislative budget oversight.

On the basis of the good practice in effectively advocating and ensuring budget oversight promoting gender equity, RMP-CV is expected to become a frontline responder in south-south exchanges and peer learning actions within Pro PALOP-TL SAI actions promoting legislative oversight targeting gender equality.

Written by Isaura Lopes Ramos, Communications Officer at the joint UNDP/UNFPS/UNICEF office of Cabo Verde. 

Gender responsive budgeting (GRB) is government planning, programming and budgeting that contributes to the advancement of gender equality and the fulfillment of women's rights. It entails identifying and reflecting needed interventions to address gender gaps in sector and local government policies, plans and budgets.

In Cabo Verde, the Institute for Gender Equality and Gender Equity (ICIEG) is the executive’s main instrument to promote Gender Equity Policies and National strategies. Back in 2010, ICIEG was supported by UN Women and UNDP to design and carryout an assessment exercise, identifying the shortcomings with regards to gender equity effective mainstreaming in Government’s formulation of strategies, planning and budgeting models.

This led to the development of an Action Plan for the implementation of a Gender responsive budgeting and Planning Programme (PGRB), involving various government sectors, Parliament and civil society. Specifically, taking into account the critical role of Parliament to approve the state budget and oversee its implementation, as well as the impact of such process in gender targets and milestones, one of the strategies adopted within the scope of UNDP Action Plan and the Pro PALOP-TL SAI

[1]

was to specifically work with the Network of Women Parliamentarians (RMP-CV), in partnership with UN Women.

With the support of the Pro PALOP-TL SAI, RMP-CV started a series of field visits to the main municipalities of the country, in order to effectively ensure legislative oversight of gender equity national targets and approved executive policies and identify the main challenges for meeting the implementation of the Gender based Violence (GBV) Law.

On each island visited, Women MPs included a number of meetings with institutions which deal with the problem of GBV, such as the Town Council, the National Police, the Office of the Attorney General, the official Law Centre, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the associations which work with women victims of violence, as well as meetings with rural communities.

This work in the field was followed and complemented by expert support and guidance provided by a Gender senior advisor, within Pro PALOP-TL SAI scope and in collaboration with UNW. The approach was to enhance Parliament Budget and Expenditure oversight through the strengthening of Women MPs and RMP-CV’s capacity to carrying out an in-depth result based analysis of 2015 Executive’s Budget Proposal with a special focus on the differential costs and impact on men and women.

The gender sensitive analysis of the Executive’s Budget Proposal for 2015 carried out by RMP-CV has shown that:

• The funds allocated for the implementation of the law are coming mostly from donor donations;
• The total financial support to implement the law has to be substantially increased;
• To implement the measures of the National Plan to Fight Gender Based Violence and the National Plan for Gender Equality additional allocation of funds is needed for the program “Strengthening Gender Equality and Equity”.

Following the discussions in the National Assembly to enact the Executive’s Budget Proposal for the2015 General State Budget, the Network of Cabo Verde Women MPs has continued its advocacy working a more assertive and knowledgeable way, bringing the discussion directly into the Special Parliament Committees involving the Executive and Ministers responsible for programmes which could be financing those measures, according to the nature, results and targets of their respective programmes.

The implementation of proposed gender sensitive specific actions and measures in 2015 will require a total sum of 1,320,662 USD (128,483,201 CVE), just 0.38% of the funds allocated for those programmes.

The approach was to avoid negative impact in fiscal discipline required and promoted by the Executive and the Ministry of Finance.

This was possible by reallocating systematically less than 1% of the available funds while providing specific results-based content and targets to those programmes.

The approach was very successful and had a critical impact in the advocacy actions led by RMP-CV during the 2015 Executive’s Budget Proposal discussions. In this context, a first milestone was immediately reached: the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Health, Cristina Fontes Lima, who is also responsible for the ICIEG, while addressing the Special Commission on Health and Social Issues, announced the integration of measures addressing gender equality into her own Ministry, as well as an allocation of 82,000 USD (approximatively 8 million CVE) for building the capacity of the ICIEG.

More recently and after the 2015 State Budget debate, a second and not less important milestone was also reached: 4 years after the approval of the GBV Law by the Parliament, the executive finally setup specific procedures and implementation framework, including the measures and steps to compensate the victims of GBV.

RMP-CV continues the fight for more gender equity, looking for alternative approaches and addressing the challenges facing more equitable opportunities for women in Cabo Verde Islands. UNDP continues to provide technical and financial support to these actions, in collaboration with UN Women Office in Cabo Verde and within the framework of Pro PALOP-TL SAI.

The project has a multi-country approach and carries out actions in all 6 ACP Portuguese Speaking Countries (Angola, Cabo Verde, Guinea Bissau, Mozambique, São Tomé e Príncipe and Timor-Leste) to strengthen capacities of supreme audit institutions, parliaments and elected MPs, as well as civil society organisations in order to allow a more efficient external and independent control of public finances and legislative budget oversight.

On the basis of the good practice in effectively advocating and ensuring budget oversight promoting gender equity, RMP-CV is expected to become a frontline responder in south-south exchanges and peer learning actions within Pro PALOP-TL SAI actions promoting legislative oversight targeting gender equality.

Written by Isaura Lopes Ramos, Communications Officer at the joint UNDP/UNFPS/UNICEF office of Cabo Verde. 

Gender responsive budgeting (GRB) is government planning, programming and budgeting that contributes to the advancement of gender equality and the fulfillment of women's rights. It entails identifying and reflecting needed interventions to address gender gaps in sector and local government policies, plans and budgets.

In Cabo Verde, the Institute for Gender Equality and Gender Equity (ICIEG) is the executive’s main instrument to promote Gender Equity Policies and National strategies. Back in 2010, ICIEG was supported by UN Women and UNDP to design and carryout an assessment exercise, identifying the shortcomings with regards to gender equity effective mainstreaming in Government’s formulation of strategies, planning and budgeting models.

This led to the development of an Action Plan for the implementation of a Gender responsive budgeting and Planning Programme (PGRB), involving various government sectors, Parliament and civil society. Specifically, taking into account the critical role of Parliament to approve the state budget and oversee its implementation, as well as the impact of such process in gender targets and milestones, one of the strategies adopted within the scope of UNDP Action Plan and the Pro PALOP-TL SAI

[1]

was to specifically work with the Network of Women Parliamentarians (RMP-CV), in partnership with UN Women.

With the support of the Pro PALOP-TL SAI, RMP-CV started a series of field visits to the main municipalities of the country, in order to effectively ensure legislative oversight of gender equity national targets and approved executive policies and identify the main challenges for meeting the implementation of the Gender based Violence (GBV) Law.

On each island visited, Women MPs included a number of meetings with institutions which deal with the problem of GBV, such as the Town Council, the National Police, the Office of the Attorney General, the official Law Centre, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the associations which work with women victims of violence, as well as meetings with rural communities.

This work in the field was followed and complemented by expert support and guidance provided by a Gender senior advisor, within Pro PALOP-TL SAI scope and in collaboration with UNW. The approach was to enhance Parliament Budget and Expenditure oversight through the strengthening of Women MPs and RMP-CV’s capacity to carrying out an in-depth result based analysis of 2015 Executive’s Budget Proposal with a special focus on the differential costs and impact on men and women.

The gender sensitive analysis of the Executive’s Budget Proposal for 2015 carried out by RMP-CV has shown that:

• The funds allocated for the implementation of the law are coming mostly from donor donations;
• The total financial support to implement the law has to be substantially increased;
• To implement the measures of the National Plan to Fight Gender Based Violence and the National Plan for Gender Equality additional allocation of funds is needed for the program “Strengthening Gender Equality and Equity”.

Following the discussions in the National Assembly to enact the Executive’s Budget Proposal for the2015 General State Budget, the Network of Cabo Verde Women MPs has continued its advocacy working a more assertive and knowledgeable way, bringing the discussion directly into the Special Parliament Committees involving the Executive and Ministers responsible for programmes which could be financing those measures, according to the nature, results and targets of their respective programmes.

The implementation of proposed gender sensitive specific actions and measures in 2015 will require a total sum of 1,320,662 USD (128,483,201 CVE), just 0.38% of the funds allocated for those programmes.

The approach was to avoid negative impact in fiscal discipline required and promoted by the Executive and the Ministry of Finance.

This was possible by reallocating systematically less than 1% of the available funds while providing specific results-based content and targets to those programmes.

The approach was very successful and had a critical impact in the advocacy actions led by RMP-CV during the 2015 Executive’s Budget Proposal discussions. In this context, a first milestone was immediately reached: the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Health, Cristina Fontes Lima, who is also responsible for the ICIEG, while addressing the Special Commission on Health and Social Issues, announced the integration of measures addressing gender equality into her own Ministry, as well as an allocation of 82,000 USD (approximatively 8 million CVE) for building the capacity of the ICIEG.

More recently and after the 2015 State Budget debate, a second and not less important milestone was also reached: 4 years after the approval of the GBV Law by the Parliament, the executive finally setup specific procedures and implementation framework, including the measures and steps to compensate the victims of GBV.

RMP-CV continues the fight for more gender equity, looking for alternative approaches and addressing the challenges facing more equitable opportunities for women in Cabo Verde Islands. UNDP continues to provide technical and financial support to these actions, in collaboration with UN Women Office in Cabo Verde and within the framework of Pro PALOP-TL SAI.

The project has a multi-country approach and carries out actions in all 6 ACP Portuguese Speaking Countries (Angola, Cabo Verde, Guinea Bissau, Mozambique, São Tomé e Príncipe and Timor-Leste) to strengthen capacities of supreme audit institutions, parliaments and elected MPs, as well as civil society organisations in order to allow a more efficient external and independent control of public finances and legislative budget oversight.

On the basis of the good practice in effectively advocating and ensuring budget oversight promoting gender equity, RMP-CV is expected to become a frontline responder in south-south exchanges and peer learning actions within Pro PALOP-TL SAI actions promoting legislative oversight targeting gender equality.

Written by Isaura Lopes Ramos, Communications Officer at the joint UNDP/UNFPS/UNICEF office of Cabo Verde. 

Gender responsive budgeting (GRB) is government planning, programming and budgeting that contributes to the advancement of gender equality and the fulfillment of women's rights. It entails identifying and reflecting needed interventions to address gender gaps in sector and local government policies, plans and budgets.

In Cabo Verde, the Institute for Gender Equality and Gender Equity (ICIEG) is the executive’s main instrument to promote Gender Equity Policies and National strategies. Back in 2010, ICIEG was supported by UN Women and UNDP to design and carryout an assessment exercise, identifying the shortcomings with regards to gender equity effective mainstreaming in Government’s formulation of strategies, planning and budgeting models.

This led to the development of an Action Plan for the implementation of a Gender responsive budgeting and Planning Programme (PGRB), involving various government sectors, Parliament and civil society. Specifically, taking into account the critical role of Parliament to approve the state budget and oversee its implementation, as well as the impact of such process in gender targets and milestones, one of the strategies adopted within the scope of UNDP Action Plan and the Pro PALOP-TL SAI

[1]

was to specifically work with the Network of Women Parliamentarians (RMP-CV), in partnership with UN Women.

With the support of the Pro PALOP-TL SAI, RMP-CV started a series of field visits to the main municipalities of the country, in order to effectively ensure legislative oversight of gender equity national targets and approved executive policies and identify the main challenges for meeting the implementation of the Gender based Violence (GBV) Law.

On each island visited, Women MPs included a number of meetings with institutions which deal with the problem of GBV, such as the Town Council, the National Police, the Office of the Attorney General, the official Law Centre, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the associations which work with women victims of violence, as well as meetings with rural communities.

This work in the field was followed and complemented by expert support and guidance provided by a Gender senior advisor, within Pro PALOP-TL SAI scope and in collaboration with UNW. The approach was to enhance Parliament Budget and Expenditure oversight through the strengthening of Women MPs and RMP-CV’s capacity to carrying out an in-depth result based analysis of 2015 Executive’s Budget Proposal with a special focus on the differential costs and impact on men and women.

The gender sensitive analysis of the Executive’s Budget Proposal for 2015 carried out by RMP-CV has shown that:

• The funds allocated for the implementation of the law are coming mostly from donor donations;
• The total financial support to implement the law has to be substantially increased;
• To implement the measures of the National Plan to Fight Gender Based Violence and the National Plan for Gender Equality additional allocation of funds is needed for the program “Strengthening Gender Equality and Equity”.

Following the discussions in the National Assembly to enact the Executive’s Budget Proposal for the2015 General State Budget, the Network of Cabo Verde Women MPs has continued its advocacy working a more assertive and knowledgeable way, bringing the discussion directly into the Special Parliament Committees involving the Executive and Ministers responsible for programmes which could be financing those measures, according to the nature, results and targets of their respective programmes.

The implementation of proposed gender sensitive specific actions and measures in 2015 will require a total sum of 1,320,662 USD (128,483,201 CVE), just 0.38% of the funds allocated for those programmes.

The approach was to avoid negative impact in fiscal discipline required and promoted by the Executive and the Ministry of Finance.

This was possible by reallocating systematically less than 1% of the available funds while providing specific results-based content and targets to those programmes.

The approach was very successful and had a critical impact in the advocacy actions led by RMP-CV during the 2015 Executive’s Budget Proposal discussions. In this context, a first milestone was immediately reached: the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Health, Cristina Fontes Lima, who is also responsible for the ICIEG, while addressing the Special Commission on Health and Social Issues, announced the integration of measures addressing gender equality into her own Ministry, as well as an allocation of 82,000 USD (approximatively 8 million CVE) for building the capacity of the ICIEG.

More recently and after the 2015 State Budget debate, a second and not less important milestone was also reached: 4 years after the approval of the GBV Law by the Parliament, the executive finally setup specific procedures and implementation framework, including the measures and steps to compensate the victims of GBV.

RMP-CV continues the fight for more gender equity, looking for alternative approaches and addressing the challenges facing more equitable opportunities for women in Cabo Verde Islands. UNDP continues to provide technical and financial support to these actions, in collaboration with UN Women Office in Cabo Verde and within the framework of Pro PALOP-TL SAI.

The project has a multi-country approach and carries out actions in all 6 ACP Portuguese Speaking Countries (Angola, Cabo Verde, Guinea Bissau, Mozambique, São Tomé e Príncipe and Timor-Leste) to strengthen capacities of supreme audit institutions, parliaments and elected MPs, as well as civil society organisations in order to allow a more efficient external and independent control of public finances and legislative budget oversight.

On the basis of the good practice in effectively advocating and ensuring budget oversight promoting gender equity, RMP-CV is expected to become a frontline responder in south-south exchanges and peer learning actions within Pro PALOP-TL SAI actions promoting legislative oversight targeting gender equality.

Written by Isaura Lopes Ramos, Communications Officer at the joint UNDP/UNFPS/UNICEF office of Cabo Verde. 

Gender responsive budgeting (GRB) is government planning, programming and budgeting that contributes to the advancement of gender equality and the fulfillment of women's rights. It entails identifying and reflecting needed interventions to address gender gaps in sector and local government policies, plans and budgets.

In Cabo Verde, the Institute for Gender Equality and Gender Equity (ICIEG) is the executive’s main instrument to promote Gender Equity Policies and National strategies. Back in 2010, ICIEG was supported by UN Women and UNDP to design and carryout an assessment exercise, identifying the shortcomings with regards to gender equity effective mainstreaming in Government’s formulation of strategies, planning and budgeting models.

This led to the development of an Action Plan for the implementation of a Gender responsive budgeting and Planning Programme (PGRB), involving various government sectors, Parliament and civil society. Specifically, taking into account the critical role of Parliament to approve the state budget and oversee its implementation, as well as the impact of such process in gender targets and milestones, one of the strategies adopted within the scope of UNDP Action Plan and the Pro PALOP-TL SAI

[1]

was to specifically work with the Network of Women Parliamentarians (RMP-CV), in partnership with UN Women.

With the support of the Pro PALOP-TL SAI, RMP-CV started a series of field visits to the main municipalities of the country, in order to effectively ensure legislative oversight of gender equity national targets and approved executive policies and identify the main challenges for meeting the implementation of the Gender based Violence (GBV) Law.

On each island visited, Women MPs included a number of meetings with institutions which deal with the problem of GBV, such as the Town Council, the National Police, the Office of the Attorney General, the official Law Centre, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the associations which work with women victims of violence, as well as meetings with rural communities.

This work in the field was followed and complemented by expert support and guidance provided by a Gender senior advisor, within Pro PALOP-TL SAI scope and in collaboration with UNW. The approach was to enhance Parliament Budget and Expenditure oversight through the strengthening of Women MPs and RMP-CV’s capacity to carrying out an in-depth result based analysis of 2015 Executive’s Budget Proposal with a special focus on the differential costs and impact on men and women.

The gender sensitive analysis of the Executive’s Budget Proposal for 2015 carried out by RMP-CV has shown that:

• The funds allocated for the implementation of the law are coming mostly from donor donations;
• The total financial support to implement the law has to be substantially increased;
• To implement the measures of the National Plan to Fight Gender Based Violence and the National Plan for Gender Equality additional allocation of funds is needed for the program “Strengthening Gender Equality and Equity”.

Following the discussions in the National Assembly to enact the Executive’s Budget Proposal for the2015 General State Budget, the Network of Cabo Verde Women MPs has continued its advocacy working a more assertive and knowledgeable way, bringing the discussion directly into the Special Parliament Committees involving the Executive and Ministers responsible for programmes which could be financing those measures, according to the nature, results and targets of their respective programmes.

The implementation of proposed gender sensitive specific actions and measures in 2015 will require a total sum of 1,320,662 USD (128,483,201 CVE), just 0.38% of the funds allocated for those programmes.

The approach was to avoid negative impact in fiscal discipline required and promoted by the Executive and the Ministry of Finance.

This was possible by reallocating systematically less than 1% of the available funds while providing specific results-based content and targets to those programmes.

The approach was very successful and had a critical impact in the advocacy actions led by RMP-CV during the 2015 Executive’s Budget Proposal discussions. In this context, a first milestone was immediately reached: the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Health, Cristina Fontes Lima, who is also responsible for the ICIEG, while addressing the Special Commission on Health and Social Issues, announced the integration of measures addressing gender equality into her own Ministry, as well as an allocation of 82,000 USD (approximatively 8 million CVE) for building the capacity of the ICIEG.

More recently and after the 2015 State Budget debate, a second and not less important milestone was also reached: 4 years after the approval of the GBV Law by the Parliament, the executive finally setup specific procedures and implementation framework, including the measures and steps to compensate the victims of GBV.

RMP-CV continues the fight for more gender equity, looking for alternative approaches and addressing the challenges facing more equitable opportunities for women in Cabo Verde Islands. UNDP continues to provide technical and financial support to these actions, in collaboration with UN Women Office in Cabo Verde and within the framework of Pro PALOP-TL SAI.

The project has a multi-country approach and carries out actions in all 6 ACP Portuguese Speaking Countries (Angola, Cabo Verde, Guinea Bissau, Mozambique, São Tomé e Príncipe and Timor-Leste) to strengthen capacities of supreme audit institutions, parliaments and elected MPs, as well as civil society organisations in order to allow a more efficient external and independent control of public finances and legislative budget oversight.

On the basis of the good practice in effectively advocating and ensuring budget oversight promoting gender equity, RMP-CV is expected to become a frontline responder in south-south exchanges and peer learning actions within Pro PALOP-TL SAI actions promoting legislative oversight targeting gender equality.

Written by Isaura Lopes Ramos, Communications Officer at the joint UNDP/UNFPS/UNICEF office of Cabo Verde. 

Gender responsive budgeting (GRB) is government planning, programming and budgeting that contributes to the advancement of gender equality and the fulfillment of women's rights. It entails identifying and reflecting needed interventions to address gender gaps in sector and local government policies, plans and budgets.

In Cabo Verde, the Institute for Gender Equality and Gender Equity (ICIEG) is the executive’s main instrument to promote Gender Equity Policies and National strategies. Back in 2010, ICIEG was supported by UN Women and UNDP to design and carryout an assessment exercise, identifying the shortcomings with regards to gender equity effective mainstreaming in Government’s formulation of strategies, planning and budgeting models.

This led to the development of an Action Plan for the implementation of a Gender responsive budgeting and Planning Programme (PGRB), involving various government sectors, Parliament and civil society. Specifically, taking into account the critical role of Parliament to approve the state budget and oversee its implementation, as well as the impact of such process in gender targets and milestones, one of the strategies adopted within the scope of UNDP Action Plan and the Pro PALOP-TL SAI

[1]

was to specifically work with the Network of Women Parliamentarians (RMP-CV), in partnership with UN Women.

With the support of the Pro PALOP-TL SAI, RMP-CV started a series of field visits to the main municipalities of the country, in order to effectively ensure legislative oversight of gender equity national targets and approved executive policies and identify the main challenges for meeting the implementation of the Gender based Violence (GBV) Law.

On each island visited, Women MPs included a number of meetings with institutions which deal with the problem of GBV, such as the Town Council, the National Police, the Office of the Attorney General, the official Law Centre, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the associations which work with women victims of violence, as well as meetings with rural communities.

This work in the field was followed and complemented by expert support and guidance provided by a Gender senior advisor, within Pro PALOP-TL SAI scope and in collaboration with UNW. The approach was to enhance Parliament Budget and Expenditure oversight through the strengthening of Women MPs and RMP-CV’s capacity to carrying out an in-depth result based analysis of 2015 Executive’s Budget Proposal with a special focus on the differential costs and impact on men and women.

The gender sensitive analysis of the Executive’s Budget Proposal for 2015 carried out by RMP-CV has shown that:

• The funds allocated for the implementation of the law are coming mostly from donor donations;
• The total financial support to implement the law has to be substantially increased;
• To implement the measures of the National Plan to Fight Gender Based Violence and the National Plan for Gender Equality additional allocation of funds is needed for the program “Strengthening Gender Equality and Equity”.

Following the discussions in the National Assembly to enact the Executive’s Budget Proposal for the2015 General State Budget, the Network of Cabo Verde Women MPs has continued its advocacy working a more assertive and knowledgeable way, bringing the discussion directly into the Special Parliament Committees involving the Executive and Ministers responsible for programmes which could be financing those measures, according to the nature, results and targets of their respective programmes.

The implementation of proposed gender sensitive specific actions and measures in 2015 will require a total sum of 1,320,662 USD (128,483,201 CVE), just 0.38% of the funds allocated for those programmes.

The approach was to avoid negative impact in fiscal discipline required and promoted by the Executive and the Ministry of Finance.

This was possible by reallocating systematically less than 1% of the available funds while providing specific results-based content and targets to those programmes.

The approach was very successful and had a critical impact in the advocacy actions led by RMP-CV during the 2015 Executive’s Budget Proposal discussions. In this context, a first milestone was immediately reached: the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Health, Cristina Fontes Lima, who is also responsible for the ICIEG, while addressing the Special Commission on Health and Social Issues, announced the integration of measures addressing gender equality into her own Ministry, as well as an allocation of 82,000 USD (approximatively 8 million CVE) for building the capacity of the ICIEG.

More recently and after the 2015 State Budget debate, a second and not less important milestone was also reached: 4 years after the approval of the GBV Law by the Parliament, the executive finally setup specific procedures and implementation framework, including the measures and steps to compensate the victims of GBV.

RMP-CV continues the fight for more gender equity, looking for alternative approaches and addressing the challenges facing more equitable opportunities for women in Cabo Verde Islands. UNDP continues to provide technical and financial support to these actions, in collaboration with UN Women Office in Cabo Verde and within the framework of Pro PALOP-TL SAI.

The project has a multi-country approach and carries out actions in all 6 ACP Portuguese Speaking Countries (Angola, Cabo Verde, Guinea Bissau, Mozambique, São Tomé e Príncipe and Timor-Leste) to strengthen capacities of supreme audit institutions, parliaments and elected MPs, as well as civil society organisations in order to allow a more efficient external and independent control of public finances and legislative budget oversight.

On the basis of the good practice in effectively advocating and ensuring budget oversight promoting gender equity, RMP-CV is expected to become a frontline responder in south-south exchanges and peer learning actions within Pro PALOP-TL SAI actions promoting legislative oversight targeting gender equality.

Written by Isaura Lopes Ramos, Communications Officer at the joint UNDP/UNFPS/UNICEF office of Cabo Verde. 

Gender responsive budgeting (GRB) is government planning, programming and budgeting that contributes to the advancement of gender equality and the fulfillment of women's rights. It entails identifying and reflecting needed interventions to address gender gaps in sector and local government policies, plans and budgets.

In Cabo Verde, the Institute for Gender Equality and Gender Equity (ICIEG) is the executive’s main instrument to promote Gender Equity Policies and National strategies. Back in 2010, ICIEG was supported by UN Women and UNDP to design and carryout an assessment exercise, identifying the shortcomings with regards to gender equity effective mainstreaming in Government’s formulation of strategies, planning and budgeting models.

This led to the development of an Action Plan for the implementation of a Gender responsive budgeting and Planning Programme (PGRB), involving various government sectors, Parliament and civil society. Specifically, taking into account the critical role of Parliament to approve the state budget and oversee its implementation, as well as the impact of such process in gender targets and milestones, one of the strategies adopted within the scope of UNDP Action Plan and the Pro PALOP-TL SAI

[1]

was to specifically work with the Network of Women Parliamentarians (RMP-CV), in partnership with UN Women.

With the support of the Pro PALOP-TL SAI, RMP-CV started a series of field visits to the main municipalities of the country, in order to effectively ensure legislative oversight of gender equity national targets and approved executive policies and identify the main challenges for meeting the implementation of the Gender based Violence (GBV) Law.

On each island visited, Women MPs included a number of meetings with institutions which deal with the problem of GBV, such as the Town Council, the National Police, the Office of the Attorney General, the official Law Centre, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the associations which work with women victims of violence, as well as meetings with rural communities.

This work in the field was followed and complemented by expert support and guidance provided by a Gender senior advisor, within Pro PALOP-TL SAI scope and in collaboration with UNW. The approach was to enhance Parliament Budget and Expenditure oversight through the strengthening of Women MPs and RMP-CV’s capacity to carrying out an in-depth result based analysis of 2015 Executive’s Budget Proposal with a special focus on the differential costs and impact on men and women.

The gender sensitive analysis of the Executive’s Budget Proposal for 2015 carried out by RMP-CV has shown that:

• The funds allocated for the implementation of the law are coming mostly from donor donations;
• The total financial support to implement the law has to be substantially increased;
• To implement the measures of the National Plan to Fight Gender Based Violence and the National Plan for Gender Equality additional allocation of funds is needed for the program “Strengthening Gender Equality and Equity”.

Following the discussions in the National Assembly to enact the Executive’s Budget Proposal for the2015 General State Budget, the Network of Cabo Verde Women MPs has continued its advocacy working a more assertive and knowledgeable way, bringing the discussion directly into the Special Parliament Committees involving the Executive and Ministers responsible for programmes which could be financing those measures, according to the nature, results and targets of their respective programmes.

The implementation of proposed gender sensitive specific actions and measures in 2015 will require a total sum of 1,320,662 USD (128,483,201 CVE), just 0.38% of the funds allocated for those programmes.

The approach was to avoid negative impact in fiscal discipline required and promoted by the Executive and the Ministry of Finance.

This was possible by reallocating systematically less than 1% of the available funds while providing specific results-based content and targets to those programmes.

The approach was very successful and had a critical impact in the advocacy actions led by RMP-CV during the 2015 Executive’s Budget Proposal discussions. In this context, a first milestone was immediately reached: the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Health, Cristina Fontes Lima, who is also responsible for the ICIEG, while addressing the Special Commission on Health and Social Issues, announced the integration of measures addressing gender equality into her own Ministry, as well as an allocation of 82,000 USD (approximatively 8 million CVE) for building the capacity of the ICIEG.

More recently and after the 2015 State Budget debate, a second and not less important milestone was also reached: 4 years after the approval of the GBV Law by the Parliament, the executive finally setup specific procedures and implementation framework, including the measures and steps to compensate the victims of GBV.

RMP-CV continues the fight for more gender equity, looking for alternative approaches and addressing the challenges facing more equitable opportunities for women in Cabo Verde Islands. UNDP continues to provide technical and financial support to these actions, in collaboration with UN Women Office in Cabo Verde and within the framework of Pro PALOP-TL SAI.

The project has a multi-country approach and carries out actions in all 6 ACP Portuguese Speaking Countries (Angola, Cabo Verde, Guinea Bissau, Mozambique, São Tomé e Príncipe and Timor-Leste) to strengthen capacities of supreme audit institutions, parliaments and elected MPs, as well as civil society organisations in order to allow a more efficient external and independent control of public finances and legislative budget oversight.

On the basis of the good practice in effectively advocating and ensuring budget oversight promoting gender equity, RMP-CV is expected to become a frontline responder in south-south exchanges and peer learning actions within Pro PALOP-TL SAI actions promoting legislative oversight targeting gender equality.

Written by Isaura Lopes Ramos, Communications Officer at the joint UNDP/UNFPS/UNICEF office of Cabo Verde. 

Gender responsive budgeting (GRB) is government planning, programming and budgeting that contributes to the advancement of gender equality and the fulfillment of women's rights. It entails identifying and reflecting needed interventions to address gender gaps in sector and local government policies, plans and budgets.

In Cabo Verde, the Institute for Gender Equality and Gender Equity (ICIEG) is the executive’s main instrument to promote Gender Equity Policies and National strategies. Back in 2010, ICIEG was supported by UN Women and UNDP to design and carryout an assessment exercise, identifying the shortcomings with regards to gender equity effective mainstreaming in Government’s formulation of strategies, planning and budgeting models.

This led to the development of an Action Plan for the implementation of a Gender responsive budgeting and Planning Programme (PGRB), involving various government sectors, Parliament and civil society. Specifically, taking into account the critical role of Parliament to approve the state budget and oversee its implementation, as well as the impact of such process in gender targets and milestones, one of the strategies adopted within the scope of UNDP Action Plan and the Pro PALOP-TL SAI

[1]

was to specifically work with the Network of Women Parliamentarians (RMP-CV), in partnership with UN Women.

With the support of the Pro PALOP-TL SAI, RMP-CV started a series of field visits to the main municipalities of the country, in order to effectively ensure legislative oversight of gender equity national targets and approved executive policies and identify the main challenges for meeting the implementation of the Gender based Violence (GBV) Law.

On each island visited, Women MPs included a number of meetings with institutions which deal with the problem of GBV, such as the Town Council, the National Police, the Office of the Attorney General, the official Law Centre, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the associations which work with women victims of violence, as well as meetings with rural communities.

This work in the field was followed and complemented by expert support and guidance provided by a Gender senior advisor, within Pro PALOP-TL SAI scope and in collaboration with UNW. The approach was to enhance Parliament Budget and Expenditure oversight through the strengthening of Women MPs and RMP-CV’s capacity to carrying out an in-depth result based analysis of 2015 Executive’s Budget Proposal with a special focus on the differential costs and impact on men and women.

The gender sensitive analysis of the Executive’s Budget Proposal for 2015 carried out by RMP-CV has shown that:

• The funds allocated for the implementation of the law are coming mostly from donor donations;
• The total financial support to implement the law has to be substantially increased;
• To implement the measures of the National Plan to Fight Gender Based Violence and the National Plan for Gender Equality additional allocation of funds is needed for the program “Strengthening Gender Equality and Equity”.

Following the discussions in the National Assembly to enact the Executive’s Budget Proposal for the2015 General State Budget, the Network of Cabo Verde Women MPs has continued its advocacy working a more assertive and knowledgeable way, bringing the discussion directly into the Special Parliament Committees involving the Executive and Ministers responsible for programmes which could be financing those measures, according to the nature, results and targets of their respective programmes.

The implementation of proposed gender sensitive specific actions and measures in 2015 will require a total sum of 1,320,662 USD (128,483,201 CVE), just 0.38% of the funds allocated for those programmes.

The approach was to avoid negative impact in fiscal discipline required and promoted by the Executive and the Ministry of Finance.

This was possible by reallocating systematically less than 1% of the available funds while providing specific results-based content and targets to those programmes.

The approach was very successful and had a critical impact in the advocacy actions led by RMP-CV during the 2015 Executive’s Budget Proposal discussions. In this context, a first milestone was immediately reached: the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Health, Cristina Fontes Lima, who is also responsible for the ICIEG, while addressing the Special Commission on Health and Social Issues, announced the integration of measures addressing gender equality into her own Ministry, as well as an allocation of 82,000 USD (approximatively 8 million CVE) for building the capacity of the ICIEG.

More recently and after the 2015 State Budget debate, a second and not less important milestone was also reached: 4 years after the approval of the GBV Law by the Parliament, the executive finally setup specific procedures and implementation framework, including the measures and steps to compensate the victims of GBV.

RMP-CV continues the fight for more gender equity, looking for alternative approaches and addressing the challenges facing more equitable opportunities for women in Cabo Verde Islands. UNDP continues to provide technical and financial support to these actions, in collaboration with UN Women Office in Cabo Verde and within the framework of Pro PALOP-TL SAI.

The project has a multi-country approach and carries out actions in all 6 ACP Portuguese Speaking Countries (Angola, Cabo Verde, Guinea Bissau, Mozambique, São Tomé e Príncipe and Timor-Leste) to strengthen capacities of supreme audit institutions, parliaments and elected MPs, as well as civil society organisations in order to allow a more efficient external and independent control of public finances and legislative budget oversight.

On the basis of the good practice in effectively advocating and ensuring budget oversight promoting gender equity, RMP-CV is expected to become a frontline responder in south-south exchanges and peer learning actions within Pro PALOP-TL SAI actions promoting legislative oversight targeting gender equality.

Written by Isaura Lopes Ramos, Communications Officer at the joint UNDP/UNFPS/UNICEF office of Cabo Verde. 

Gender responsive budgeting (GRB) is government planning, programming and budgeting that contributes to the advancement of gender equality and the fulfillment of women's rights. It entails identifying and reflecting needed interventions to address gender gaps in sector and local government policies, plans and budgets.

In Cabo Verde, the Institute for Gender Equality and Gender Equity (ICIEG) is the executive’s main instrument to promote Gender Equity Policies and National strategies. Back in 2010, ICIEG was supported by UN Women and UNDP to design and carryout an assessment exercise, identifying the shortcomings with regards to gender equity effective mainstreaming in Government’s formulation of strategies, planning and budgeting models.

This led to the development of an Action Plan for the implementation of a Gender responsive budgeting and Planning Programme (PGRB), involving various government sectors, Parliament and civil society. Specifically, taking into account the critical role of Parliament to approve the state budget and oversee its implementation, as well as the impact of such process in gender targets and milestones, one of the strategies adopted within the scope of UNDP Action Plan and the Pro PALOP-TL SAI

[1]

was to specifically work with the Network of Women Parliamentarians (RMP-CV), in partnership with UN Women.

With the support of the Pro PALOP-TL SAI, RMP-CV started a series of field visits to the main municipalities of the country, in order to effectively ensure legislative oversight of gender equity national targets and approved executive policies and identify the main challenges for meeting the implementation of the Gender based Violence (GBV) Law.

On each island visited, Women MPs included a number of meetings with institutions which deal with the problem of GBV, such as the Town Council, the National Police, the Office of the Attorney General, the official Law Centre, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the associations which work with women victims of violence, as well as meetings with rural communities.

This work in the field was followed and complemented by expert support and guidance provided by a Gender senior advisor, within Pro PALOP-TL SAI scope and in collaboration with UNW. The approach was to enhance Parliament Budget and Expenditure oversight through the strengthening of Women MPs and RMP-CV’s capacity to carrying out an in-depth result based analysis of 2015 Executive’s Budget Proposal with a special focus on the differential costs and impact on men and women.

The gender sensitive analysis of the Executive’s Budget Proposal for 2015 carried out by RMP-CV has shown that:

• The funds allocated for the implementation of the law are coming mostly from donor donations;
• The total financial support to implement the law has to be substantially increased;
• To implement the measures of the National Plan to Fight Gender Based Violence and the National Plan for Gender Equality additional allocation of funds is needed for the program “Strengthening Gender Equality and Equity”.

Following the discussions in the National Assembly to enact the Executive’s Budget Proposal for the2015 General State Budget, the Network of Cabo Verde Women MPs has continued its advocacy working a more assertive and knowledgeable way, bringing the discussion directly into the Special Parliament Committees involving the Executive and Ministers responsible for programmes which could be financing those measures, according to the nature, results and targets of their respective programmes.

The implementation of proposed gender sensitive specific actions and measures in 2015 will require a total sum of 1,320,662 USD (128,483,201 CVE), just 0.38% of the funds allocated for those programmes.

The approach was to avoid negative impact in fiscal discipline required and promoted by the Executive and the Ministry of Finance.

This was possible by reallocating systematically less than 1% of the available funds while providing specific results-based content and targets to those programmes.

The approach was very successful and had a critical impact in the advocacy actions led by RMP-CV during the 2015 Executive’s Budget Proposal discussions. In this context, a first milestone was immediately reached: the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Health, Cristina Fontes Lima, who is also responsible for the ICIEG, while addressing the Special Commission on Health and Social Issues, announced the integration of measures addressing gender equality into her own Ministry, as well as an allocation of 82,000 USD (approximatively 8 million CVE) for building the capacity of the ICIEG.

More recently and after the 2015 State Budget debate, a second and not less important milestone was also reached: 4 years after the approval of the GBV Law by the Parliament, the executive finally setup specific procedures and implementation framework, including the measures and steps to compensate the victims of GBV.

RMP-CV continues the fight for more gender equity, looking for alternative approaches and addressing the challenges facing more equitable opportunities for women in Cabo Verde Islands. UNDP continues to provide technical and financial support to these actions, in collaboration with UN Women Office in Cabo Verde and within the framework of Pro PALOP-TL SAI.

The project has a multi-country approach and carries out actions in all 6 ACP Portuguese Speaking Countries (Angola, Cabo Verde, Guinea Bissau, Mozambique, São Tomé e Príncipe and Timor-Leste) to strengthen capacities of supreme audit institutions, parliaments and elected MPs, as well as civil society organisations in order to allow a more efficient external and independent control of public finances and legislative budget oversight.

On the basis of the good practice in effectively advocating and ensuring budget oversight promoting gender equity, RMP-CV is expected to become a frontline responder in south-south exchanges and peer learning actions within Pro PALOP-TL SAI actions promoting legislative oversight targeting gender equality.

Written by Isaura Lopes Ramos, Communications Officer at the joint UNDP/UNFPS/UNICEF office of Cabo Verde. 

Gender responsive budgeting (GRB) is government planning, programming and budgeting that contributes to the advancement of gender equality and the fulfillment of women's rights. It entails identifying and reflecting needed interventions to address gender gaps in sector and local government policies, plans and budgets.

In Cabo Verde, the Institute for Gender Equality and Gender Equity (ICIEG) is the executive’s main instrument to promote Gender Equity Policies and National strategies. Back in 2010, ICIEG was supported by UN Women and UNDP to design and carryout an assessment exercise, identifying the shortcomings with regards to gender equity effective mainstreaming in Government’s formulation of strategies, planning and budgeting models.

This led to the development of an Action Plan for the implementation of a Gender responsive budgeting and Planning Programme (PGRB), involving various government sectors, Parliament and civil society. Specifically, taking into account the critical role of Parliament to approve the state budget and oversee its implementation, as well as the impact of such process in gender targets and milestones, one of the strategies adopted within the scope of UNDP Action Plan and the Pro PALOP-TL SAI

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was to specifically work with the Network of Women Parliamentarians (RMP-CV), in partnership with UN Women.

With the support of the Pro PALOP-TL SAI, RMP-CV started a series of field visits to the main municipalities of the country, in order to effectively ensure legislative oversight of gender equity national targets and approved executive policies and identify the main challenges for meeting the implementation of the Gender based Violence (GBV) Law.

On each island visited, Women MPs included a number of meetings with institutions which deal with the problem of GBV, such as the Town Council, the National Police, the Office of the Attorney General, the official Law Centre, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the associations which work with women victims of violence, as well as meetings with rural communities.

This work in the field was followed and complemented by expert support and guidance provided by a Gender senior advisor, within Pro PALOP-TL SAI scope and in collaboration with UNW. The approach was to enhance Parliament Budget and Expenditure oversight through the strengthening of Women MPs and RMP-CV’s capacity to carrying out an in-depth result based analysis of 2015 Executive’s Budget Proposal with a special focus on the differential costs and impact on men and women.

The gender sensitive analysis of the Executive’s Budget Proposal for 2015 carried out by RMP-CV has shown that:

• The funds allocated for the implementation of the law are coming mostly from donor donations;
• The total financial support to implement the law has to be substantially increased;
• To implement the measures of the National Plan to Fight Gender Based Violence and the National Plan for Gender Equality additional allocation of funds is needed for the program “Strengthening Gender Equality and Equity”.

Following the discussions in the National Assembly to enact the Executive’s Budget Proposal for the2015 General State Budget, the Network of Cabo Verde Women MPs has continued its advocacy working a more assertive and knowledgeable way, bringing the discussion directly into the Special Parliament Committees involving the Executive and Ministers responsible for programmes which could be financing those measures, according to the nature, results and targets of their respective programmes.

The implementation of proposed gender sensitive specific actions and measures in 2015 will require a total sum of 1,320,662 USD (128,483,201 CVE), just 0.38% of the funds allocated for those programmes.

The approach was to avoid negative impact in fiscal discipline required and promoted by the Executive and the Ministry of Finance.

This was possible by reallocating systematically less than 1% of the available funds while providing specific results-based content and targets to those programmes.

The approach was very successful and had a critical impact in the advocacy actions led by RMP-CV during the 2015 Executive’s Budget Proposal discussions. In this context, a first milestone was immediately reached: the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Health, Cristina Fontes Lima, who is also responsible for the ICIEG, while addressing the Special Commission on Health and Social Issues, announced the integration of measures addressing gender equality into her own Ministry, as well as an allocation of 82,000 USD (approximatively 8 million CVE) for building the capacity of the ICIEG.

More recently and after the 2015 State Budget debate, a second and not less important milestone was also reached: 4 years after the approval of the GBV Law by the Parliament, the executive finally setup specific procedures and implementation framework, including the measures and steps to compensate the victims of GBV.

RMP-CV continues the fight for more gender equity, looking for alternative approaches and addressing the challenges facing more equitable opportunities for women in Cabo Verde Islands. UNDP continues to provide technical and financial support to these actions, in collaboration with UN Women Office in Cabo Verde and within the framework of Pro PALOP-TL SAI.

The project has a multi-country approach and carries out actions in all 6 ACP Portuguese Speaking Countries (Angola, Cabo Verde, Guinea Bissau, Mozambique, São Tomé e Príncipe and Timor-Leste) to strengthen capacities of supreme audit institutions, parliaments and elected MPs, as well as civil society organisations in order to allow a more efficient external and independent control of public finances and legislative budget oversight.

On the basis of the good practice in effectively advocating and ensuring budget oversight promoting gender equity, RMP-CV is expected to become a frontline responder in south-south exchanges and peer learning actions within Pro PALOP-TL SAI actions promoting legislative oversight targeting gender equality.

To mobilize global leaders to increase the scale and scope of funding for gender equality commitments, UN Women, together with the Permanent Missions of Mexico and Sweden, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and the Women’s Working Group on Financing for Development, co-hosted a side event on “Transformative financing for gender equality and women’s empowerment: Expectations from the Financing for Development process” on 16 April in New York.

The side event was timed as Member States met for a second time to consult and work out the outcome document of the Third International Conference on Financing for Development to be held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in July of this year. The much-anticipated meeting is an historic opportunity to endorse a comprehensive global financing framework for gender equality and women’s empowerment.

Financing will furthermore be central to implementing and achieving all of the proposed sustainable development goals. Therefore, the negotiated outcome adopted in July will play an instrumental role in paving the way for an ambitious new post-2015 development agenda, which will be cemented at a high-level summit in September.

“The ambitions of the post-2015 development agenda will only be met if we can achieve transformative financing, both in scale and scope, from all sources and at all levels,” stressed UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, in her opening address. “This must be reflected in a strong call to action that will galvanize support to finance new and existing gender equality commitments in all countries, at all levels of development and in all situations.”

The side event, therefore, brought together governments, donors, civil society and private sector representatives to share evidence and lessons learned in support of investing in gender equality and women’s empowerment and to strategize jointly about specific priorities and recommendations for the global financing framework.

“We need to examine changes in the way funding is allocated, and how much more we, as countries, can allocate,” said H.E. Lana Nusseibeh, Permanent Representative of the United Arab Emirates. “We need to realize that supporting gender equality and women empowerment and recognizing that helping countries overseas impacts and benefits our own nations too. […] We have fallen short on many pledges. It is now critical that we raise commitments and the diversity of funding resources and to direct these where they are needed the most.”

Also speaking on the panel, the Permanent Representative of Brazil stressed the importance of promoting gender equality for reducing inequality overall, while the Permanent Representative of Ethiopia emphasized the need to find ways to use private sector finance as a resource.

Development experts have long pointed to a chronic underinvestment in gender equality. According to OECD data, only 2 per cent of bilateral aid going to women’s economic empowerment in 2013 targeted gender equality as a principal objective, and commitments in this area as a share of total bilateral aid to economic and productive sectors have remained flat since 2007/2008.

This year, in the Political Declaration of the 59th UN Commission on the Status of Women, States pledged to take concrete actions to ensure the full, effective and accelerated implementation of the Platform through significantly increased investments to close the resource gaps which hinder the achievement of gender equality. However, embracing this commitment will require unprecedented levels of financing and robust partnerships. So the global push is on to ensure real commitments ­­– not only at the political level but through dedicated funding.

“We need to dig deeper into the idea of transformative financing,” said Nicole Bidegain, a civil society representative of the Women’s Working Group on Financing for Development, in her closing remarks. She called for progressive taxation and investment in social protection floors, emphasis on women’s economic rights, and a stronger focus on systemic issues. “We need to bring this to reality, with a commitment in scale and scope, and to deliver dedicated resources in all sectors.”