Saraswathi Menon, UN Women Executive Board Meeting, Dec. 2013

1. Response to the Thematic Evaluation:INCREASING WOMEN’S LEADERSHIP AND PARTICIPATION IN PEACE AND SECURITY AND IN HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE Saraswathi Menon, UN Women Executive Board Meeting, Dec. 2013

2. Introductory Comments • Covered a period of transition (2008-2012) • Coincided with a period of significant normative advance in the Women Peace and Security (WPS) agenda; • Coincides with improved capacity of UN Women on the ground • Early days to assess Humanitarian Response • Methodologically very challenging to evaluate some WPS activities

3. The Recommendations • The recommendations overall aim to support sharper strategic focus and impact of UN Women's Peace and Security operational and policy work. They cover five action areas: • Enhance intergovernmental engagement and interagency coordination • Build partnerships , knowledge and internal and external communications for innovative and flexible programming • Clarify theories of change underlying programming • Build organizational capacities in WPS • Undertake systematic risk assessments • UN Women is in full agreement with these recommendations and has taken steps to address them

4. Recommendation 1 – intergovernmental and interagency Continue to scale up proactive intergovernmental engagement and interagency coordination through a twin-track approach: (i) pursue women, peace and security implementation proactively and (ii) encourage buy-in from key (and sometimes reluctant) stakeholders, including selected Member States and key United Nations entities. – UN Women Agrees Key Actions include: • Regional Offices to engage strategically with AU, EU, OSCE. ASEAN, ECOWAS (initiated) • Generate stronger country-to-headquarters coordinated action to support effective engagement in all conflict-related interagency forums – particularly IMTFs and PPPs (initiated) • UN Women will join the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (initiated) • Replicate at regional level the gender and peacebuilding training for UN Women and UN partner staff (not initiated)

5. Recommendation 2 – partnerships, knowledge and communications (programming capacities) UN Women should strengthen programming capabilities to remain flexible and adaptive, while improving strategic planning, strategic prioritization of interventions and catalytic engagement in women, peace and security programming. – UN Women agrees Key Actions include: • Increased numbers of country-level joint programming initiatives and access to multi-partner funding sources (initiated) • Guidance note on relationship between CEDAW General Recommendation 30 and the WPS Security Council resolutions, with tips for effective implementation (initiated) • Development of web-based knowledge hub for the UN Inter-agency Standing committee on WPS (initiated)

6. Recommendation 3– theories of change UN Women should better document implicit theories of change that often feature in practice in much of UN Women’s work at headquarters and country office level. – UN Women agrees Key Actions include: • Support Global Study on implementation of WPS resolutions as called for in UNSCR 2122 (not initiated) • Web-based thematic dialogues for UN Women staff on new developments on WPS (initiated) • Annual harmonization of Annual Work Plans with core Peace and Security outcomes as expressed in the SP, DRF 4 (completed for 2013)

7. Recommendation 4 – organizational capacities UN Women should invest in organizational capacities, and financial and human resources specifically on women, peace and security. – UN Women agrees Key Actions include: • Finalize Humanitarian Strategic Plan (initiated) • Regular Regional Peace and Security Seminars (not initiated) • Updated guidance note on support for National and regional implementation of WPS commitments– based on the 2012 mapping and baseline of UN Women’s work in supporting NAPs (initiated) • Develop partnership strategy with special focus on emerging partners and the private sector (not initiated)

8. Recommendation 5 – managing risk Introduce and support more systematic risk assessments to be embedded in planning and M&E at country level – UN Women agrees Key Actions include: • Ensure the ‘do no harm’ principle is fully integrated to all guidance for country programming in the WPS field (initiated) • Through the UNCT, ensure UN Women is fully integrated into the UN security risk assessment and contingency planning processes (initiated)

9. Conclusion • The Corporate Evaluation was a valuable exercise for many reasons: • Highlighted need for strategic engagement in intergovernmental forums at regional level as well as those addressing humanitarian action and statebuilidng • Highlighted the sometimes ad hoc nature of peace and security action in unanticipated crisis situations and the need for flexible adaptive approach from COs and partners • Highlighted the need to support a more even spread across regions in peace and security programming • Useful as advance preparation to address WPS issues in the Beijing plus 20 review, post 2015, and the Global Study on WPS. UN Women is committed to implementing the full range of actions outlined in the management response to ensure effective, coordinated and well-resourced action on this critical area of work.

10. Thank you