Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ

Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµOCT Results of the 2022 Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ-SWAP Report

Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ Office of Counter-Terrorism (Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµOCT) has made significant progress in fulfilling its commitment to gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls. This is demonstrated through the results achieved by the Office in implementing the United Nations System-wide Action Plan on Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ-SWAP 2.0). According to the 2022 annual reporting exercise, Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµOCT exceeded requirements in 4 of the 17 performance indicators, while meeting requirements in 11 others.

Led by Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ Women, Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ-SWAP 2.0 is a Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ system-wide accountability framework designed to measure, monitor, and drive progress towards a common set of standards for the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of women.

Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµOCT recognizes how acts of terrorism and the strategies used to counter them may impact women and girls and men and boys differently. Similarly, women and men may have various roles within terrorist groups as supporters, facilitators, or perpetrators. In line with the Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy and its 7th (2021) and 8th (2023) reviews, Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµOCT strives to promote gender-responsive and human rights-based approaches to preventing and countering terrorism through its programmes and projects from their design to implementation and evaluation.

The table below shows Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµOCT¡¯s progress on all 17 indicators since 2019, when Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµOCT began reporting on SWAP

Exceeding Expectations

In 2022, Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµOCT exceeded expectations in performance indicators related to audit, policy, leadership, and knowledge and communication. This was done through three major advancements within Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµOCT:

  1. The Revision of Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµOCT¡¯s Strategic Programme Framework: Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµOCT adopted a high-level goal on gender within its new Strategic Programme Framework (¡°Strategic Goal 5. Promote human-rights compliant and gender responsive counter-terrorism/preventing and countering violent extremism (CT/PCVE) efforts¡±). Gender equality is also integrated throughout the four remaining strategic goals.
  2. The Establishment of the Human Rights and Gender Section (HRGS): On 1 January 2022, Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµOCT established the HRGS to provide technical assistance, oversight, and quality assurance across the Office¡¯s policy, coordination, and programmatic functions. In this role, the Gender Unit reviewed approximately 50 programmatic documents, knowledge products and event agendas throughout 2022, in addition to providing guidance to strengthen gender mainstreaming. Furthermore, the Gender Unit completed two gender assessments of Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµOCT programmes and projects approved/reviewed by Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµOCT¡¯s Programme Review Board in 2021 and 2022 to assess implementation of the Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµOCT Gender Markers and Gender Mainstreaming Guidelines in programme and project design.
  3. Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµOCT Gender Mainstreaming Policy: Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµOCT launched the implementation of its Gender Mainstreaming Policy and Action Plan in January 2022, including the revamping of Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµOCT¡¯s Gender Task Force. The Gender Task Force consists of Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµOCT staff members at section and unit levels from all Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµOCT branches. The main focus of the Gender Task Force is to support implementation and monitoring of the Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµOCT Gender Mainstreaming Policy and Action Plan and making gender mainstreaming efforts more systematic and streamlined across Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµOCT. In this light, gender focal points are currently coordinating the development of gender workplans for their respective teams.

When considering Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµOCT ratings within the larger Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ Secretariat and the Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ system, Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµOCT¡¯s performance demonstrates an 89 percent share of ratings meeting or exceeding requirements in comparison to 71 percent in the Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ Secretariat and 67 percent in the Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ system.

1 Percentage of programmes/projects assessed that year.

Moving Forward

In 2023, Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµOCT worked with Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ Women and the Controller?s Office to revise its gender marker customizing Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ the system wide gender marker to the specific institutional context of Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµOCT.

The gender marker measures the level of gender mainstreaming and dedicated financial resources allocated to projects and programmes upon parameters and standards inside the Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ system. The new iteration of the gender marker does not only measures gender-responsiveness of each Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµOCT programme/projects, but also sets benchmarks for financial allocations towards gender equality. in line with the United Nations Development Goals (Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµDG) standards.

In her letter to Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµOCT Under-Secretary-General Vladimir Voronkov, Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ Women Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director Sima Bahous thanked Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµOCT staff for their continuous support and commitment to gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls. She ¡°commended¡± Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµOCT for its performance, while sharing her enthusiasm ¡°to build on the momentum of Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµOCT¡¯s achievements¡± in the future.

In the coming year, Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµOCT through the Gender Unit of the Human Rights and Gender Section will make relevant updates to its Gender Mainstreaming Policy and Action Plan, while continuing to ensure increased performance in all areas of Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ-SWAP.