Women's Rights, Gender-Based Violence & Global Equality Pact Task Force
An operational unit of the Humanitarian Efforts Diplomatic Advocacy Division, developing international frameworks to protect women's rights in humanitarian contexts — addressing the gender-based violence, sexual exploitation, and systematic discrimination that conflict and displacement amplify, and negotiating the global equality pacts that advance women's rights as a humanitarian imperative.
Mission & Operational Scope
Protecting Women in the Contexts Where They Are Most Vulnerable
Conflict and displacement dramatically increase women's vulnerability to gender-based violence, sexual exploitation, and abuse. Rape has been used as a weapon of war in virtually every major conflict of the past century. Refugee camps and displacement settings create conditions where women and girls face heightened risk of sexual violence, forced marriage, and trafficking. Humanitarian response systems have historically failed to adequately address these risks or provide appropriate services to survivors. The systematic use of sexual violence as a weapon of war — recognized as a war crime and crime against humanity — continues with near-total impunity in most conflicts.
This task force develops the international frameworks that protect women's rights in humanitarian contexts, address gender-based violence in conflict and displacement, and hold perpetrators of sexual violence in conflict accountable.
Governing Doctrine
Frameworks & Standards
- UN SC Res. 1820UN Security Council Resolution 1820 — binding framework recognizing sexual violence in conflict as a war crime and requiring accountability and survivor services
- CEDAW GR 30CEDAW General Recommendation 30 — international standards for women's rights in conflict prevention, conflict, and post-conflict situations
- IASC GBV GuidelinesInter-Agency Standing Committee GBV Guidelines — operational standards for preventing and responding to gender-based violence in humanitarian settings
- Maputo ProtocolAfrican Charter on Human and Peoples Rights Protocol on Women — regional framework for women's rights including protection from violence and harmful practices
Operational Capabilities
Six Core Functions
01
Sexual Violence in Conflict Accountability
Develop international accountability frameworks for sexual violence in conflict — establishing the documentation standards, ICC prosecution support mechanisms, and Security Council response protocols that hold commanders and perpetrators accountable for the use of rape as a weapon of war.
02
GBV Prevention in Humanitarian Settings
Develop international frameworks for gender-based violence prevention in humanitarian settings — establishing the camp design standards, lighting requirements, registration procedures, and community engagement protocols that reduce GBV risk in refugee and displacement contexts.
03
Survivor-Centered Response Standards
Develop international survivor-centered response standards — establishing the clinical management protocols, psychosocial support requirements, and legal aid frameworks that ensure GBV survivors in humanitarian settings receive the comprehensive care they need and deserve.
04
Harmful Practices Elimination
Develop international frameworks for harmful practices elimination — building the diplomatic coalitions, community engagement standards, and legal reform frameworks that advance the elimination of female genital mutilation, child marriage, and other harmful practices that violate women's rights.
05
Women in Humanitarian Leadership
Develop international frameworks for women's leadership in humanitarian response — establishing the representation standards, capacity building programs, and institutional accountability mechanisms that ensure women's meaningful participation in the humanitarian decision-making that affects their lives.
06
Conflict-Related Sexual Violence Reparations
Develop international reparations frameworks for conflict-related sexual violence — establishing the recognition standards, individual and collective reparations programs, and institutional reform requirements that provide meaningful redress to survivors and address the conditions that enabled the violence.