Management Response

: Georgia
: 2014 - 2015 , Georgia (CO)
: Final evaluation of project "Women for Equality, Peace and Development in Georgia"
:
: Georgia
:

The final evaluation of the Project ‘Women for Equality, Peace and Development in Georgia’ (WEPD II phase) provided highly instrumental findings, lessons learned, conclusions and recommendations for UN Women Georgia country future office programming. The findings and recommendations of the evaluation have been taken into the consideration in the development of Georgia Strategic Note for the years 2016-2020 and the activities foreseen for the implementation of the evaluation recommendations spelled out in this Management Response are integrated into UN Women Georgia CO Annual Work Plan 2016. The evaluation has found that overall, UN Women has made important contributions in all areas of its interventions under the WEPD II; the project produced measurable impact in terms of IDP and conflict affected women and of targeted women belonging to ethnic minorities (rights-holders) increased access to legal aid and social services. The project also made impact level changes in the capacities of targeted government partners (duty-bearers) such as Ministry of Defence, IDP Ministry and local governments to work in the area of Women, Peace, and Security.

: Approved
Recommendation: Support further the National Coordination Group and Gender Equality Council on elaboration and implementation of the second phase on the NAP on 1325 and advocate its funding by the Government;
Management Response: Accepted. Technical support for the elaboration and further implementation of the second phase of the National Action Plan on UN SCR 1325 has already started in the last month of WEPD II implementation and is continued in 2016 with UN Women core and HQ provided resources.
Description:
Management Response Category:
Thematic Area: Not applicable
Operating Principles: Not applicable
Organizational Priorities: Not applicable
UNEG Criteria: Not applicable
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
1.1. Provide technical support to the Assistant of the Prime Minister on Human Rights and Gender Equality Issues in the development of a roadmap for drafting of the second NAP in. UN Women GEO CO 2016/03 Completed UN Women CO Georgia supported the Prime Minister’s Office in the development of a roadmap for drafting of the second NAP on UNSCR 1325.
1.2. Organize a training for the National Coordination Group in charge of the implementation and development of Georgia’s NAP on UNSCR 1325 in partnership with the Office of the Prime Minister on developing the second phase of Georgia’s Second National Action Plan (NAP) on Women, Peace and Security. UN Women GEO CO 2016/03 Completed In partnership with the Office of the Prime Minister, UN Women Georgia Country Office and WPS Section in HQ organized a three-day training for the National Coordination Group dedicated to the drafting of Georgia’s Second National Action Plan (NAP) on Women, Peace and Security. The training brought together approximately 40 participants representing various ministries and was facilitated by a group of international trainers. As a result of the training, a zero draft of the NAP for the years 2016-2017 was developed. The draft NAP will undergo further scrutiny in the government and will be also further consulted with the civil society and grassroots IDP and conflict-affected women.
1.3. Organize a Conference on implementation of the first NAP and provide space for women’s NGOs to give recommendations to the Prime Minister’s Office for incorporating them while drafting the second phase of the NAP 1325 UN Women GEO CO 2016/03 Completed The final Conference on the Implementation of the National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security in Georgia (2012-2015) was jointly organized by UN Women, the Prime Minister’s Office and Public Defender’s Office of Georgia. About 40 participants from Prime Minister’s Office, Gender Equality Council of the Parliament, representatives of the Ministries in charge of implementation of the NAP on Women, Peace and Security and women’s CSO, as well as IDP women and women residing in conflict affected regions of Georgia attended the meeting. The representatives of CSOs presented their recommendations for the new phase of the NAP to the Prime Minister’s Office and other state agencies.
1.4. Provide technical support to the Government of Georgia to undertake the costing the second phase of the NAP UN Women GEO CO 2016/04 Completed UN Women provided technical support and the costing of the draft NAP 1325 2016-2017 has been completed in the 1 quarter of 2016.
1.5. To support the government in organization of consultations around the second phase of the NAP 1325 with CSOs in Tbilisi, and conflict affected regions of Georgia to incorporate the feedback of CSOs and grassroots IDP and conflict-affected communities in final version of the new NAP. UN Women GEO CO 2016/04 Completed UN Women reached the agreement with the Prime Minister’s office and organized in the first quarter of 2016 public discussions of the new draft with CSOs in Tbilisi, as well as in Shida Qartli (conflict affected region of Georgia) to ensure the inclusive process of NAP drafting.
Recommendation: Advocate for stronger ownership and accountability of the NAP by the Government agencies and promote relevant capacity development, such as establishment or strengthening of formal units at the level of the key ministries;
Management Response: Accepted. After lobbying efforts of UN Women, the supervision of the implementation of the National Action Plan of Georgia on UNSCR 1325 was transferred from the Gender Equality Council of the Parliament (GEC) to the Prime-Minister’s Office, i.e. from the legislative to the executive branch of the Government in December 2014. This shift signals strengthened commitment and accountability of the executive branch of the government for the implementation of the 1325 NAP.
Description:
Management Response Category:
Thematic Area: Not applicable
Operating Principles: Not applicable
Organizational Priorities: Not applicable
UNEG Criteria: Not applicable
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
2.1. Continue providing technical support to the Prime-Minister’s Office in the process of development of Institutional Mechanism on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment in the executive branch of the government UN Women GEO CO 2016/12 Completed As a result of the technical support provided to the Government of Georgia in establishing an institutional mechanism on gender equality and violence against women and girls within the executive branch, relevant legislative amendments establishing the Inter-Agency Commission on Gender Equality, Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (GE/VAW Commission) have been adopted and its charter approved. The GE/VAW Commission has been established under the Prime Minister’s Office and is comprised of line ministries and relevant governmental agencies on the deputy ministerial level. The mechanism is tasked with policy making in the area of gender equality, women's empowerment, violence against women and girls and domestic violence. It will further coordinate and monitor implementation of these policies.
2.2. To increase the capacity of the Prime Minister's Office / Institutional Mechanism on GEWE & relevant line ministries in monitoring and reporting in relation to the new phase of NAP 1325 UN Women GEO CO 2016/12 Completed NAP 1325 monitoring and reporting tools have been developed in close cooperation with the Prime Minister's Office and have been put in practice.
Recommendation: Continue conducting Participatory Gender Audits of the Governmental institutions; use the findings to develop the baseline data to inform capacity development interventions;
Management Response: Partially Accepted. UN Women has conducted 6 Participatory Gender Audits (PGA) for its key partner state agencies since 2013: The Parliament of Georgia (2013), Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories of Georgia, Refugees and Accommodation (2013), Ministry of Defence of Georgia (2014), Ministry of Internal Affairs (2014), Ministry of Regional Development and Infrastructure (2015) and Tbilisi Municipality (2015). The Findings and recommendations of the Audits guide UN Women’s capacity development interventions with these entities. The recommendation is partially accepted because UN Women has prioritized follow up to already conducted Audits rather than initiation of new audits in the SN 2016-2020.
Description:
Management Response Category:
Thematic Area: Not applicable
Operating Principles: Not applicable
Organizational Priorities: Not applicable
UNEG Criteria: Not applicable
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
3.1. To support finalization of PGA audit reports of the Ministry of Regional Development and Infrastructure and Tbilisi Municipality, including preparation of executive summaries in English UN Women GEO CO 2016/04 Completed The PGA audit reports have been finalized and shared with government partners for feedback and reflection.
3.2. To follow up on recommendations of PGAs which have already been conducted in 2014 and 2015 UN Women GEO CO 2016/12 Completed Ministry of Defence of Georgia provided formal communication to UN Women indicating that they have addressed 24 out of 29 PGA recommendations in their work in 2015 and plans for 2016. UN Women has developed a detailed guide to the implementation of PGA recommendations together with the Ministry of Internal Affairs that is also in the process of implementation.
Recommendation: Advocate access of women to microfinancing and development of innovative models that promote women’s entrepreneurship and reduction of feminized poverty;
Management Response: Accepted. UN Women, in partnership with the Association of Development and Support of Micro-finance Organizations, carried out the mapping study on “Accessibility of Microfinance Institution Services for Women: Existing Barriers and Opportunities” in 2013. The aim of the study conducted under WEPD II was twofold; firstly, to demonstrate the challenges and opportunities that ethnic minority and IDP women face in accessing and benefiting from the services of micro-finance institutions (MFIs). Secondly, the study examined the work and priorities of development-oriented MFIs vis-à-vis the seven key Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) with a view to strengthening the gender-sensitivity of MFIs’ work. The results of the analysis and set out recommendations were shared with the MFIs to promote the WEPs and to increase accessibility of their services to women. As a follow up, Association of Development and Support of Micro-finance Organizations has included Women’s Empowerment Principles in the basic standards of the Code of Ethics, which has been approved by the Association. UN Women in the frameworks of its SN 2016-2020 in the impact area 2 – Women’s Economic Empowerment (WEE) plans to further build on the findings and recommendations of the study and advocate for the access of women to micro-financing.
Description:
Management Response Category:
Thematic Area: Not applicable
Operating Principles: Not applicable
Organizational Priorities: Not applicable
UNEG Criteria: Not applicable
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
4.1. To support the development of the ToR and recruitment of gender specialist on WEE to work for the Institutional Mechanism on GEWE and Gender Adviser in the IDP Ministry UN Women GEO CO 2016/12 Completed Gender Specialist has been recruited in the MRA in April 2016, the sustainability of this function/position has been ensured through the MoU signed by the MRA and UN Women in April 2016.
4.2. To provide technical support in mainstreaming gender into the National Action Plan on IDPs’ access to livelihoods 2016-2017 UN Women GEO CO 2016/03 Completed The Action Plan was adopted by the government on 18 December 2015. The majority of UN Women recommendations aimed at mainstreaming gender into this policy document have been taken into the consideration.
4.3. To support reduction of feminized poverty among IDP women through improving their livelihoods opportunities (through implementation of UN Women/FAO joint project supported by EU) UN Women GEO CO 2016/06 Completed The work on UN Women/FAO joint project supported by EUD aimed at enhanced livelihoods of vulnerable IDP women has started in the end of February 2016.
4.4. To raise non-core funds for the implementation of UN Women Georgia SN 2016-2020, especially in the impact area 2 – Women’s Economic Empowerment and consider partnership with interested MFIs in the frameworks of non-core to-be-mobilized WEE programme UN Women GEO CO 2016/05 Completed Following a joint ADA/SDC/UN Women assessment of Agricultural Extension Services, UN Women has developed a concept note for a project proposal on WEE and submitted both to SDC and ADA in May 2016. It is expected that the discussions regarding the concept note will take place in the remaining months of 2016.
Recommendation: Use the results achieved in relation to IDPs, such as changes in registration of housing ownership accommodation on all adult members of IDPs families to advocate universal implementation of women’s property rights in the country i.e. civil law and other regulating property ownership legislation;
Management Response: Accepted. Although the principle of equality between men and women in terms of property rights is enshrined in Georgian legislation, the majority of citizens adhere to customary law as parents favor their sons over their daughters in terms of inheritance of immovable property – land, house. Oftentimes women voluntarily waive the right to inherit real estate from their parents in favor of their brothers. UN Women will try to mobilize non-core resources for the awareness raising interventions to target this discriminatory practice.
Description:
Management Response Category:
Thematic Area: Not applicable
Operating Principles: Not applicable
Organizational Priorities: Not applicable
UNEG Criteria: Not applicable
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
5.1. To incorporate awareness raising campaign on women’s property rights into UN Women communications strategy. UN Women GEO CO 2016/03 Completed The issue of promotion of women's property rights has been incorporated in UN Women Communication Strategy 2016-2020.
5.2. To raise funds for awareness raising interventions (either a Public Service Announcement (PSA) or a documentary ) on women’s inheritance rights in Georgia UN Women GEO CO 2016/12 Completed Country office is in the process of development of an info-graphic on the needs and priorities of women residing in mountainous regions of Georgia and has already developed another info-graphic on economic situation of rural women, where women's access to land and productive resources and inheritance rights are flagged. Further, UN Women Georgia CO is in the last phase of negotiations with Swiss Development Cooperation and Austrian Development Cooperation for a cost share project on women's economic empowerment to be implemented in 2018-2020; the project puts strong emphasis on women's access to economic resources and including inheritance practices.
5.3. To prepare an infographic on women’s property rights in Georgia and upload it on UN Women CO Georgia web page. UN Women GEO CO 2016/06 Completed Partnership with a company JumpStart has been initiated in the end of April 2016 on visualization of data from UN Women studies, including on women's economic rights and opportunities in Georgia. The infographic on women's situation in agriculture has been prepared and will be placed on UN Women Georgia CO web-page.
Recommendation: Seek other partnerships and synergies with other international organizations and NGOs across the ABL working in the areas of women, peace and security to ensure upscaling of p2p initiatives and their further development, such as joint confidence building projects in the areas of professional interests, cultural, ecological and other;
Management Response: Accepted. UN Women Georgia CO has prioritize confidence building and people-to-people diplomacy interventions with the engagement of women in its Strategic Note and AWP for 2016 and in several cost-share project proposals that have been developed and submitted to different bilateral donors (Norway, USAID). Thus, the implementation of this recommendation will greatly depend on the availability of non-core resources to be mobilized by the CO for this work.
Description:
Management Response Category:
Thematic Area: Not applicable
Operating Principles: Not applicable
Organizational Priorities: Not applicable
UNEG Criteria: Not applicable
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
6.1. To see partnerships and synergies with other international organizations and NGOs across the ABL working in the areas of women, peace and security to ensure upscaling of p2p initiatives UN Women GEO CO 2016/12 Completed UN Women Georgia CO is actively fundraising to support women's p2p initiatives - please refer to the LEADS to see CO's relevant work with the UK.
6.2. To engage Abkhaz Georgian and Ossetian teachers in tolerance and peace education UN Women GEO CO 2016/12 Completed UN Women Georgia CO is actively fundraising to support women's p2p initiatives - please refer to the LEADS to see CO's relevant work with the UK.
Recommendation: Involve SHGs and especially youth groups into confidence and peace building activities and raise their awareness of issues related to planning and implementation of initiatives in these areas.
Management Response: Accepted. UN Women Georgia CO has prioritize confidence building and people-to-people diplomacy interventions with the engagement of women in its Strategic Note and AWP for 2016 and in several cost-share project proposals that have been developed and submitted to different bilateral donors (Norway, USAID). Thus, the implementation of this recommendation will greatly depend on the availability of non-core resources to be mobilized by the CO for this work.
Description:
Management Response Category:
Thematic Area: Not applicable
Operating Principles: Not applicable
Organizational Priorities: Not applicable
UNEG Criteria: Not applicable
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
7.1. To engage Abkhaz, Georgian and South Ossetian youth in human rights, peace and tolerance education UN Women GEO CO 2017/12 Completed UN Women Georgia CO is actively fundraising to support women's p2p initiatives - please refer to the LEADS to see CO's relevant work with the UK.
7.2. To support innovative P2P interventions for the representatives of media and youth, among others via using social media and performing arts UN Women GEO CO 2017/12 Completed UN Women Georgia CO is actively fundraising to support women's p2p initiatives - please refer to the LEADS to see CO's relevant work with the UK.