UN Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean congratulates the European Union on Europe Day

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the European External Action Service and solidifies the strong and enduring  partnership between the European Union (EU) and the United Nations (UN). Our partnership supports the Caribbean region in the areas of peace, sustainable development, human rights, protection for the environment and gender equality.

Launched in May 2017, the Spotlight Initiative symbolizes the heart of this partnership. With a seed funding commitment of €500 million from the European Union,  the multi-year initiative is dedicated to ending all forms of violence against women and girls (VAWG), across all continents, by 2030. It represents an unprecedented global effort to invest in gender equality as a precondition and driver for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.

This comprehensive approach to preventing and responding to Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) employs new and innovative approaches to eliminating this critical issue that impacts the lives of women and girls around the world. More specifically, the Initiative focuses on femicide in Latin America; Sexual and Gender-Based Violence, including harmful practices, in Asia and Africa; Intimate Partner Violence in the Pacific region and Family Violence in the Caribbean. VAWG is one of the most common forms of insecurity facing citizens in the Caribbean.

There are six reinforcing pillars of the Initiative:

1. Laws and Policies: Laws on violence – including prevention and addressing impunity – and Discriminatory Laws, Advocacy, Technical Assistance, Capacity-building6, Participation of women, and Human rights
2. Institutions: Inform Decision-makers, Action Plans and Development Planning, Capacity-building of ministries, Financing (including gender-responsive budgeting) and Local Governments
3. Prevention: Community-based Prevention Strategies, Mobilisation of women, girls and boys at the Community Level, Formal and Informal Education Programming with men and boys (and women and girls)
4. Services: Global standards, Capacity-building of service providers, coordination, Improved availability and accessibility.
5. Data: Enhanced capacity of national statistics offices, data analysed used for monitoring, data presented in a consistent way to decision-makers, data disseminated
6. Women’s Movement: Support to partnerships and networking, support to knowledge-sharing and joint advocacy, support to monitoring and accountability roles, support to core and institutional capacity development

In the Caribbean, there are six Country Programmes being  implemented in Belize; Grenada; Guyana; Haiti; Jamaica;  and Trinidad and Tobago. These programmes are complemented by a Regional Programme which focuses on four strategic pillars:

1. Working to ensure institutions are gender responsive.
2. Establishing comprehensive and evidence-based prevention programmes aimed at changing social norms and gender stereotypes.
3. Promoting the collection and use of quality, comparable data to inform public policy, advocacy, policy making, and delivery of complimentary services to improve prevention; and
4. Supporting autonomous women’s movements to influence, and monitor policy and to ensure accountability.

The Spotlight Initiative’s governing body is chaired by United Nations Deputy Secretary-General, Amina J. Mohammed and European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the Commission, Joseph Borrell, who provide the Initiative's overall strategic direction. Country-level implementation is led by the United Nations Resident Coordinator, in partnership with UN agencies, European Union delegations and civil society organizations.

This Initiative exemplifies the power of international cooperation for the achievement of stronger and peaceful societies. The UN pledges its continued partnership with the European Union in the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals, and once again congratulates the EU on this remarkable milestone.