Stakeholders on Gender have called for more inclusive commitments to secure and safeguard the progress of the Spotlight Initiative on ending Gender Based Violence (GBV).
The call was made at the national close-out and handover ceremony of the EU-UN Spotlight Initiative project organised by the United Nations to end violence against women and girls in Nigeria.
The UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, Mr. Mathias Schmale, said the initiative focuses on Gender Based Violence (GBV) in relation to collective efforts to achieve the 2030 Agenda in the SDGs.
“Since the beginning of the Spotlight Initiative in Nigeria in 2019, we have made tangible difference in the lives of many in Nigeria. It has enabled more than 60,500 women and girls receive worthy services. It made allies of traditional leaders, enhanced data collection and galvanization in changing mindsets and changing lives,” he said.
Mr. Schmale added that “With today’s Handover Ceremony, the sustainability of actions lies in the hands of the Nigerian people, the Government, and the partners. The momentum must be built on. The progress must be safeguarded. The spotlight must stay on gender-based violence. The United Nations system in Nigeria will continue its close cooperation with the Federal Government,” he added.
Also speaking, Ambassador Samuela Isopi, EU Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, noted that the initiative is the world’s largest efforts and investments to fights against GBV.
“EU launched it in 2018 together with the UN. It is funded with the global investment of €500 million Euros, because we are convinced that this is what is necessary to make transformative change. Out of this €500 million Euros, 25 has been allocated to support fights against GBV in Nigeria; in Nigeria the programme has tasted new holistic approach that brought all actors together. This has allowed us achieve resounding results, a record number of 35 States of the Federation have passed the VAPP Act into Law making it fastest Bill passed in Nigeria,” Ambassador Isopi added.
On his part, Nigeria’s Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Mr. Lateef Fagbemi, reaffirms Nigerian Government plan to establish Standard of Operations (SoP) procedure for speedy prosecution of Gender-based Violence (GBV) cases in schools.
According to Fagbemi, “the ministry has been a beneficiary of numerous programmes under the EU/UN spotlight initiatives, in partnership with the UN Women, UNESCO, UNICEF, UNDP. These are programmes centered on criminal justice actions at the Federal and spotlight States. The ministry will be launching the SoP for prosecution of GBV which is funded by UNESCO under the EU/UN Spotlight Initiative; the SoP is targeted at determining and responding to GVB when it occurs in our schools. This initiative propels further collaboration with key ministries of Women Affairs and Justice, to give rise to more robust-real-time and readily available pattern for solution room,” he said.
In a related development, the Emir of Shonga, Deputy Convenor-General of the Council of Traditional Leaders in Africa (COTLA), Dr. Haliru Ndanusa, described the initiative as the most substantial commitment by EU/UN in tackling Sexual-GBV (SGBV).
“SGBV remains the most widespread human rights violations impacting our society’s socioeconomic development and conflicting the values of human dignity and sanctity in our communities. In recognizing the sociocultural harms of SGBV, we as custodians of culture and traditions have ethically worked to transform practices related to violence. We express immense satisfaction at Spotlight Initiative fostering a movement of ethical group in tackling SGBV, we will actively sustain the achievements of the initiative,” Ndanusa said.
Highlights of the event were stage performance on SGBV, video documentary on Spotlight Initiative results and impacts, discussion on Spotlight Initiative, official declaration of the project “closed” and handing over.
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