Organisation representing millions of French-speakers commits to ending GBV

Alison Clarke
WVoN co-editor 

UN Women is unlikely to ever win any prizes for snappy press releases.

This one, about a framework cooperation agreement it has just signed with the Organisation of La Francophonie (OIF), is a case in point.

But scratch the surface and it turns out to be quite a big deal.

The point of the agreement is to allow the two organisations to support various initiatives and projects to promote women’s rights in Francophone countries – with an emphasis on ending gender-based violence (GBV).

But what are Francophone countries I hear you ask? They are countries that all speak French and according to the blurb on the website “share the humanist values promoted by the French language”, whatever that’s supposed to mean.

The point is, though, that the OIF represents over one third of the United Nations’ member states and accounts for a population of over 890 million people.

The fact that it has signed this agreement with UN Women is, therefore, significant as it clearly has influence over vast areas of the globe and large numbers of people.

The cooperation agreement places special emphasis on the following areas:

• the fight to end gender-based violence
• women’s participation in political and decision-making processes
• advocating for gender equality
• and inclusion of gender equality issues as part of sustainable development.

Whether anything ever comes of it remains to be seen, but the fact that the OIF has committed itself to these goals in partnership with UN Women is a step in the right direction for potentially millions of women.