Published By Olukayode Idowu
The European Union has advocated for total inclusivity, insisting that all including vulnerable groups should be carried along at all time and at every sphere of the society and in policy formulation and decision making in government.
A statement jointly signed on Thursday by the Communication Analyst, Spotlight Initiative Nigeria, Judith Owoicho and the National Information Officer, United Nations Information Centre (UNIC), Oluseyi Soremekun read that “As the EU-UN Spotlight Initiative begins its second phase of implementation, the European Union (EU) has called for more inclusivity so that no one is left behind.
The statement said the EU emphasized this as a central commitment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The Spotlight Desk officer for the European Union Ms. Esme Stuart, was said to have made this call during the technical coordination meeting held on the 12th April 2022 at the UN House, which was organized to identify areas of collaboration between UN Agencies, Share technical feedback and track progress on set goals.
”We must ensure involvement and consultation of vulnerable groups at all levels”. She said and emphasized that inclusivity for vulnerable groups include making services accessible for people living with disability.
Stuart added, “Upholding human rights and equality are core values of the European Union, they are enshrined in policies that guide the actions of the European Union.”
The technical coordination meeting which was hosted by the Office of the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator and chaired by the Spotlight Initiative Coordinator Ms Hadiza Aminu Dorayi, brought together representatives of the EU with some Recipient United Nations Organizations (RUNOs)- which are UNFPA, UN Women, UNICEF and UNESCO.
Also present were some civil society representatives (CSRG)and the UN Information centre (UNIC). The UN Agencies present provided updates on their activities and deliberated on important opportunities and way forward.
The Spotlight Initiative Coordinator reiterated the commitment of the United Nations to work with partners and relevant stakeholders to ensure that no one is left behind in Nigeria’s efforts to eliminate violence against women and girls.
She commended State Governments and CSO partners for their significant contributions to the milestones recorded so far in this area.
Aminu further charged everyone to work on surpassing the past achievements and added that ‘the Spotlight Initiative Secretariat stands ready to support innovative approaches to ending Gender-Based violence.’
The Spotlight Initiative is a global, multi-year partnership between European Union and United Nations to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls by 2030. It is the world’s largest targeted effort to end all forms of violence against women and girls.
The Spotlight Initiative is responding to all forms of Violence Against Women and Girls, with a focus on gender-based violence, harmful practices, femicide, FGM, trafficking in humans, sexual abuse, economic (labour) exploitation and domestic abuse.