Partners and colleagues, a good morning to you all.
Welcome to the Regional Capacity Building Workshop for WHO Implementing Partners on Preventing and Responding to Sexual Misconduct (PRS) in this beautiful heritage city, Kathmandu, Nepal.
Our South-East Asia Regional Office is committed to promoting an organizational culture that celebrates diversity, promotes inclusion, and has zero tolerance for sexual misconduct.
This includes zero tolerance for the perpetration of the misconduct, zero tolerance for inaction when it occurs; and zero tolerance for retaliation against those who experience or witness it.
As a woman, and as Regional Director, I am fully aware that sexual misconduct - whether it is exploitation, abuse or harassment - has devastating and long-lasting impacts on the mental, physical and emotional wellbeing of victims and survivors.
Like other forms of gender-based violence, it is deeply rooted in gender inequality and a power differential that intersects with other forms of discrimination (such as ethnicity, class, religion, caste, etc).
Addressing sexual misconduct of any kind is among my highest priorities and has my personal attention. For me, tackling it means stopping it from happening in the first place.
However, we cannot progress alone. We need collaboration from you, our key implementing partners. Together, we have to build a shared culture of support, so that those in need are able to quickly access justice.
In this regard, WHO takes a risk-based approach to addressing sexual misconduct. We ensure that regular risk assessments are conducted and acted upon, and qualitative feedback is collected to inform actions.
Over the past few years, as an organization we are also trying to change the culture of silence in our region by promoting the ‘speak-up’ culture. In doing so, we understand that we must instill confidence and trust among our staff and personnel regarding the safeguarding process.
To achieve this, WHO employs a victim- and survivor- centered approach throughout the safeguarding cycle, focusing on the safety, dignity, well-being and needs of the victim at all times.
These principles are central to the WHO PRS Policy, which is applicable to all those we work with, work through, and work for. We now have an Accountability Framework that includes accountabilities for our Implementing Partners as well.
It is vital that you understand these accountabilities as equal stakeholders of our shared work. Own it, and act on it, and together we ensure that we are the best in class. Let us make sure that Zero Tolerance for Sexual Misconduct is part of our DNA.
I wish you the best for this workshop. I hope that by the end of it, we emerge as the new champions of change for PRS in the region.
Thank you.