Spotlight Initiative regional programme for Central Asia and Afghanistan will identify potential Responsible Parties that will build capacity of a CSO on requirements for grant-making procedures and provide technical support to develop strategies for resource mobilization and use of alternative funding mechanisms.

The Government of North Macedonia, the Delegation of the EU, the OSCE Mission to Skopje, UN agencies and civil society organizations have joined forces to mark the beginning of 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence campaign with an influential launch event on 25 November, which took place at the park of the Woman Fighter in Skopje, the capital.

20 years after the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, UN Women co-organises a global meeting in Istanbul to get political commitment for active measures to end violence against women and girls.

In a country where an estimated 11,800 girls and young women are kidnapped every year to wed against their will, the President of Kyrgyzstan approved legislation on 26 January to increase the sentence for bride-kidnapping to 10 years in prison.