The mayors of the cities of Yokohama and Sakai in Japan today became the first mayors to sign on to UNIFEM’s Say NO to Violence against Women campaign (www.sayNOtoviolence.org [1]).

Mr. Hiroshi Nakada, Mayor of the City of Yokohama, and Mr. Keisuke Kihara, Mayor of Sakai City, added their names to the campaign during ceremonies in their respective municipal offices earlier this morning.

“I am signing the Say NO campaign with deep and sincere interest and have encouraged the 30,000 staff of the City of Yokohama to participate as well,” said Mayor Nakada. “I hope the campaign will spread all over the world and serve to stop violence against women.”

Sakai City Mayor Keisuke Kihara stated: “I am firmly convinced that elimination of all forms of violence against women and construction of society where women can live in peace and security are the foundation of world peace. ... I, therefore, feel very proud of signing Say NO to Violence against Women.”

The City of Yokohama, with a population of 3.6 million, has promoted initiatives to realize gender equality in line with the Action Plan for a Gender Equal Yokohama since 1985. Yokohama City has established three gender equality centres through which it has implemented a variety of projects, including information and counselling services, lectures and training courses as well as support for and promotion of partnership with non-profit organizations.

Sakai City, with a population of 830,000, has a long history of advancing gender equality — it introduced its First Phase Action Plan for Women’s Issues in 1983 and declared its commitment as a Gender Equality City in 1994. Joining Mayor Kihara to sign on to UNIFEM’s campaign and representing support from all 52 members of the Sakai City Council was Chairperson Mr. Hiroo Tsuji, along with City Council leaders Mr. Toshifumi Yoshikawa, Mr. Nobuyuki Baba and Ms. Kiyoko Ikehara.

The Say NO campaign is an Internet-driven advocacy effort that invites people to sign their names to a virtual book as an expression of public support and a call on decision-makers worldwide to make ending violence against women a top priority. The initiative is designed to feed into and support UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s campaign on the same issue.

Violence against Women is probably the most pervasive human rights violation, affecting as many as one in three women and girls around the world. Since resources are urgently needed, the Say NO campaign calls for support to the UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women. This UNIFEM-managed Trust Fund awards grants to innovative local initiatives in the developing world. Since its inception in 1997, it has awarded more than US$19 million in grants to 263 projects in 115 countries. UN Trust Fund grantees have worked to stop human trafficking, put an end to honour killings and provide services for survivors. A particular focus lies on supporting the implementation of laws and policies on violence against women.

The Say NO to Violence against Women campaign will run until 25 November 2008 when the signatures will be handed over to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, in observance of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. To date, more than 225,000 have signed on to UNIFEM’s Say NO site.