Addis Abeba — Ethiopia has joined the global anti-abuse campaign which is being celebrated all over the world with the main theme: Eliminating men's violence against women.

To commemorate the day, EgenderHealth, an Ethiopian NGO working on Gander and the marginalized, is organizing a White Ribbon Campaign which extends from November 25 to December 10, 2007, the NGO said in a media release on Monday.

According to the statement, the NGO, in partnership with three other local NGOs-Hiwot Ethiopia, IFSO, and Eshet Children and Youth Unity Association- has organized a three day campaign during the afternoon of November 29 through December 1.

The three- day campaign emphasizes on men's partnership in eliminating gender based violence.

Representatives from the Ministry of Women's Affairs, the Ministry of Youth and Sports, Regional Educational Bureau, Local and international agencies, NGOs, and young people are expected to participate in the three day-campaign scheduled to be held at Minilik 2nd High School.

Denouncing violence against women as "one of the most heinous, systematic and prevalent human rights abuses in the world," United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has vowed to lead a campaign against the scourge.

In a message marking International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women on Sunday, Mr Ban hailed progress in addressing the issue, but said there was much left to do to "tear down the veil of tolerance which still sometimes surrounds it." He pledged to spearhead a system-wide campaign through to 2015 aimed at eliminating violence against women focused on global advocacy, UN leadership by example and strengthened partnerships at the national and regional levels to support the work of governments, civil society, the private sector and others.

Mr Ban said he had proposed that the General Assembly devote an agenda item every year to considering the question of violence against women.

"I have called on the Security Council to establish a mechanism dedicated to monitoring violence against women and girls, within the framework of resolution 1325 on women, peace and security," Mr Ban said.

He also reiterated his longstanding support for a proposal to replace several current UN structures with one "dynamic" entity able to call on all of the UN system's resources in the work to empower women and realise gender equality worldwide.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour, in her statement on International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, highlighted the problem of immunity for violent crimes against women.

"Every day, in all corners of the world, countless women and girls are killed, mutilated, beaten, raped, sold into sexual slavery or tortured.

"Most of the survivors of this violence have little hope of seeing their tormentors pay for their crimes. And so the violence goes on," she said.

Impunity "is built on a foundation of discrimination and inequality," Ms Arbour said.

Also marking the day, two independent UN human rights experts issued a statement pointing out that despite progress, many countries fail to recognise some forms of violence against women as crimes.

They noted that the application of international instruments and the development of strategies to condemn and punish torture have been slow to take into account gender-based aspects of torture, such as sexual violence, and have treated severe pain or suffering inflicted on women in the private sphere as a 'domestic affair'.

The experts appealed to the international community to make full use of all existing instruments and mechanisms designed to combat violence against women.

In Ethiopia, the issue is being tackled by the government, together with UN local non-governmental organisations (NGOs) on a number of activities, including awareness raising on gender and related topics.

The Ministry of Women's Affairs is a branch of the government formed to address issue at national level, and executes Women's Acts adopted by the House of Parliament.