15-year after Beijing: there is still a clear need to move from commitment to action on gender equality

15-year after Beijing: there is still a clear need to move from commitment to action on gender equality

 2 March 2010 – 15 years after the Beijing Conference in 1995, the UN focusing on the assessment of what has been achieved since the Beijing Conference and on considering how to deal the persistent obstacles and the new challenges. From 1 to 12 March these issues are on the agenda of the 54th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. Today and Tomorrow the General Assembly will commemorate the 15th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration.

Addressing the opening of the 54th session of the Commission on the Status of Women yesterday in New York, the Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro noted that while there have been advances over the past 15 years on gender equality and the empowerment of women, there is still a clear need to move from commitment to action in several key areas, the Deputy Secretary-General said today at the start of a two-week United Nations meeting on women.

This year’s session of the Commission marks the 15th anniversary of the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action – the outcome of the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995 – which remains the most comprehensive global policy framework to achieve the goals of gender equality, development and peace.
The Platform called for action on 12 key issues: poverty, education and training, health, violence against women, armed conflict, economy, power and decision-making, institutional mechanisms, human rights, media, environment, and girls.
Member States, representatives of civil society and the private sector are meeting for two weeks to assess what has been achieved since the Beijing Conference, share experiences and good practices and discuss priority actions to deal with persistent obstacles and new challenges.

Among the areas where progress has lagged is in tackling the scourge of violence against women, said Ms. Migiro. “Violence is the most blatant manifestation of discrimination against women, but it is not the only one. Injustice and inequality persist in developing and developed countries and in all regions.”

In addition, she also noted that women still outnumber men among the world’s poorest people and that two-thirds of illiterate adults are women – a statistic that has not changed in 20 years.

“We have also seen limited progress on reproductive health. Maternal mortality remains unacceptably high. Almost all these deaths could be prevented,” said the Deputy Secretary-General.

“So, while we have seen advances in the past 15 years, we have not seen enough,” she stated. “The message emanating from the regional meetings held in preparation for this CSW session is clear – we need to move from commitment to action.”
She urged participants to use the current session to explore how to scale up and better support the many good and promising practices worldwide, and build on the good lessons learned over the years in areas such as education, participation in decision-making, maternal health and ending violence against women.
Ms. Migiro added that Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has designated gender equality and women’s empowerment as priority areas with clear opportunities for progress.
In preparation for the regional-level 15-year review, a regional report of the Arab region has been prepared in close collaboration between ESCWA and the League of Arab States based on outputs from Member States

15-year after Beijing: there is still a clear need to move from commitment to action on gender equality

2 March 2010 – 15 years after the Beijing Conference in 1995, the UN focusing on the assessment of what has been achieved since the Beijing Conference and on considering how to deal the persistent obstacles and the new challenges. From 1 to 12 March these issues are on the agenda of the 54th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. Today and Tomorrow the General Assembly will commemorate the 15th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration.

Addressing the opening of the 54th session of the Commission on the Status of Women yesterday in New York, the Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro noted that while there have been advances over the past 15 years on gender equality and the empowerment of women, there is still a clear need to move from commitment to action in several key areas, the Deputy Secretary-General said today at the start of a two-week United Nations meeting on women.
This year’s session of the Commission marks the 15th anniversary of the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action – the outcome of the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995 – which remains the most comprehensive global policy framework to achieve the goals of gender equality, development and peace.
The Platform called for action on 12 key issues: poverty, education and training, health, violence against women, armed conflict, economy, power and decision-making, institutional mechanisms, human rights, media, environment, and girls.
Member States, representatives of civil society and the private sector are meeting for two weeks to assess what has been achieved since the Beijing Conference, share experiences and good practices and discuss priority actions to deal with persistent obstacles and new challenges.

Among the areas where progress has lagged is in tackling the scourge of violence against women, said Ms. Migiro. “Violence is the most blatant manifestation of discrimination against women, but it is not the only one. Injustice and inequality persist in developing and developed countries and in all regions.”
In addition, she also noted that women still outnumber men among the world’s poorest people and that two-thirds of illiterate adults are women – a statistic that has not changed in 20 years.
“We have also seen limited progress on reproductive health. Maternal mortality remains unacceptably high. Almost all these deaths could be prevented,” said the Deputy Secretary-General.

“So, while we have seen advances in the past 15 years, we have not seen enough,” she stated. “The message emanating from the regional meetings held in preparation for this CSW session is clear – we need to move from commitment to action.”
She urged participants to use the current session to explore how to scale up and better support the many good and promising practices worldwide, and build on the good lessons learned over the years in areas such as education, participation in decision-making, maternal health and ending violence against women.

Ms. Migiro added that Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has designated gender equality and women’s empowerment as priority areas with clear opportunities for progress.

In preparation for the regional-level 15-year review, a regional report of the Arab region has been prepared in close collaboration between ESCWA and the League of Arab States based on outputs from Member States