Follow-Up to the Fourth World Conference on Women and Full Implementation of the Beijing Declaration and the Platform for Action, G.A. res. 50/203, U.N. Doc. A/RES/50/203 (1995)



            
 
      The General Assembly,
 
      Recalling its resolutions 45/129 of 14 December 1990, 46/98 of 16
December 1991 and 47/95 of 16 December 1992, as well as Economic and Social
Council resolution 1990/12 of 24 May 1990 and Council decision 1992/272 of 30
July 1992, recommending that a world conference on women be held in 1995,
 
      Reaffirming the importance of the outcome of the previous World
Conferences on Women, held at Mexico City in 1975, at Copenhagen in 1980 and
at Nairobi in 1985,
 
      Building on the consensus reached and the progress made at previous
United Nations conferences and summits, for children in New York in 1990, on
environment and development at Rio de Janeiro in 1992, on human rights at
Vienna in 1993, on population and development at Cairo in 1994 and on social
development at Copenhagen in 1995, towards achieving equality, development and
peace,
 
      Expressing its satisfaction that the Fourth World Conference on Women:
Action for Equality, Development and Peace reached a successful conclusion and
adopted the Beijing Declaration and the Platform for Action,
 
      Expressing its profound gratitude to the Government of the People's
Republic of China for having made it possible for the Conference to be held at
Beijing and for the excellent facilities, staff and services so graciously
placed at the disposal of the Conference,
 
      Recognizing the significance of the outcome of the Conference to make a
real change for the empowerment of women and thus to the fulfilment of the
goals adopted in the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of
Women,
 
      Deeply convinced that the Beijing Declaration and the Platform for
Action are important contributions to the advancement of women worldwide and
must be translated into effective action by all States, the United Nations
system and other organizations concerned, as well as non-governmental
organizations,
 
      Recognizing that the implementation of the Platform for Action rests
primarily at the national level, that Governments, non-governmental
organizations and public and private institutions should be involved in the
implementation process and that national mechanisms also have an important
role to play,
 
      Bearing in mind that promotion of international cooperation is essential
for the effective implementation of the Beijing Declaration and the Platform
for Action,
 
      Recognizing that the implementation of the Platform for Action requires
commitment from Governments and the international community,
 
      Recognizing also the important role played by States, the United
Nations, the regional commissions and other international organizations, as
well as non-governmental organizations and women's organizations, in the
preparatory process of the Conference and the importance of their involvement
in the implementation of the Platform for Action,
 
      Taking into account the fact that the follow-up to the Conference should
be undertaken on the basis of an integrated approach to the advancement of
women within the framework of a coordinated follow-up to and implementation of
the results of the major international conferences in the economic, social and
related fields, as well as the overall responsibilities of the General
Assembly and the Economic and Social Council,
 
      Bearing in mind its resolution 50/42 of 8 December 1995,
 
      Expressing its appreciation to the Secretary-General, the Secretary-
General of the Conference and the staff of the Secretariat for the effective
preparations and services provided for the Conference,
 
      1.    Takes note of the report of the Fourth World Conference on Women,
as adopted on 15 September 1995;
 
      2.    Endorses the Beijing Declaration and the Platform for Action as
adopted by the Conference;
 
      3.    Calls upon States, the United Nations system and all other actors
to implement the Platform for Action, in particular by promoting an active and
visible policy of mainstreaming a gender perspective at all levels, including
in the design, monitoring and evaluation of all policies, as appropriate, in
order to ensure effective implementation of the Platform;
 
      4.    Stresses that Governments have the primary responsibility for
implementing the Platform for Action, that commitment at the highest level is
essential for its implementation and that Governments should take a leading
role in coordinating, monitoring and assessing progress in the advancement of
women;
 
      5.    Calls upon States, with the assistance of non-governmental
organizations, to disseminate the Beijing Declaration and the Platform for
Action widely;
 
      6.    Emphasizes that Governments should, as soon as possible and no
later than 1996, develop comprehensive implementation strategies or plans of
action, including time-bound targets and benchmarks for monitoring, in order
to implement the Platform for Action fully;
 
      7.    Calls upon Governments to create a national machinery where it
does not exist and to strengthen, as appropriate, existing national
machineries for the advancement of women;
 
      8.    Encourages non-governmental organizations to contribute to the
design and implementation of these strategies or national plans of action in
addition to their own programmes that complement government efforts;
 
      9.    Recognizes the importance attached to the regional monitoring of
the global and regional platforms for action by regional commissions and other
subregional or regional structures, within their mandates, in consultation
with Governments, and the necessity of promoting cooperation among national
Governments of the same region in this respect;
 
      10.   Invites the Economic and Social Council, in order to facilitate
the regional implementation, monitoring and evaluation process, to consider
reviewing the institutional capacity of the United Nations regional
commissions, within their mandates, including their women's units or focal
points, to deal with gender-related issues in the light of the Platform for
Action, as well as the regional platforms and plans of action, and to give
consideration, inter alia, and where appropriate, to strengthening the
capacity in this respect;
 
      11.   Calls upon States to take action to fulfil the commitments made at
the Conference for the advancement of women and for the strengthening of
international cooperation, and reaffirms that adequate financial resources
should be committed at the international level for the implementation of the
Platform for Action in the developing countries, in particular in Africa, and
in the least developed countries;
 
      12.   Recognizes that implementation of the Platform for Action in the
countries with economies in transition requires continued international
cooperation and assistance, as indicated in the Platform for Action;
 
      13.   Stresses that full and effective implementation of the Platform
for Action will require a political commitment to make available human and
financial resources for the empowerment of women, the integration of a gender
perspective in budgetary decisions on policies and programmes, as well as
adequate financing of specific programmes for securing equality between women
and men; 
 
      14.   Reaffirms that, in order to implement the Platform for Action, a
reformulation of policies and reallocation of resources may be needed, but
that some policy changes may not necessarily have financial implications;
 
      15.   Reaffirms also that, in order to implement the Platform for
Action, adequate mobilization of resources at the national and international
levels, as well as new and additional resources to the developing countries,
in particular in Africa, and the least developed countries, from all available
funding mechanisms, including multilateral, bilateral and private sources for
the advancement of women, will also be required;
 
      16.   Calls upon those States committed to the 20:20 initiative to
integrate a gender perspective fully into its implementation, as referred to
in paragraph 358 of the Platform for Action;
 
      17.   Recognizes that the creation of an enabling environment is
necessary to ensure the full participation of women in economic activities;
 
      18.   Reaffirms that the implementation of the Platform for Action will
require immediate and concerted action by all to create a peaceful, just and
humane world based on all human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the
principle of equality for all people of all ages and from all walks of life,
and to this end, recognizes that broad-based and sustained economic growth in
the context of sustainable development is necessary to sustain social
development and social justice;
 
      19.   Considers, in relation to the United Nations, that the Platform
for Action should be implemented through the work of all the bodies and
organizations of the system during the period 1995-2000, specifically and as
an integral part of wider programming;
 
      20.   Considers also that an enhanced framework for international
cooperation for gender-related issues must be developed during the period
1995-2000 in order to ensure the integrated and comprehensive implementation,
follow-up and assessment of the Platform for Action, taking into account the
results of global United Nations summits and conferences;
 
      21.   Decides that the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council
and the Commission on the Status of Women, in accordance with their respective
mandates and in accordance with Assembly resolution 48/162 of 20 December 1993
and other relevant resolutions, shall constitute a three-tiered
intergovernmental mechanism that will play the primary role in the overall
policy-making and follow-up, and in coordinating the implementation and
monitoring of the Platform for Action, reaffirming the need for a coordinated
follow-up to and implementation of the results of major international
conferences in the economic, social and related fields;
 
      22.   Also decides to appraise the progress on a regular basis and to
include in the agenda of its forthcoming sessions, starting from 1996, an item
entitled "Implementation of the outcome of the Fourth World Conference on
Women", with a view to assessing, in the year 2000, the progress achieved in
the implementation of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the
Advancement of Women and the Platform for Action in an appropriate forum;
 
      23.   Invites the Economic and Social Council to consider devoting to
this matter one high-level segment, one coordination segment and one
operational segment, before the year 2000, taking into account the multi-year
programme of work of the Commission on the Status of Women and all other
functional commissions of the Council;
 
      24.   Also invites the Economic and Social Council to review and
strengthen the mandate of the Commission on the Status of Women, taking into
account the Platform for Action as well as the need for synergy with all other
related commissions and conference follow-up, and for a system-wide approach
to its implementation;
 
      25.   Decides that the Commission on the Status of Women, as a
functional commission assisting the Economic and Social Council, shall have a
central role in the monitoring of the implementation of the Platform for
Action within the United Nations system and in advising the Council thereon;
 
      26.   Decides that the Economic and Social Council should oversee
system- wide coordination in the implementation of the Platform for Action,
ensure overall coordination of the follow-up to and implementation of the
results of all United Nations international conferences in the economic,
social and related fields and report thereon to the General Assembly;
 
      27.   Requests the Commission on the Status of Women to develop its
multi-year programme of work for the period 1996-2000 at its fortieth session
so that it can review the critical areas of concern in the Platform for Action
and to consider how it could integrate into its programme of work the
follow-up to the Conference and how it could develop its catalytic role in
mainstreaming a gender perspective in United Nations activities, taking into
account the need for a focused and thematic approach to the review of the
Platform for Action and the contribution that can be made by all other
functional commissions of the Council;
 
      28.   Also requests the Commission on the Status of Women to forward its
recommendations on the multi-year programme of work to the Economic and Social
Council so that the Council can take a decision on the programme of work at
its meeting in 1996, reviewing, coordinating and harmonizing the different
programmes of work, including the reporting systems of all the commissions in
the area of the advancement of women;
 
      29.   Invites all other functional commissions of the Economic and
Social Council, within their mandates, to take due account of the Platform for
Action and to ensure the integration of gender aspects in their respective
work;
 
      30.   Requests the Secretary-General to assume responsibility for the
coordination of policy within the United Nations for the implementation of the
Platform for Action and the mainstreaming of a system-wide gender perspective
in all activities of the United Nations system, including training, in
accordance with paragraph 326 of the Platform for Action;
 
      31.   Also requests the Secretary-General to disseminate the Beijing
Declaration and the Platform for Action as widely as possible, including to
the competent organs of the United Nations and the specialized agencies;
 
      32.   Further requests the Secretary-General to report, through the
Commission on the Status of Women and the Economic and Social Council, to the
General Assembly at its fifty-first session on ways to enhance the capacity of
the Organization and of the United Nations system to support the ongoing
follow- up to the Conference in the most integrated and effective way,
including human and financial requirements;
 
      33.   Requests the Secretary-General to ensure the more effective
functioning of the Division for the Advancement of Women of the Secretariat in
order to carry out all the tasks foreseen for it in the Platform for Action
by, inter alia, providing sufficient human and financial resources within the
regular budget of the United Nations;
 
      34.   Also requests the Secretary-General, in cooperation with the
Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme, to ask the resident
coordinators fully to apply a gender perspective in integrating the follow-up
to the Conference into the coordinated follow-up to recent global United
Nations conferences;
 
      35.   Further requests the Secretary-General to report annually to the
Commission on the Status of Women and to the General Assembly, through the
Economic and Social Council, on the measures taken and the progress achieved
in the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and the Platform for Action;
 
      36.   Requests the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination
against Women, within its mandate, to take into account the Platform for
Action when considering reports submitted by States parties, and invites
States parties to include information on measures taken to implement the
Platform for Action in their reports;
 
      37.   Notes the importance of the activities undertaken by the United
Nations Development Fund for Women and the International Research and Training
Institute for the Advancement of Women in the implementation of the Platform
for Action;
 
      38.   Encourages international financial institutions to review and
revise policies, procedures and staffing to ensure that investments and
programmes benefit women and thus contribute to sustainable development;
 
      39.   Invites the World Trade Organization to consider how it might
contribute to the implementation of the Platform for Action, including through
activities in cooperation with the United Nations system.
      

 

 



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