|
Mercy Global Concern - 2005
Mercy Global Concern: Briefing paper Number 2 - January 2005
Fourth World Conference on Women Beijing Declaration
- We, the Governments participating in the Fourth World Conference
on Women,
- Gathered here in Beijing in September 1995, the year
of the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the United Nations,
- Determined to advance the goals of equality,
development andpeace for all women everywhere in the interest
of all humanity,
- Acknowledging the voices of all women everywhere
and taking note
of the diversity of women and their roles and circumstances, honouring
the women who paved the way and inspired by the hope present
in the
world's youth,
- Recognize that the status of women has advanced
in some important respects in the past decade but that progress
has
been uneven, inequalities between
women and men have persisted and major obstacles remain,with
serious consequences for the well-being of all people,
- Also recognize
that this situation is exacerbated by the increasing poverty
that is affecting the lives of the majority of the world's people,
in particular women and children, with origins in both the national
and international domains,
- Dedicate ourselves unreservedly to addressing
these constraints and obstacles and thus enhancing further the
advancement and empowerment
of women all over the world, and agree that this requires urgent
action inthe spirit of determination, hope, cooperation and solidarity,
now and to carry us forward into the next century.
We reaffirm our commitment to:
- The
equal rights and inherent human dignity of women and menand
other purposes and
principles enshrined in the Charter of the
United Nations, to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
and other international human rights instruments, in particular
the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
against
Women and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, as
well as the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against
Women and
the Declaration on the Right to Development;
- Ensure the full implementation
of the human rights of women and of the girl child as an inalienable,
integral and indivisible part
ofall human rights and fundamental freedoms;
- Build on consensus
and progress made at previous United Nations conferences and
summits - on women in Nairobi in 1985, on children in New Yorkin
1990, on environment and development in Rio de Janeiro in1992,
on human rights in Vienna in 1993, on population and development
in Cairoin 1994 and on social development in Copenhagen in 1995
with the objective of achieving equality, development and peace;
- Achieve the full and effective implementation
of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement
of Women;
- The empowerment and advancement of women, including
the right to
freedom of thought, conscience, religion and belief, thus contributing
to the moral, ethical, spiritual and intellectual needs of women
and men, individually or incommunity with others and thereby guaranteeing
them the possibility of realizing their full potential in society
and shaping their lives in accordance with their own aspirations.
We are convinced that:
- Women's empowerment and their
full participation on the basisof equality in all spheres of
society, including participation in
the decision-making process and access to power, are fundamental
for the achievement of equality, development and peace;
- Women's rights are human rights;
- Equal rights,
opportunities and access to resources, equal sharing of responsibilities
for the family
by men and women, and a harmonious
partnership between them are critical to their well-being and that
of their families as well as to the consolidation of democracy;
- Eradication
of poverty based on sustained economic growth, social development,
environmental protection and social justice requires the involvement
of women in economic and social development, equal opportunities
and the full and equal participation of women and men as agents
and
beneficiaries of people-centred sustainable development;
- The explicit recognition
and reaffirmation of the right ofall women to control all aspects
of their health, in particular their
own fertility, is basic to their empowerment;
- Local, national, regional
and global peace is attainable and is inextricably linked with
the advancement of women, who are a fundamental force for
leadership, conflict resolution and the promotion of lasting
peace at all levels;
- It is essential to design, implement and monitor,
with the full participation of women, effective, efficient and
mutually reinforcing gender-sensitive
policies and programmes, including development policies and programmes,
at all levels that will foster the empowerment and advancement
of women;
- The participation and contribution of all actors
of civilsociety, particularly women's groups and networks and
other non-governmental organizations
and community-based organizations, with full respect for their
autonomy, in cooperation with Governments, are important to the
effective implementation and follow-up of the Platform for Action;
- The implementation of the Platform for Action
requires commitment from Governments and the international community.
By making national
and international commitments for action, including those made
at the Conference,
Governments and the international community recognize the need
to take priority
action for the empowerment and advancement of women.
We are determined to:
- Intensify efforts and actions to achieve the
goals of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement
of Women by the
end of this century;
- Ensure the full enjoyment by women and the
girl child of all human rights and fundamental freedoms and take
effective action against
violations of these rights and freedoms;
- Take all necessary measures
to eliminate all forms of discrimination against women and
the girl child and remove all obstacles to gender
equality and
the advancement and empowerment of women;
Encourage men to participate fully in all actions towards
equality;
- Promote women's economic
independence, including employment, and eradicate the persistent
and increasing burden of poverty on women
by addressing
the structural causes of poverty through changes in economic structures,
ensuring equal access for all women, including those in rural areas,
as vital development agents, to productive resources, opportunities
and public services;
- Promote people-centred sustainable development,
including sustained economic growth, through the provision
of basic education, life-long
education, literacy and training, and primary health care for
girls and women;
- Take positive steps to ensure peace for the
advancement of women
and, recognizing the leading role that women have played in the
peace movement, work actively towards general and complete disarmament
under strict and effective international control, and support negotiations
on the conclusion, without delay, of a universal and multilaterally
and effectively verifiable comprehensive nuclear-test-ban treaty
which contributes to nuclear disarmament and the prevention of
the proliferation of nuclear weapons in allits aspects;
- Prevent
and eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls;
- Ensure equal access to and equal treatment of
women and menin educationand health care and enhance women's
sexual and reproductive
health as well as education;
- Promote and protect all human rights
of women and girls;
- Intensify efforts to ensure equal enjoyment
of all human rights and fundamental freedoms for all women and
girls who face multiple
barriers to their empowerment and advancement because of such factors
as their
race, age, language, ethnicity, culture, religion, or disability,
or because they are indigenous people;
- Ensure respect for international
law, including humanitarian law, in order to protect women
and girls in particular;
- Develop the fullest potential of girls
and women of all ages,
ensuretheir full and equal participation in building a better world
forall
and enhance their role in the development process.
We are determined to:
- Ensure women's equal access to economic resources,
including land, credit, science and technology, vocational training,
information,
communication
and markets, as a means to further the advancement and empowerment
of women and girls, including through the enhancement of their
capacities to enjoy the benefits of equal access to these resources,
interalia,
by means of international cooperation;
- Ensure the success of the
Platform for Action, which will require a strong commitment
on the part of Governments, international organizations
and institutions at all levels. We are deeply convinced that
economic development, social development and environmental protection
are
interdependent and mutually reinforcing components of sustainable
development, which is the framework for our efforts to achieve
a higherquality of
life forall people. Equitable social development that recognizesempowering
the poor, particularly women living in poverty, to utilize environmental
resources sustainably is a necessary foundation for sustainable
development. We also recognize
that broad-based and sustained economic growth in the context
of sustainable development is necessary to sustain social development
and social justice.
The success of the Platform for Action will also require adequate
mobilization of resources at the national and international levels
as well as new
and additional resources to the developing countries from allavailable
funding mechanisms, including multilateral, bilateral and private
sources forthe advancement of women; financial resources to strengthen
the capacity of national, subregional, regional and international
institutions; a commitment to equal rights, equal responsibilities
and equal opportunities and to the equal participation of women
and men in all national, regional and international bodies and
policy-making processes; and the establishment or strengthening
of mechanisms at
all levels for accountability tothe world's women;
- Ensure also
the success of the Platform for Action incountries
with economies in transition, which will require continued international
cooperation and assistance;
- We hereby adopt and commit ourselves
as Governments to implement the following Platform for Action,
ensuring that a gender perspectiveis
reflectedin all our policies and programmes. We urge the United
Nations system, regional and international financial institutions,
other relevant regional and international institutions and all
women and men, as well as non-governmental organizations, with
full respect
for their autonomy, and allsectors of civilsociety, in cooperation
with Governments, to fully committhemselves andcontribute to
the implementation of this Platform for Action.
|
 |
|
|
|
