UN commitment to full implementation of Beijing Declaration on Women 

To mark the 25th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women, held in Beijing in 1995, member states on Monday adopted a political declaration pledging to ramp up efforts to reach a full implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. The latter to recall, is an all-inclusive plan aimed to promote and achieve gender equality and women empowerment. The international community considers the above political announcement as the main outcome of the 64th session of the Commission on the Status of Women, which is the largest annual gathering on gender equality and women empowerment held at the UN. This year’s session will focus on the review and appraisal of the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, including an in-depth assessment of current challenges that affect implementation. On the subject, UN Women executive director, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, said that 25 years after Beijing, we realize that progress made in the field of women’s rights has not gone far or fast enough. It is 2020, yet no country has achieved gender equality, she said, adding, “women and girls will hold them accountable as we work together for true and lasting equality and the full enjoyment of our human rights.” (An Nahar, March 9, 2020)