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Social Watch
A new paper by Social Watch launched to mark the 15th anniversary of the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action argues that the economic and financial crisis has deepened gender inequalities even further and now it is time to design and implement a new development paradigm with equal rights and opportunities for all. March 2010.
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From March 1 to 12 2010, government delegations attending the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) will assess progress made in the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action (BPFA) 15 years since it was adopted at the UN Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing, China in 1995.
Immediately prior to the CSW, on February 27 -28, several thousand women will gather in New York to celebrate Beijing +15 at the Global Beijing + 15 NGO Forum for Women.
The BPFA is considered to be the most comprehensive agenda for women's empowerment. It contains strategic objectives and actions on 12 critical areas of concern: women and poverty, education and training of women, women and health, violence against women, women and armed conflict, women and the economy, women in power and decision-making, institutional mechanisms for the advancement of women, human rights of women, women and the media, women and the environment, and the girl-child.
In anticipation of Beijing + 15, governments and non-governmental organizations around the world are engaged in preparatory activities to assess progress made at both national and regional level and to identify gaps and challenges requiring accelerated action in the years ahead.
15-year review of the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (1995) and the outcomes of the twenty-third special session of the General Assembly (2000).
The United Nations Non-Governmental Liaison Service (UN-NGLS) is an inter-agency programme of the United Nations mandated to promote and develop constructive relations between the United Nations and civil society organizations. December 2009.
The UN Commission on the Status of Women resolved to conduct in March 2010 a review of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action adopted 15 years ago in Beijing. The review will emphasize the sharing of experiences and good practices, with a view to overcoming remaining obstacles and new challenges, including those related to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). August 2009.
The official Declaration appears to overstate the progress made, and to ignore the slow and partial nature of implementation. It underestimates the degree and types of challenges that remain for women in their multiple identities, including the persistence of all forms of violence. Pdf format.
"The huge challenge that we have experienced in the last 15 years to ensure that the BPFA survives in the formal texts of the United Nations is symptomatic of the complex advocacy demanded by this fierce new world. We cannot be discouraged, but we cannot also be naively optimistic, including about the capacity and clarity of social movements. Women’s movements have often felt let-down by no less than our colleagues and allies who at key moments, in admittedly confusing and complicated policy environments, have chosen pragmatic pathways leading to conformity, cooptation and exclusion or subversion of the women’s rights agenda". March 2010.
Womens' movements and NGOs around the world will be gathering prior the UN meeting in a global NGO forum for women in New York. See a list of key events.
A new paper by Social Watch launched to mark the 15th anniversary of the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action argues that the economic and financial crisis has deepened gender inequalities even further and now it is time to design and implement a new development paradigm with equal rights and opportunities for all. March 2010.
Ms. Matovu-Winyi takes time with NGLS to assess progress on implementing the Beijing Platform for Action (BPfA) in Africa, the challenges that lie ahead and strategies to improve implementation. January 2010.
Twenty-five years have passed after DAWN published its pathbreaking contribution to development debates entitled, "Development, Crisis and Alternative Visions: Third World Women’s Perspectives," by Gita Sen and Caren Grown (1986) that examined "in great depth why and how strategies designed to achieve overall agricultural growth and industrial productivity have proven to be inimical to women (p. 16)". January 2010 (pdf).
Widows and widowhood are nowhere mentioned anywhere either in the Beijing Platform for Action, nor in the Outcome Document of Beijing +5. This omission is quite extraordinary given that even in 1995, when the Platform was drafted, widows, especially in developing countries, were acknowledged to be often the very poorest of all poor women, and, across a range of regions and cultures, widows suffered from discrimination and abuse due to oppressive interpretations of religion and tradition. December 2009.
On the 30th anniversary of the adoption by the United Nations General Assembly of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the regional Coalition for “Equality without reservation” launched a call to Heads of State of Arab countries to promote the equality and citizenship of Arab women. December 2009.
United Nations commitments to the advancement of women began with the signing of the UN Charter in San Francisco in 1945. Throughout its sixty years of existence and its fifty sessions, the Commission on the Status of Women has consistently promoted the advancement of women. 2010, pdf format.
There is a broad consensus on what the priorities are for achieving women’s empowerment… Yet we are far from achieving these in practice and there is little understanding of how to achieve them. Current research relating to these issues is relatively ad hoc and anecdotal. What works in one context does not appear to work in others and there is a lack of analysis and synthesis across different empirical contexts drawing together lessons learned. There is a strong need for a new ‘narrative’ that can reshape practical strategies and approaches at both country and international levels, build on current successes and bridge the gaps between the ‘lived realities’ of the poor and the actions of decision makers at all levels. 2010.
Council Conclusions on the review of the implementation by the Member States and the EU institutions of the Beijing Platform for Action, Brussels, 30 November 2009 (doc version).
Entitled, "Beyond the Crisis: Forging Ahead with Development Alternatives," the DAWN plenary at the AP-NGO Forum on Beijing+15 explored important debates and dilemmas in global governance, the nature of multilateralism, and the role of state and non-state actors that had been made sharper if not overtaken by the current crises as well as their implications on feminist politics and advocacies. See also: Agenda of the Young Feminist: Rediscover, Redefine and Reclaim Feminism
Assessing the Implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action in Kenya. Written by: African Women’s Development and Communication Network (FEMNET); Association of Media Women in Kenya (AMWIK); Centre for Rights Education and Awareness (CREAW); Federation of Women Lawyers –Kenya (FIDA-K); Girl Child Network (GCN); GROOTS Kenya; Maendeleo ya Wanawake Organization (MYWO). Compiled and edited by: Naisola Likimani, FEMNET. November 2009 (pdf).
The Committee on Women held its fourth session under the theme "Promoting the Economic Participation of Arab Women" at the Bristol Hotel in Beirut, from 21 to 23 October 2009.
There is fresh hope that the international organisation will be able to work with governments and Africa's citizens to revitalise the drive for equality, peace and development. November 2009.
