Beijing + 10

In 1995 world leaders met in Beijing to commit to strengthening women’s rights and women’s involvement worldwide. WECF organized a conference on Women, Health and the Environment at the NGO-forum.

Country:	International
Donors / Program:	Netherlands Ministry of Environment
WECF Partners:	Life, WECF Spain, Wedo
Issues:	Gender & Sustainable Development
Duration:	02/2005 - 06/2005

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Many of the participants are still active members of the WECF network. Ten years later the United Nations evaluated the progress of the implementation of the Beijing action plan. WECF and some of its members presented positive results from the work of women’s NGO’s in our region at the UN headquarters in New York.

During the 49. session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), governments pledge to accelerate efforts to achieve equality for women and fulfill the Beijing commitments.

WECF members - Irene Dankenman, Isabel Ripa Julia and Muborak Sharipova (who was also a member of the International Planning Group of NGO CSW) participated in bringing WECF concerns to the UN CSW by annually reviewing how governments have measured up to their commitments to women. The commitments were formulated at 49th Session of UN CSW on Review and Appraisal of the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.

The political declaration adopted by the United Nations General Assembly at its 23. special session in June 2000, stated that member states agreed to "assess regularly further implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action with a view to bringing together all parties involved in 2005 to assess progress and consider new initiatives, as appropriate, ten years after the adoption of the Beijing Platform for Action".


The group of women from the WECF side event

A review and appraisal of the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action adopted at the Fourth World Conference on Women (Beijing, 1995), and the outcome of the 23. special session of the General Assembly (2000), is mandated in the multi-year programme of work of the Commission on the Status of Women.

Two themes were of main concern at the session: 

• "Review of the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action and the outcome documents of the twenty-third special session of the General Assembly"; and

• "Current challenges and forward-looking strategies for the advancement and empowerment of women and girls"

The review and appraisal by the Commission focused on the implementation at national level and on identifying achievements, gaps and challenges and provide an indication of areas where actions and initiatives, within the framework of the Platform for Action and the outcome of the special session (Beijing+5), are most urgent to further implementation.