National Women’s Education Center of Japan

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A summary of the Political Declaration follows;

• Reaffirm the importance to commit to the implementation the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, which were the outcome documents of the Fourth World Conference on Women.
• Recognize the importance of the full, effective and accelerated implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action in combination with fulfilment of the obligations under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), and call on States that have not done this yet to consider ratifying or acceding to the Convention and the Optional Protocol thereto.
• Emphasize that the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action is essential for achieving gender equality and empowerment of women and girls, and contribute to progress across all the Goals and targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
• Appreciate the progress made in concerted policy action at national, regional and global levels, review activities undertaken by Governments, and especially recognize the significant contributions made by civil society to promote more effective and accelerated implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action.
• Express concern that no country has fully achieved gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls, even 25 years since the Fourth World Conference on Women. Recognize there are still structural barriers and discriminatory practices that hinder the achievement of gender equality, and many women and girls such as women with HIV and AIDS, indigenous women, women with disabilities, migrant women, and older women experience multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination and vulnerability.
• Recognize that poverty and growing economic inequality are fundamental challenges to the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, while the benefits of development gains are not being distributed fairly among countries.
• Recognize the importance of men and boys as strategic partners and allies in promoting gender equality, as well as agents and beneficiaries of change.
• In the face of emerging challenges which inhibit gender equality, increased emphasis on the importance of political will and increased efforts in addressing the twelve critical areas of concern identified in the Beijing Platform for Action are necessary.
• Reaffirm the importance of the role of CSW in promoting gender mainstreaming and monitoring its progress within the UN system.
• On the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women), emphasize its important role in supporting the efforts of UN Member States, the UN system and civil society organizations to promote gender equality.
• Appreciate the contributions made by NGOs, women’s organizations and youth-led organizations in implementing the Beijing Platform for Action.