CSW DECLARATION Draft ‘0’

Political declaration on the occasion of the twentieth anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women

20 January 2015
Draft presented by CSW Bureau

We, Heads of State and Government, ministers and representatives of Governments gathered at the fifty-ninth session of the Commission on the Status of Women in New York, on the occasion of the twentieth anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women, held in Beijing in 1995, in the context of the review and appraisal of the implementation of the outcomes of the Conference and of the twenty-third special session of the General Assembly, entitled “Women 2000: gender equality, development and peace for the twenty-first century”, including current challenges that affect the implementation of the Platform for Action and the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of women, as well as opportunities for strengthening gender equality and the empowerment of women in the post-2015 development agenda through the integration of a gender perspective; and with a commitment to ensuring that the United Nations Summit for the adoption of the post-2015 development agenda, scheduled to take place from 25 to 27 September 2015, effectively contributes to the realization of gender equality,

Reaffirm the Beijing Declaration[1] and Platform for Action,[2] the outcome documents of the twenty-third special session of the General Assembly[3] and the declarations of the Commission on the Status of Women on the tenth and fifteenth anniversaries of the Fourth World Conference on Women;[4]
Recognize that the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and the fulfilment of the obligations under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women are mutually reinforcing in achieving gender equality and the empowerment of women;
Welcome the comprehensive review activities undertaken by Governments, the United Nations system, civil society, and other actors at national, regional and global levels on the occasion of the twentieth anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women;
Welcome the progress made towards achieving gender equality, the empowerment of women and the human rights of women and girls through concerted policy action at national, regional and global levels and the contribution of all stakeholders;
Express concernthat progress has been slow and uneven and that major gaps and obstacles remain in the implementation of the 12 critical areas of concern of the Platform for Action, and recognize that twenty years after the Fourth World Conference on Women, no country has achieved equality for women and girls, that significant levels of inequality between women and men persist, and that some women and girls experience increased vulnerability and marginalization due to multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination;————————————————————————————————————-
[1] Report of the Fourth World Conference on Women, Beijing, 4-15 September 1995 (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.96.IV.13), chap. I, resolution 1, annex I.

       [2] Ibid., annex II.

       [3] General Assembly resolution S-23/2, annex, and resolution S-23/3, annex.

       [4] See Official Records of the Economic and Social Council, 2005, Supplement No. 7 (E/2005/27), chap. I.A. and E/2010/27

20 January 2015
Draft presented by CSW Bureau
Recognizethat new challenges have emerged in the eliminationof discrimination against women and girls and the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and the outcome documents of the twenty-third special session of the General Assembly;
Reaffirm our political will and firmly committo tackle critical remaining gaps and challenges and pledge to take concrete further actionsto transform discriminatory social norms and gender stereotypes; transform the economy to achieve gender equality and sustainable development; significantly increase investments in gender equality; ensure full and equal participation and leadership of women in decision-making at all levels and achieve gender parity; and strengthen accountability for gender equality and the realization of the human rights of women and girls to ensure the full, effective and accelerated implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and the outcomes of the twenty-third special session of the General Assembly through laws, policies, strategies and programme activities for all women and girls,
Express ourfirm belief that gender equality, the empowerment of women and the human rights of women and girls is achievable with requisite political will, targeted action, resources and social mobilization and therefore commit to achieve measurable results by 2020 and to fully realize gender equality, the empowerment of women and the human rights of women and girls by 2030;
Emphasize that the full and effective implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action is essential for achieving the post-2015 development agenda and sustainable development goals to be adopted in September 2015,and that gender equality and the empowerment of women must be realized to achievesustainable development beyond 2015;
Commit to ensuring that the centrality of gender equality, the empowerment of women and the human rights of women and girls to sustainable development are addressed through a transformative and comprehensive approach and reflected in a stand-alone goal and integrated through gender-sensitive targets into all goals of the post-2015 development agenda;
Commit tofurther strengthen and increase support for institutional mechanisms for gender equality, at all levels; and to prioritize increased investment in achieving gender equality, the empowerment of women and the human rights of women and girls, enhance resources, capacity building, data collection and monitoring, and access to and use of ICTs;and call upon all stakeholders, in all sectors and at all levels, to enhance their efforts in this regard;
Welcomethe establishment and recognize the important role of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women) in promoting gender equality and the empowerment of women and the central role the Entity is playing in mobilizing States, civil society, the United Nations system, the private sector and other relevant stakeholders at all levels in support of the review and appraisal of the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action;and encourage UN-Women to continue these efforts beyond the Beijing+20 review;
Welcome the major contributions made by civil society, including women’s and community-based organizations and feminist groups to the implementation of the Platform for Action and commit to increase resources and support for grass-roots, local, national, regional and global women’s and civil society organizations to advance and promote gender equality, the empowerment of women and the human rights of women and girls;
Call uponthe United Nations system to strengthen its efforts to achieve gender equality and the empowerment of women under all its respective mandates, including through systematic gender mainstreaming, resources to deliver results, and monitoring of progress with data and robust accountability systems;
Commit to engaging all stakeholders and call uponthem, including international and regional organizations,civil society and non-governmental organizations, the private sector, the media, academia and research organizations, political parties, youth, as well as all women and girls, men and boys, tobecome part of the movement for gender equality, the empowerment of women and the human rights of women and girls and to fully commit themselves and intensify their contributions to the realization of gender equality, the empowerment of women and the human rights of women and girls;
Resolve to use all opportunities in 2015 and beyond in the areas of sustainable development, peace and security, human rights, humanitarian action, and climate change to take historic action for irreversible progress on gender equality, the empowerment of women and the human rights of women and girls.