Beijing +20
is a phrase Soroptimists will have heard more and more in recent months and it
is going to be a key issue leading up to the 59th Session of the
Commission on the Status of Women (CSW59), which will happen in March 2015 in
New York. But what is Beijing +20, and why is it so important? This article
will give you some of the background on Beijing +20 and explain why SI is keen
to get involved!
Background
In September
1995 an unprecedented 17 000 participants and 30 000 activists from across the
globe gathered in Beijing for the 4th World Conference on Women.
Global leaders, state representatives of 189 governments, NGOs and civil
society met with one purpose in mind: the achievement of gender equality and
the empowerment of all women everywhere.
After two
weeks those who attended the conference produced the Beijing Platform for
Action. This remains the most progressive internationally agreed statement of
action on women’s rights and empowerment. However, as Soroptimists know, there
is still much work to be done. Often realising gender equality is not
considered a ‘priority’ for some governments, and women everywhere are placed
at a disadvantage.
To ensure
the maintained support of the Beijing Platform for Action there have been
reviews of its implementation and progress every 5 years. 2015 will be the 20th
anniversary of the creation of the Beijing Platform for Action. Therefore, 2015
is a landmark year for examining the progress that gender equality has made and
provides a serious opportunity to critically engage with the work that still
needs to be done.
The Beijing Platform for Action
The Platform
for Action that was agreed in 1995, provided a defining framework for change
and an agenda for achieving women’s rights and making women’s empowerment a
reality. It gave 12 ‘critical areas of concern’. They are:
·
Women and the Environment
·
Women in Power and Decision Making
·
The Girl Child
·
Women and the Economy
·
Women and Poverty
·
Violence Against Women
·
The Human Rights of Women
·
Education and Training of Women
·
Institutional Mechanisms for the Advancement of
Women
·
Women and Health
·
Women and the Media
·
Women and Armed Conflict
Many of
these areas of concern, and the challenges that surround them, will be
familiar. These themes are still used to guide and inspire governments and
NGOs. Despite multiple barriers, pro-active governments, civil society and the
public have translated the Platform’s promises into concrete changes in
individual countries.
Soroptimist International and the Beijing
Platform for Action
Through SI’s
aims and objectives, its international advocacy work and the excellent project
work done by clubs and members, Soroptimists directly contribute to the Beijing
Platform for Action. This allows SI to support governments by advising on ‘best
practice’ needed to achieve gender equality world-wide.
Alongside
SI’s excellent projects, SI also has United National Representatives in 6 UN Centres
(Geneva, Nairobi, New York, Paris, Rome and Vienna). All 16 UN Reps work hard
to ensure that the needs of women are not forgotten, and use the Global Impact
Report which showcases SI projects, as a tool to do that. Beijing +20 provides
them and SI with a crucial opportunity to influence the future of women’s
rights and empowerment. Different Beijing Platform for Action Themes are
relevant to different UN Centres. This allows SI and its UN Reps to be focused,
and to achieve the most it can when advocating on behalf of the women and girls
in the 30 000 communities in which SI works.
On the 3-5th
of November a Soroptimist International Delegation will gather in Geneva to
participate in the Geneva NGO Forum on Beijing+20 UN ECE Review. At this Forum NGOs
will meet to discuss the successes and challenges that face women’s rights, and
will create action-orientated recommendations that will be submitted to the UN
ECE as part of its Beijing+20 review. More news about this event will be coming
shortly!
Beijing+20
will also be a theme of CSW59 in New York next March. SI hopes to be able to
bring a strong delegation of around 60 women to CSW59 who will all help to make
the Beijing Platform for Action a reality by combining the work of the UN Reps
with the work of clubs and members from across the globe.
The aim of
all this is to ensure that every girl and every woman has access to their human
rights and is empowered to make free choices about their lives. This is
something that all Soroptimists believe in, but despite much progress, has not
been achieved yet. Beijing +20, and the events leading up to it, provides women
and girls with a time where they can say what they need, and government must
listen! Opportunities like Beijing +20 do not happen very often, and so, SI and
Soroptimists will be working hard to do all they can to contribute to the
achievement of women’s rights and to highlight what governments need to do make
gender equality a reality for all people, everywhere.
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