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Background Paper 4 1996-97
Australia's Commitments from the Beijing Women's Conference: An Abridged
Version of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action
Rosemary Butt
Social Policy Group
Introduction
Endnotes
Bibliography
BEIJING DECLARATION
PLATFORM FOR ACTION
'The eyes of the world are upon us. The world will hold us accountable
for the implementation of the good intentions and decisions arrived
at in Beijing.'(1)
The United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women was held in Beijing
from 4 to 15 September 1995 and followed three previous conferences held
during the UN Decade of Women. The first was in Mexico City in 1975, International
Women's Year, and was followed by the 1980 Conference for Women in Copenhagen
and the 1985 World Conference on Women in Nairobi. These conferences progressively
defined problems for women and their causes, and shared ideas on possible
solutions. In the lead-up to the Beijing conference there was concern
that in general there had been little action since the Nairobi conference
and Australia in particular promoted the Beijing Conference as a 'Conference
of Commitments'. In Australia there was bipartisan support for commitments
in four basic areas:(2)
Australia also made a commitment to provide funds to NGOs in Pacific
Island nations to assist in implementing their conference commitments.
Regional Platform for Action
Before the Beijing conference, Regional Platforms for Action were
produced by a series of preparatory conferences for Africa, Asia and
the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, North America and Europe,
and Western Asia. While the different platforms indicate global agreement
on general areas of concern, priorities vary between regions. The Regional
Platform for Action for Asia and the Pacific emphasises:
- Increased feminisation of poverty;
- Unequal access to, and participation in, economic activities;
- Lack of recognition for women's role and concerns in environment
and natural resource management;
- Unequal access to power and decision making;
- Violation of women's human rights;
- Inequalities and lack of access to health;
- Negative portrayal of women in the media;
- Inequalities and lack of access to education and literacy;
- Inadequate mechanisms for promoting the advancement of women; and
- Lack of recognition for women's role in peace-building.
These concerns are reflected in the 12 critical areas of concern which
are listed in the last paragraph of Chapter III of the Platform for
Action.
Commitment to the Declaration and Platform for Action
One of the features of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action
is an emphasis on the active promotion of a gender perspective. The
Platform for Action emphasizes that women and men are unequally affected
by many issues, and recommends that in each area of concern an analysis
should be made of the effects on women and men, respectively, before
decisions are made.(3)
The Platform for Action establishes a basic group of priority actions
to be carried out during the next five years in each of the 12 areas
of critical concern. The final paragraph of the Beijing Declaration
stated in part:
We hereby adopt and commit ourselves as Governments to implement
the following Platform for Action, ensuring that a gender perspective
is reflected in all our policies and programmes.
And in addressing the House of Representatives after the conference,
the then Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Status of Women,
Dr Carmen Lawrence, said:
I think it needs to be understood that a platform is not
legally binding, but it does provide internationally agreed benchmarks
to measure how well countries are advancing the status of women, and
that includes Australia. It clearly consolidates gains from previous
conferences and goes further in some areas. The test for all of us now
will be to see how well these commitments are implemented.(4)
The final paragraph of the Beijing Parliamentary Declaration, adopted
by participants at the conference's Parliamentarians Day, reads:
As parliamentarians, we forthwith undertake to follow up
the Beijing Global Action Platform and the Regional Platforms, adopted
at the preparatory conferences, as well as the IPU Plan of Action, in
what we deem to be the most fitting and effective manner and with the
greatest possible dispatch. It is our intention, in this respect, to
ensure that the necessary resources are made available for carrying
out any measure we adopt.
Purpose
The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action contains a number
of references to monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of
the priority actions for the next five years.(5) This paper is intended
to help in that process by providing an outline of the paragraphs in
the Declaration and Plan of Action that are important and immediately
relevant in the Australian context. A report on Australia's strategy
for implementation of the Platform for Action is to be produced by the
Office of the Status of Women in 1996-97.(6) This paper does not seek
to comment on such a strategy, nor to provide detail on the Beijing
Conference itself. Issues surrounding the conference and Australia's
role in it are discussed in a paper released by the Parliamentary Research
Service in September 1995 entitled UN Fourth World Conference on
Women: planning, setbacks and achievements, by Consie Larmour.
The full text of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action used
to prepare this document was obtained through the Internet from the
home page of United States Delegation to the Beijing Conference at http://women.usia.gov/usia/beijdec.html.
The document is now also available from the United Nations site at http://www.un.org/dpcsd
/daw/platform.htm. At the time of preparation, hard copy was
available only in The United Nations and the Advancement of Women,
1945-1996, published by the United Nations Department of Public
Information.
Much of the Declaration and Platform for Action refers to actions
more suitable to developing countries, such as literacy programs for
rural women, or to practices not relevant to Australian cultural norms,
such as child labour. Those paragraphs have been removed, as have those
that refer to working towards goals that this country has already achieved
and those concerning actions of non-government organisations.
Because of the interconnectedness of the areas in the Platform for
Action, there is a degree of repetition in the document, and here such
repetitions have been deleted. The remaining text has been further reduced
by cutting out examples and discursive interpolations.
The commitments made by Australia in the areas of work and family
responsibiities, health, violence against women and participation in
public life and decision-making have been borne in mind in the editing
of this document, and the text has been cut only lightly in those sections
of the Platform for Action that deal with such issues.
- Gertrude Mongella, Secretary-General of the United Nations Fourth
World Conference on Women, in her closing address to the conference,
quoted in the Age, 12 September 1995.
- Keating, Paul, 'The Australian Government's commitments for the
United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women', speech, 29 August
1995, and Moylan, Judi, (Shadow Minister Assisting the Leader on Women's
Affairs) 'Statement of support for Beijing', Media release, 29 August
1995.
- See paragraphs 198 and 200 of the Platform for Action.
- Lawrence, Dr Carmen, 19 September1995, House of Representatives
Hansard p. 1205.
- See paragraph 7 of the Declaration.
- Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, Portfolio Budget Statement
1996-97, p. 50.
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Office of the Status
of Women. Australian National Report to the United Nations Fourth World
Conference on Women, Beijing, 415 September 1995. Canberra, AGPS, 1995.
Inter-Parliamentary Union, Beijing parliamentary declaration,
adopted by participants at the Parliamentarians Day on the occasion
of the Fourth World Conference on Women, Beijing, 7 September 1995.
Inter-Parliamentary Union, Plan of action to correct present imbalances
in the participation of men and women in political life, adopted by
the Inter-Parliamentary Council. Geneva, IPU, 1994.
Larmour, Consie. UN Fourth World Conference on Women: planning,
setbacks and achievements. Current issues briefs (Social Policy
Group), no.5 1995/96, 27 Sept. 1995.
Lawrence, Carmen. 'Presentation of Australia's National Commitments
to Women, Fourth World Conference on Women, Beijing, 6 September 1995'.
Press release, 6 September 1995.
United Nations. Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action,
http://www.un.org.dpscd/ daw/platform.htm.
United Nations. Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action,
Annex I to 'Report of the Fourth World Conference on Women', Document
127 in The United Nations and the Advancement of Women, 1945-1996,
United Nations Department of Public Information, Revised edition. New
York, United Nations, 1996.
1. We, the Governments participating in the Fourth World
Conference on Women,
2. Gathered here in Beijing in September 1995...
3. Determined to advance the goals of equality, development
and peace for all women everywhere in the interest of all
humanity,
4. Acknowledging the voices of all women everywhere and
taking note of the diversity of women and their roles and
circumstances, honouring the women who paved the way and
inspired by the hope present in the world's youth,
5. Recognize that the status of women has advanced in some
important respects in the past decade but that progress
has been uneven, inequali-ties between women and men have
persisted and major obstacles remain, with serious
consequences for the well-being of all people,
6. Also recognize that this situation is exacerbated by the
increasing poverty that is affecting the lives of the
majority of the world's people, in particular women and
children, with origins in both the national and
international domains,
7. Dedicate ourselves unreservedly to addressing these
constraints and obstacles, and thus enhancing further the
advancement and empowerment of women all over the world,
and agree that this requires urgent action in the spirit
of determination, hope, cooperation and solidarity, now
and to carry us forward into the next century.
We reaffirm our commitment to:
8. The equal rights and inherent human dignity of women and
men...
9. Ensure the full implementation of the human rights of
women and of the girl child as an inalienable, integral
and indivisible part of all human rights and fundamental
freedoms;
10. Build on consensus and progress made at previous United
Nations conferences and summits ... with the objective of
achieving equality, development and peace;
11. Achieve the full and effective implementation of the
Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of
Women;
12. The empowerment and advancement of women, including the
right to freedom of thought, conscience, religion and
belief, thus contributing to the moral, ethical,
spiritual and intellectual needs of women and men,
individually or in community with others and thereby
guaranteeing them the possibility of realizing their full
potential in society and shaping their lives in
accordance with their own aspirations.
We are convinced that:
13. Women's empowerment and their full participation on the
basis of equality in all spheres of society, including
participation in the decision-making process and access
to power, are fundamental for the achievement of
equality, development and peace;
14. Women's rights are human rights;
15. Equal rights, opportunities and access to resources,
equal sharing of responsibilities for the family by men
and women, and a harmonious partnership between them are
critical to their well-being and that of their families
as well as to the consolidation of democracy;
16. Eradication of poverty based on sustained economic
growth, social development, environmental protection and
social justice requires the involvement of women in
economic and social development, equal opportunities and
the full and equal participation of women and men as
agents and beneficiaries of people-centred sustainable
development;
17. The explicit recognition and reaffirmation of the right
of all women to control all aspects of their health, in
particular their own fertility, is basic to their
empowerment;
18. ...[P]eace is attainable and is inextricably linked with
the advancement of women, who are a fundamental force for
leadership, conflict resolution and the promotion of
lasting peace at all levels;
19. It is essential to design, implement and monitor, with
the full participation of women, effective, efficient and
mutually reinforcing gender-sensitive policies and
programmes ... at all levels that will foster the
empowerment and advancement of women;
20. The participation and contribution of all actors of civil
society ... are important to the effective implementation
and follow-up of the Platform for Action;
21. The implementation of the Platform for Action requires
commitment from Governments and the international
community...
We are determined to:
22. Intensify efforts and actions to achieve the goals of the
Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of
Women by the end of this century;
23. Ensure the full enjoyment by women and the girl child of
all human rights and fundamental freedoms and take
effective action against violations of these rights and
freedoms;
24. Take all necessary measures to eliminate all forms of
discrimination against women and the girl child and
remove all obstacles to gender equality and the
advancement and empowerment of women;
25. Encourage men to participate fully in all actions towards
equality;
26. Promote women's economic independence, including
employment, and eradicate the persistent and increasing
burden of poverty on women by addressing the structural
causes of poverty...
27. Promote people-centred sustainable development, including
sustained economic growth, through the provision of basic
education, life-long education, literacy and training,
and primary health care for girls and women;
28. Take positive steps to ensure peace for the advancement
of women and ... work actively towards general and
complete disarmament under strict and effective
international control
29. Prevent and eliminate all forms of violence against women
and girls;
30. Ensure equal access to and equal treatment of women and
men in education and health care...
31. Promote and protect all human rights of women and girls;
32. Intensify efforts to ensure equal enjoyment of all human
rights and fundamental freedoms for all women and girls
who face multiple barriers to their empowerment and
advancement because of such factors as their race, age,
language, ethnicity, culture, religion, or disability, or
because they are indigenous people;
33. Ensure respect for international law, including
humanitarian law, in order to protect women and girls in
particular;
34. Develop the fullest potential of girls and women of all
ages, ensure their full and equal participation in
building a better world for all and enhance their role in
the development process.
We are determined to:
35. Ensure women's equal access to economic resources ... as
a means to further the advancement and empowerment of
women and girls...
36. Ensure the success of the Platform for Action, which will
require a strong commitment on the part of Governments,
international organizations and institutions at all
levels. We are deeply convinced that economic
development, social development and environmental
protection are interdependent and mutually reinforcing
components of sustainable development... We also
recognize that broad-based and sustained economic growth
in the context of sustainable development is necessary to
sustain social development and social justice...
37. Ensure also the success of the Platform for Action in
countries with economies in transition, which will
require continued international cooperation and
assistance;
38. We hereby adopt and commit ourselves as Governments to
implement the following Platform for Action, ensuring
that a gender perspective is reflected in all our
policies and programmes. We urge [all concerned
participants] ... and all sectors of civil society, in
cooperation with Governments, to fully commit themselves
and contribute to the implementation of this Platform for
Action.
Paragraph Background / Actions to be taken
1. The Platform for Action is an agenda for women's
empowerment. It aims at accelerating the implementation
of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the
Advancement of Women and at removing all the obstacles to
women's active participation in all spheres of public and
private life through a full and equal share in economic,
social, cultural and political decision-making... A
transformed partnership based on equality between women
and men is a condition for people-centred sustainable
development...
2. The Platform for Action reaffirms ... that the human
rights of women and of the girl child are an inalienable,
integral and indivisible part of universal human rights.
As an agenda for action, the Platform seeks to promote
and protect the full enjoyment of all human rights and
the fundamental freedoms of all women throughout their
life cycle.
3. The Platform for Action emphasizes that women share
common concerns that can be addressed only by working
together and in partnership with men towards the common
goal of gender equality around the world...
4. The Platform for Action requires immediate and concerted
action by all to create a peaceful, just and humane world
based on human rights and fundamental freedoms, including
the principle of equality for all people of all ages and
from all walks of life, and to this end, recognizes that
broad-based and sustained economic growth in the context
of sustainable development is necessary to sustain social
development and social justice.
5. The success of the Platform for Action will require a
strong commitment on the part of Governments ... and
institutions at all levels. It will also require
adequate mobilization of resources ... for the
advancement of women; financial resources...; a
commitment to equal rights, equal responsibilities and
equal opportunities and to ... equal participation ... in
all national, regional and international bodies and
policy-making processes; and the establishment or
strengthening of mechanisms at all levels for
accountability to the world's women.
Paragraph Background / Actions to be taken
6. The Fourth World Conference on Women is taking place as
the world stands poised on the threshold of a new
millennium.
7. ...The formulation of the Platform for Action is aimed at
establishing ... priority actions that should be carried
out during the next five years.
8. The Platform for Action recognizes the importance of the
agreements ... which set out specific approaches and
commitments to fostering sustainable development and
international cooperation and to strengthening the role
of the United Nations, [which] ... have addressed the
various facets of development and human rights, ...
paying significant attention to the role of women and
girls, [and which] ... have also emphasized the issues of
women's empowerment and equality.
9. The objective of the Platform for Action ... is the
empowerment of all women. The full realization of all
human rights and fundamental freedoms of all women is
essential for the empowerment of women.... [I]t is the
duty of States, regardless of their political, economic
and cultural systems, to promote and protect all human
rights and fundamental freedoms.
The implementation of this Platform ... is the ...
responsibility of each State ... and the significance of
and full respect for various religious and ethical
values, cultural backgrounds and philosophical
convictions of individuals and their communities should
contribute to the full enjoyment by women of their human
rights in order to achieve equality, development and
peace.
10. ...The World Conference on Human Rights recognized that
the human rights of women and the girl child are an
inalienable, integral and indivisible part of universal
human rights... The universal nature of these rights and
freedoms is beyond question.
11. ...Although the threat of global conflict has been
reduced, ... armed conflicts, ... alien domination ...
and terrorism continue to plague many parts of the world.
Grave violations of the human rights of women occur,
particularly in times of armed conflict, and include
murder, torture, systematic rape, forced pregnancy and
forced abortion, in particular under policies of ethnic
cleansing.
12. The maintenance of peace and security ... is crucial for
the protection of the human rights of women and girl
children, as well as for the elimination of all forms of
violence against them and of their use as a weapon of
war.
14. ...Accelerated economic growth, although necessary for
social development, does not by itself improve the
quality of life of the population.
...[I]t is indispensable to search for new alternatives
that ensure that all members of society benefit from
economic growth based on a holistic approach to all
aspects of development: growth, equality between women
and men, social justice, conservation and protection of
the environment, sustainability, solidarity,
participation, peace and respect for human rights.
15. ...[T]he popular participation of women in key
decision-making as full and equal partners with men,
particularly in politics, has not yet been achieved...
16. ...Of the more than 1 billion people living in abject
poverty, women are an overwhelming majority... In many
cases, structural adjustment programmes have not been
designed to minimize their negative effects on vulnerable
and disadvantaged groups or on women, nor have they been
designed to assure positive effects on those groups by
preventing their marginalization in economic and social
activities... Despite increases in official development
assistance (ODA) by some countries, ODA has recently
declined overall.
17. Absolute poverty and the feminization of poverty,
unemployment, the increasing fragility of the
environment, continued violence against women and the
widespread exclusion of half of humanity from
institutions of power and governance underscore the need
to continue the search for development, peace and
security and for ways of assuring people-centred
sustainable development. The participation and
leadership of the half of humanity that is female is
essential to the success of that search...
18. Recent international economic developments have had in
many cases a disproportionate impact on women and
children... This is exacerbated when responsibilities
for basic social services have shifted from Governments
to women.
19. Economic recession in many developed and developing
countries ... [has] had a disproportionately negative
impact on women's employment... Many women enter the
labour market in under-remunerated and undervalued jobs,
seeking to improve their household income; others decide
to migrate for the same purpose. Without any reduction
in their other responsibilities, this has increased the
total burden of work for women.
20. ...Poverty has increased in both absolute and relative
terms, and the number of women living in poverty has
increased in most regions...
21. Women are key contributors to the economy and to
combating poverty through both remunerated and
unremunerated work at home, in the community and in the
workplace. Growing numbers of women have achieved
economic independence through gainful employment.
22. One fourth of all households world wide are headed by
women and many other households are dependent on female
income... Female-maintained households are very often
among the poorest... Family disintegration, population
movements between urban and rural areas within countries,
international migration, war and internal displacements
are factors contributing to the rise of female-headed
households.
23. Recognizing that the achievement and maintenance of peace
and security are a precondition for economic and social
progress, women are increasingly establishing themselves
as central actors in a variety of capacities in the
movement of humanity for peace. Their full participation
in decision-making, conflict prevention and resolution
... is essential to the realization of lasting peace.
24. Religion, spirituality and belief play a central role in
the lives of millions of women and men, in the way they
live and in the aspirations they have for the future.
The right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion
is inalienable and must be universally enjoyed...
26. The growing strength of the non-governmental sector,
particularly women's organizations and feminist groups,
has become a driving force for change...
27. ...The boundaries of the gender division of labour
between productive and reproductive roles are gradually
being crossed as women have started to enter formerly
male-dominated areas of work and men have started to
accept greater responsibility for domestic tasks,
including child care...
28. ...On average, women represent a mere 10 per cent of all
elected legislators world wide and in most national and
international administrative structures, both public and
private, they remain underrepresented...
29. Women play a critical role in the family. The family is
the basic unit of society and as such should be
strengthened. It is entitled to receive comprehensive
protection and support... Women make a great
contribution to the welfare of the family and to the
development of society, which is still not recognized or
considered in its full importance... The upbringing of
children requires shared responsibility of parents, women
and men and society as a whole... Recognition should
also be given to the important role often played by women
... in caring for other members of their family.
32. The past decade has also witnessed a growing recognition
of the distinct interests and concerns of indigenous
women, whose identity, cultural traditions and forms of
social organization enhance and strengthen the
communities in which they live. Indigenous women often
face barriers both as women and as members of indigenous
communities.
33. ...Until women participate equally in both the technical
and decision-making areas of communications and the mass
media, including the arts, they will continue to be
misrepresented and awareness of the reality of women's
lives will continue to be lacking...
34. The continuing environmental degradation that affects all
human lives has often a more direct impact on women...
Those most affected are rural and indigenous women, whose
livelihood and daily subsistence depends directly on
sustainable ecosystems.
35. Poverty and environmental degradation are closely
interrelated. While poverty results in certain kinds of
environmental stress, the major cause of the continued
deterioration of the global environment is the
unsustainable patterns of consumption and production, ...
which are a matter of grave concern and aggravate poverty
and imbalances.
36. Global trends have brought profound changes in family
survival strategies and structures... An estimated 125
million people are migrants, refugees and displaced
persons, half of whom live in developing countries.
These massive movements of people have profound
consequences for family structures and well-being and
have unequal consequences for women and men, including in
many cases the sexual exploitation of women.
37. According to World Health Organization (WHO) estimates,
by the beginning of 1995 the number of cumulative cases
of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) was 4.5
million... Among new cases, women are twice as likely to
be infected as men...
38. ...Throughout their entire life cycle, women's daily
existence and long-term aspirations are restricted by
discriminatory attitudes, unjust social and economic
structures, and a lack of resources ... that prevent
their full and equal participation... Discrimination
against women begins at the earliest stages of life and
must therefore be addressed from then onwards.
39. The girl child of today is the woman of tomorrow... For
the girl child to develop her full potential she needs to
be nurtured in an enabling environment, where her
spiritual, intellectual and material needs for survival,
protection and development are met and her equal rights
safeguarded...
40. Half the world's population is under the age of 25 and
most of the world's youth more than 85 per cent live in
developing countries. Policy makers must recognize the
implications of these demographic factors... It will be
critical for the international community to demonstrate
... a commitment to inspiring a new generation of women
and men to work together for a more just society...
Paragraph Background / Actions to be taken
41. The advancement of women and the achievement of equality
between women and men are a matter of human rights and a
condition for social justice and should not be seen in
isolation as a women's issue... Empowerment of women and
equality between women and men are prerequisites for
achieving political, social, economic, cultural and
environmental security among all peoples.
43. A review of progress since the Nairobi Conference
highlights ... areas of particular urgency that stand out
as priorities for action. All actors should focus action
and resources on the strategic objectives relating to the
critical areas of concern which are, necessarily,
interrelated, interdependent and of high priority.
44. To this end, Governments, the international community and
civil society ... are called upon to take strategic
action in the following critical areas of concern:
(see A, · The persistent and increasing burden of poverty on
paras 47-68) women;
(see B, · Inequalities and inadequacies in and unequal access to
paras 48-88) education and training;
(see C, · Inequalities and inadequacies in and unequal access to
paras 89-111) health care and related services;
(see D, · Violence against women;
paras 112-130)
(see E, · The effects of armed or other kinds of conflict on
paras 131-149) women, including those living under foreign occupation;
(see F, · Inequality in economic structures and policies, in all
paras 150-180) forms of productive activities and in access to
resources;
(see G, · Inequality between men and women in the sharing of
paras 181-195) power and decision-making at all levels;
(see H, · Insufficient mechanisms at all levels to promote the
paras 196-207) advancement of women;
(see I, · Lack of respect for and inadequate promotion and
paras 210-233) protection of the human rights of women;
(see J, · Stereotyping of women and inequality in women's access
paras 234-243) to and participation in all communication systems,
especially in the media;
(see K, · Gender inequalities in the management of natural
paras 246-258) resources and in the safeguarding of the environment;
(see L, · Persistent discrimination against and violation of the
paras 259-285) rights of the girl child.
Paragraph Background / Actions to be taken
45. In each critical area of concern, the problem is
diagnosed and strategic objectives are proposed with
concrete actions to be taken by various actors in order
to achieve those objectives...[S]pecific actions to be
taken ... cut across the boundaries of equality,
development and peace ... and reflect their
interdependence. The objectives and actions are
interlinked, of high priority and mutually reinforcing.
The Platform for Action is intended to improve the
situation of all women, without exception, who often face
similar barriers, while special attention should be given
to groups that are the most disadvantaged.
46. The Platform for Action recognizes that women face
barriers to full equality and advancement because of such
factors as their race, age, language, ethnicity, culture,
religion or disability, [or] because they are indigenous
women... Many women encounter specific obstacles related
to their family status, ... and to their socio-economic
status... Additional barriers also exist for refugee
women ... and migrant women, including women migrant
workers...
Women and poverty
Paragraph Background / Actions to be taken
47. More than 1 billion people in the world today, the great
majority of whom are women, live in unacceptable
conditions of poverty... The globalization of the
world's economy and the deepening interdependence among
nations present challenges and opportunities for
sustained economic growth and development, as well as
risks and uncertainties for the future of the world
economy... One significant trend has been the increased
poverty of women... The gender disparities in economic
power-sharing are ... an important contributing factor to
the poverty of women.
Migration and consequent changes in family structures
have placed additional burdens on women, especially those
who provide for several dependants. Macroeconomic
policies need rethinking and reformulation to address
such trends...
Poverty has various manifestations, including lack of
income and productive resources sufficient to ensure a
sustainable livelihood; hunger and malnutrition; ill
health; limited or lack of access to education and other
basic services; increasing morbidity and mortality from
illness; homelessness and inadequate housing; unsafe
environments; and social discrimination and exclusion.
It is also characterized by lack of participation in
decision-making and in civil, social and cultural life...
Poverty may be caused by an economic recession that
results in loss of livelihood or by disaster or conflict.
There is also the poverty of low-wage workers and the
utter destitution of people who fall outside family
support systems, social institutions and safety nets.
48. In the past decade the number of women living in poverty
has increased disproportionately to the number of men...
50. While poverty affects households as a whole, because of
the gender division of labour and responsibilities for
household welfare, women bear a disproportionate
burden...
51. Women's poverty is directly related to the absence of
economic opportunities and autonomy, lack of access to
economic resources, ... lack of access to education and
support services and ... minimal participation in the
decision-making process...
52. ... The risk of falling into poverty is greater for women
than for men, particularly in old age, where social
security systems are based on the principle of continuous
remunerated employment. In some cases, women do not
fulfil this requirement because of interruptions in their
work, due to the unbalanced distribution of remunerated
and unremunerated work....
53. ...[I]n some sectors the economic transformations of the
past decade have strongly increased either the
unemployment of women or the precarious nature of their
employment... [T]hose who leave the educational system
the earliest, without any qualification, are among the
most vulnerable in the labour market.
Strategic objective A.1. Review, adopt and maintain macroeconomic
policies and development strategies that address the needs and efforts of
women in poverty
Paragraph Background / Actions to be taken
58. (a) Review and modify ... macroeconomic and social
By Governments: policies with a view to achieving the objectives of the
Platform for Action;
(b) Analyse ... policies and programmes ... with respect
to their impact on poverty, on inequality and
particularly on women; assess their impact on family
well-being and conditions and adjust them, as
appropriate, to promote more equitable distribution of
productive assets, wealth, opportunities, income and
services;
(c) Pursue and implement sound and stable macroeconomic
and sectoral policies that ... encourage broad-based
sustained economic growth, address the structural causes
of poverty and are geared towards eradicating poverty and
reducing gender-based inequality...
(d) Restructure and target the allocation of public
expenditures to promote women's economic opportunities
and equal access to productive resources and to address
the basic social, educational and health needs of women,
particularly those living in poverty;
(g) Provide adequate safety nets and strengthen ...
support systems ... in order to enable women living in
poverty to withstand adverse economic environments...
(h) Generate economic policies that have a positive
impact on the employment and income of women workers in
both the formal and informal sectors and adopt specific
measures to address women's unemployment, in particular
their long-term unemployment;
(i) Formulate and implement ... policies in support of
female-headed households;
(k) Ensure the full realization of the human rights of
all women migrants ... and their protection against
violence and exploitation ...
(l) Introduce measures to integrate or reintegrate women
living in poverty and socially marginalized women into
productive employment and the economic mainstream; ensure
... that the qualifications and skills of immigrant and
refugee women are recognized;
(m) Enable women to obtain affordable housing...
(o) [Review] social security systems ... with a view to
placing individual women and men on an equal footing, at
every stage of
their lives;
(q) ...[P]romote and strengthen policies and programmes
for indigenous women with their full participation and
respect for their cultural diversity...
Strategic objective A.2. Revise laws and administrative practices to
ensure women's equal rights and access to economic resources
Paragraph Background / Actions to be taken
61. (a) Ensure access to free or low-cost legal services,
By Governments: including legal literacy, especially designed to reach
women living in poverty;
(b) Undertake legislative and administrative reforms to
give women full and equal access to economic resources...
(c) Consider ratification of Convention No. 169 of the
International Labour Organization (ILO) [on Indigenous
and Tribal People]...
Strategic objective A.3. Provide women with access to savings and credit
mechanisms and institutions
Paragraph Background / Actions to be taken
62. (a) Enhance the access of disadvantaged women, including
By Governments: women entrepreneurs, in rural, remote and urban areas to
financial services...
65. Support institutions that meet performance standards in
By Governments reaching large numbers of low-income women and men
and [others]... through capitalization, refinancing and institutional
development support in forms that foster
self-sufficiency.
Strategic objective A.4. Develop gender-based methodologies and conduct
research to address the feminization of poverty
Paragraph Background / Actions to be taken
67. By (a) Develop conceptual and practical methodologies for
Governments incorporating gender perspectives into all aspects of
[and others]... economic policy-making...
(b) Apply these methodologies in conducting
gender-impact analyses of all policies and programmes,
including structural adjustment programmes, and
disseminate the research findings.
68. (a) Collect gender and age-disaggregated data on poverty
By national and and all aspects of economic activity...
international (b) Devise suitable statistical means to recognize and
statistical make visible the full extent of the work of women and all
organizations: their contributions to the national economy, including
their contribution in the unremunerated and domestic
sectors, and examine the relationship of women's
unremunerated work to the incidence of and their
vulnerability to poverty.
Education and training of women
Paragraph Background / Actions to be taken
69. Education is a human right and an essential tool for
achieving the goals of equality, development and peace...
Equality of access to and attainment of educational
qualifications is necessary if more women are to become
agents of change. Literacy of women is an important key
to improving health, nutrition and education in the
family and to empowering women to participate in
decision-making in society...
73. Women should be enabled to benefit from an ongoing
acquisition of knowledge and skills beyond those acquired
during youth. This concept of lifelong learning includes
knowledge and skills gained in formal education and
training, as well as learning that occurs in informal
ways, including volunteer activity, unremunerated work
and traditional knowledge.
75. Science curricula in particular are gender-biased.
Science textbooks do not relate to women's and girls'
daily experience and fail to give recognition to women
scientists...
76. Access for and retention of girls and women at all levels
of education ... and all academic areas is one of the
factors of their continued progress in professional
activities...
77. ...As an educational tool the mass media can be an
instrument ... for the advancement of women and for
development... Television especially ... has the ability
to shape values, attitudes and perceptions of women and
girls in both positive and negative ways...
79. In addressing unequal access to and inadequate
educational opportunities, Governments and other actors
should promote an active and visible policy of
mainstreaming a gender perspective into all policies and
programmes, so that, before decisions are taken, an
analysis is made of the effects on women and men,
respectively.
Strategic objective B.1. Ensure equal access to education Actions to
be taken
Paragraph Background / Actions to be taken
80. (a) Advance the goal of equal access to education by
By Governments: taking measures to eliminate discrimination in education
at all levels on the basis of gender, race, language,
religion, national origin, age or disability, or any
other form of discrimination...
(c) Eliminate gender disparities in access to all areas
of tertiary education by ensuring that women have equal
access to career development, training, scholarships and
fellowships, and by adopting positive action when
appropriate;
(e) Provide ... young women with academic and technical
training, career planning, leadership and social skills
and work experience to prepare them to participate fully
in society;
(f) Increase enrolment and retention rates of girls...
(g) Promote an educational setting that eliminates all
barriers that impede the schooling of pregnant
adolescents and young mothers, including, as appropriate,
affordable and physically accessible child-care
facilities...
(h) Improve the quality of education and equal
opportunities for women and men in terms of access in
order to ensure that women of all ages can acquire the
knowledge, capacities, aptitudes, skills and ethical
values needed to develop and to participate fully under
equal conditions in the process of social, economic and
political development;
(i) Make available non-discriminatory and
gender-sensitive professional school counselling and
career education programmes to encourage girls to pursue
academic and technical curricula in order to widen their
future career opportunities;
Strategic objective B.2. Eradicate illiteracy among women
Paragraph Background / Actions to be taken
81. (e) Encourage adult and family engagement in learning to
By Governments promote total literacy for all people;
and [other (f) Promote, together with literacy, life skills and
organizations] scientific and technological knowledge and work towards
... an expansion of the definition of literacy, taking into
account current targets and benchmarks.
Strategic objective B.3. Improve women's access to vocational training,
science and technology, and continuing education
Paragraph Background / Actions to be taken
82. (a) Develop and implement education, training and
By Governments, retraining policies for women, especially young women and
in cooperation women re-entering the labour market, to provide skills to
with employers, meet the needs of a changing socio-economic context for
... trade improving their employment opportunities;
unions (b) Provide recognition to non-formal educational
[and other opportunities for girls and women in the educational
organizations].. system;
. (c) Provide information to women and girls on the
availability and benefits of vocational training,
training programmes in science and technology and
programmes of continuing education;
(d) Design educational and training programmes for women
who are unemployed in order to provide them with new
knowledge and skills that will enhance and broaden their
employment opportunities, including self-employment and
development of their entrepreneurial skills;
(e) Diversify vocational and technical training and
improve access for and retention of girls and women in
education and vocational training in such fields as
science, mathematics, engineering, environmental sciences
and technology, information technology and high
technology, as well as management training;
(h) Develop curricula and teaching materials and
formulate and take positive measures to ensure women
better access to and participation in technical and
scientific areas...
(i) Develop policies and programmes to encourage women
to participate in all apprenticeship programmes;
(k) Ensure access to quality education and training at
all appropriate levels for adult women with little or no
education, for women with disabilities and for documented
migrant, refugee and displaced women to improve their
work opportunities.
Strategic objective B.4. Develop non-discriminatory education and
training
Paragraph Background / Actions to be taken
83. (a) Elaborate recommendations and develop curricula,
By Governments, textbooks and teaching aids free of gender-based
educational stereotypes for all levels of education...
authorities and (b) Develop training programmes and materials for
other ... teachers ... that raise awareness about the status, role
institutions: and contribution of women and men in the family ... [and]
promote equality, cooperation, mutual respect and shared
responsibilities between girls and boys...
(c) Develop training programmes and materials for
teachers and educators that raise awareness of their own
role in the educational process, with a view to providing
them with effective strategies for gender-sensitive
teaching;
(d) Take actions to ensure that female teachers and
professors have the same opportunities as and equal
status with male teachers and professors...
(e) Introduce and promote training in peaceful conflict
resolution;
(f) Take positive measures to increase the proportion of
women gaining access to educational policy- and
decision-making...
(g) Support and develop gender studies and research at
all levels of education ... and apply [the results] in
the development of curricula, ... textbooks and teaching
aids, and in teacher training;
(h) Develop leadership training and opportunities for
all women to encourage them to take leadership roles both
as students and as adults in civil society;
(i) Develop appropriate education and information
programmes ... that make the public ... aware of the
importance of non-discriminatory education for children
and the equal sharing of family responsibilities by girls
and boys;
(j) Develop human rights education programmes that
incorporate the gender dimension at all levels of
education, in particular by encouraging higher education
institutions ... to include the study of the human rights
of women as they appear in United Nations conventions;
(k) Remove legal, regulatory and social barriers ... to
sexual and reproductive health education...
(l) Encourage ... the elaboration of educational
programmes for girls and boys and the creation of
integrated services in order to raise awareness of their
responsibilities and to help them to assume those
responsibilities, taking into account the importance of
such education and services to personal development and
self-esteem, as well as the urgent need to avoid unwanted
pregnancy, the spread of sexually transmitted diseases,
especially HIV/AIDS, and such phenomena as sexual
violence and abuse;
(m) Provide accessible recreational and sports
facilities ... and support the advancement of women in
all areas of athletics and physical activity...
(n) Recognize and support the right of indigenous women
and girls to education ... to the extent possible in the
languages of indigenous people...
(o) Acknowledge and respect the artistic, spiritual and
cultural activities of indigenous women;
(p) Ensure that gender equality and cultural, religious
and other diversity are respected in educational
institutions;
(q) Promote education, training and relevant information
programmes for rural and farming women ... for example,
[through] radio programmes, cassettes and mobile units;
Strategic objective B.5. Allocate sufficient resources for and monitor
the implementation of educational reforms
Paragraph Background / Actions to be taken
84. (a) Provide the required budgetary resources to the
By Governments: educational sector...
(b) Establish a mechanism at appropriate levels to
monitor the implementation of educational reforms and
measures in relevant ministries, and ... address issues
raised...
85. (a) When necessary, mobilize additional funds ... to
By Governments enable girls and women to complete their education; ...
and [other with particular emphasis on under-served populations;
organizations] (b) Provide funding for special programmes, such as
... programmes in mathematics, science and computer
technology, to advance opportunities for all girls and
women.
Strategic objective B.6. Promote life-long education and training for
girls and women
Paragraph Background / Actions to be taken
88. (a) Ensure the availability of a broad range of
By Governments, educational and training programmes that lead to ongoing
educational acquisition by women and girls of the knowledge and
institutions skills required for living in, contributing to and
and benefiting from their communities and nations;
communities: (b) Provide support for child care and other services to
enable mothers to continue their schooling;
(c) Create flexible education, training and retraining
programmes for life-long learning that facilitate
transitions between women's activities at all stages of
their lives.
Women and health
Paragraph Background / Actions to be taken
89. Women have the right to the enjoyment of the highest
attainable standard of physical and mental health...
Women's health involves their emotional, social and
physical well-being and is determined by the social,
political and economic context of their lives, as well as
by biology...
90. Women have different and unequal access to and use of
basic health resources ... [and] for the protection,
promotion and maintenance of their health... Health
policies and programmes ... may not fully take account of
the lack of autonomy of women regarding their health...
91. ...Privatization of health-care systems without
appropriate guarantees of universal access to affordable
health care further reduces health-care availability.
This situation not only directly affects the health of
girls and women, but also places disproportionate
responsibilities on women, whose multiple roles,
including their roles within the family and the
community, are often not acknowledged...
92. Women's right to the enjoyment of the highest standard of
health must be secured throughout the whole life cycle in
equality with men. Women are affected by many of the
same health conditions as men, but women experience them
differently...
93. ...Adolescent girls need ... access to necessary health
and nutrition services as they mature... Overall, for
young women early marriage and early motherhood can
severely curtail educational and employment opportunities
and are likely to have a long-term, adverse impact on the
quality of their lives and the lives of their children...
94. Reproductive health is a state of complete physical,
mental and social well-being and not merely the absence
of disease or infirmity, in all matters relating to the
reproductive system... Reproductive health therefore
implies that people are able to have a satisfying and
safe sex life and that they have the capability to
reproduce and the freedom to decide if, when and how
often to do so...
95. Bearing in mind the above definition, reproductive rights
embrace certain human rights that are already
recognized... These rights rest on the recognition of
the basic right of all couples and individuals to decide
freely and responsibly the number, spacing and timing of
their children and to have the information and means to
do so... Older women and men have distinct reproductive
and sexual health issues which are often inadequately
addressed.
96. The human rights of women include their right to have
control over and decide freely and responsibly on matters
related to their sexuality, including sexual and
reproductive health, free of coercion, discrimination and
violence...
97. Further, women are subject to particular health risks ...
related to sexuality and reproduction... Unsafe
abortions threaten the lives of a large number of women,
representing a grave public health problem
as it is primarily the poorest and youngest who take the
highest risk... Shared responsibility between women and
men in matters related to sexual and reproductive
behaviour is also essential to improving women's health.
98. HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases, the
transmission of which is sometimes a consequence of
sexual violence, are having a devastating effect on
women's health, particularly the health of adolescent
girls and young women... The consequences of HIV/AIDS
reach beyond women's health to their role as mothers and
caregivers and their contribution to the economic support
of their families...
99. Sexual and gender-based violence ... place girls and
women at high risk of physical and mental trauma, disease
and unwanted pregnancy. Such situations often deter
women from using health and other services.
100. Mental disorders related to marginalization,
powerlessness and poverty, along with overwork and stress
and the growing incidence of domestic violence as well as
substance abuse, are among other health issues of growing
concern to women... Occupational health issues are also
growing in importance... Cancers of the breast and
cervix and other cancers of the reproductive system, as
well as infertility, affect growing numbers of women and
may be preventable, or curable if detected early.
101. With the increase in life expectancy and the growing
number of older women, their health concerns require
particular attention...
103. The quality of women's health care is often deficient in
various ways... [O]ver-medicating of women's life events
is common, leading to unnecessary surgical intervention
and inappropriate medication.
104. ...Relatively little is known about how social and
economic factors affect the health of girls and women of
all ages, about the provision of health services to girls
and women and the patterns of their use of such services,
and about the value of disease prevention and health
promotion programmes for women. Subjects of importance
to women's health have not been adequately researched and
women's health research often lacks funding. Medical
research ... and epidemiological studies in many
countries are often based solely on men; they are not
gender specific... Many drug therapy protocols and other
medical treatments and interventions administered to
women are based on research on men without any
investigation and adjustment for gender differences.
105. In addressing inequalities in health status and ...
health-care services ... before decisions are taken, an
analysis [should be] made of the effects for women and
men, respectively.
Strategic objective C.1. Increase women's access throughout the life
cycle to appropriate, affordable and quality health care, information and
related services
Paragraph Background / Actions to be taken
106. (a) Support and implement the commitments made in the
By Governments, Programme of Action of the International Conference on
... employers' Population and Development ... and the obligations of
and workers' States parties under the Convention on the Elimination of
organizations All Forms of Discrimination against Women and other
and [others]... relevant international agreements, to meet the health
needs of girls and women of all ages;
(b) Reaffirm the right to the enjoyment of the highest
attainable standards of physical and mental health,
protect and promote the attainment of this right ...
review existing legislation ... [and] policies ... to
ensure that they meet the changing roles and
responsibilities of women wherever they reside;
(c) Design and implement ... gender-sensitive health
programmes ... that address the needs of women throughout
their lives and take into account their multiple roles
and responsibilities...; include women ... in the
identification and planning of health-care priorities and
programmes; remove all barriers to women's health
services and provide a broad range of health-care
services;
(d) Allow women access to social security systems in
equality with men throughout the whole life cycle;
(e) Provide more accessible, available and affordable
primary health-care services of high quality, including
sexual and reproductive health care, which includes
family planning information and services...
(f) Redesign health information, services and training
for health workers so that they are gender-sensitive and
reflect the user's perspectives...
(h) Take all appropriate measures to eliminate harmful,
medically unnecessary or coercive medical interventions,
as well as inappropriate medication and over-medication
of women, and ensure that all women are fully informed of
their options, including likely benefits and potential
side-effects, by properly trained personnel;
(i) Strengthen and reorient health services ... in order
to ensure universal access to quality health services for
women and girls; reduce ill health and maternal
morbidity...
(j) Recognize and deal with the health impact of unsafe
abortion as a major public health concern...
(k) In the light of paragraph 8.25 of the Programme of
Action of the International Conference on Population and
Development, which states: "In no case should abortion be
promoted as a method of family planning. All Governments
and relevant intergovernmental and non-governmental
organizations are urged to strengthen their commitment to
women's health, to deal with the health impact of unsafe
abortion as a major public health concern and to reduce
the recourse to abortion through expanded and improved
family-planning services... In circumstances where
abortion is not against the law, such abortion should be
safe."
"In all cases, women should have access to quality
services for the management of complications arising from
abortion. Post-abortion counselling, education and
family-planning services should be offered promptly,
which will also help to avoid repeat abortions", consider
reviewing laws containing punitive measures against women
who have undergone illegal abortions;
(l) Give particular attention to the needs of girls,
especially the promotion of healthy behaviour, including
physical activities...
(m) Ensure that girls have continuing access to
necessary health and nutrition information and services
as they mature, to facilitate a healthful transition from
childhood to adulthood;
(n) Develop information, programmes and services to
assist women to understand and adapt to changes
associated with ageing and to address and treat the
health needs of older women, paying particular attention
to those who are physically or psychologically dependent;
(o) Ensure that girls and women of all ages with any
form of disability receive supportive services;
(p) Formulate ... policies, design programmes and enact
the legislation necessary to alleviate and eliminate
environmental and occupational health hazards associated
with work in the home, in the workplace and elsewhere
with attention to pregnant and lactating women;
(q) Integrate mental health services into primary
health-care systems or other appropriate levels, develop
supportive programmes and train primary health workers to
recognize and care for girls and women of all ages who
have experienced any form of violence especially domestic
violence, sexual abuse or other abuse resulting from
armed and non-armed conflict;
(t) Support non-governmental organizations working on
women's health and help develop networks aimed at
improving coordination and collaboration between all
sectors that affect health;
(v) Provide improved access to appropriate treatment and
rehabilitation services for women substance abusers and
their families;
(y) Ensure full and equal access to health-care
infrastructure and services for indigenous women.
Strategic objective C.2. Strengthen preventive programmes that promote
women's health
Paragraph Background / Actions to be taken
107. (a) Give priority to ... educational programmes that
By Governments, support and enable women to develop self-esteem, acquire
in cooperation knowledge, make decisions on and take responsibility for
with [other their own health ...
organizations] (b) Pursue social, human development, education and
... employment policies to eliminate poverty among women in
order to reduce their susceptibility to ill health and to
improve their health;
(c) Encourage men to share equally in child care and
household work and to provide their share of financial
support for their families, even if they do not live with
them;
(e) Prepare and disseminate accessible information ...
designed to ensure that women and men, particularly young
people, can acquire knowledge about their health,
especially information on sexuality and reproduction ...
(f) Create and support programmes ... to make
opportunities to participate in sport, physical activity
and recreation available to girls and women of all ages
on the same basis as they are made available to men and
boys;
(g) Recognize the specific needs of adolescents and
implement specific appropriate programmes, such as
education and information on sexual and reproductive
health issues and on sexually transmitted diseases,
including HIV/AIDS...
(h) Develop policies that reduce the disproportionate
and increasing burden on women who have multiple roles
within the family and the community by providing them
with adequate support and programmes from health and
social services;
(i) Adopt regulations to ensure that the working
conditions, including remuneration and promotion of women
at all levels of the health system, are
non-discriminatory...
(j) Ensure that health and nutritional information and
training form an integral part of all adult literacy
programmes and school curricula from the primary level;
(k) Develop and undertake media campaigns and
information and educational programmes that inform women
and girls of the health and related risks of substance
abuse and addiction and pursue strategies and programmes
that discourage substance abuse and addiction and promote
rehabilitation and recovery;
(l) Devise and implement comprehensive and coherent
programmes for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of
osteoporosis, a condition that predominantly affects
women;
(m) Establish and/or strengthen programmes and services
... that address the prevention, early detection and
treatment of breast, cervical and other cancers of the
reproductive system;
(o) Create awareness ... about the serious but
preventable health hazards stemming from tobacco
consumption and the need for regulatory and education
measures to reduce smoking as important health promotion
and disease prevention activities;
(p) Ensure that medical school curricula and other
health-care training include gender-sensitive,
comprehensive and mandatory courses on women's health;
(q) Adopt specific preventive measures to protect women,
youth and children from any abuse ... and provide legal
protection and medical and other assistance.
Strategic objective C.3. Undertake gender-sensitive initiatives that
address sexually transmitted diseases, HIV/AIDS, and sexual and
reproductive health issues
Paragraph Background / Actions to be taken
108. (a) Ensure the involvement of women, especially those
By Governments infected with HIV/AIDS or other sexually transmitted
and [other diseases ... in all decision-making relating to the
organizations] development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of
... policies and programmes on HIV/AIDS and other sexually
transmitted diseases;
(b) Review and amend laws and combat practices ... that
may contribute to women's susceptibility to HIV infection
and other sexually transmitted diseases ...
(c) Encourage all sectors of society ... to develop
compassionate and supportive ... HIV/AIDS-related
policies and practices that protect the rights of
infected individuals;
(d) Recognize the extent of the HIV/AIDS pandemic ...
taking particularly into account its impact on women,
with a view to ensuring that infected women do not suffer
stigmatization and discrimination, including during
travel;
(f) Facilitate the development of community strategies
that will protect women of all ages from HIV and other
sexually transmitted diseases; provide care and support
to infected girls, women and their families...
(g) ...[S]trengthen national capacity to ... improve ...
programmes on HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted
diseases, including the provision of resources and
facilities to women who find themselves the principal
caregivers or economic support for those infected with
HIV/AIDS...
(h) Provide workshops and specialized education and
training to parents, decision makers and opinion leaders
at all levels of the community ... on prevention of
HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases and on
their repercussions on both women and men of all ages;
(i) Give all women and health workers all relevant
information and education about sexually transmitted
diseases including HIV/AIDS and pregnancy and the
implications for the baby, including breast-feeding;
(j) Assist women ... to establish and expand effective
peer education and outreach programmes...
(k) Give full attention to the promotion of mutually
respectful and equitable gender relations and, in
particular, to meeting the educational and service needs
of adolescents to enable them to deal
in a positive and responsible way with their sexuality;
(l) Design specific programmes for men of all ages and
male adolescents ... aimed at providing complete and
accurate information on safe and responsible sexual and
reproductive behaviour...
(m) Ensure the provision, through the primary
health-care system, of universal access ... to
appropriate and affordable preventive services with
respect to sexually transmitted diseases, including
HIV/AIDS...
(n) Support programmes which acknowledge that the higher
risk among women of contracting HIV is linked to
high-risk behaviour ... and take appropriate preventive
measures;
(o) Support and expedite action-oriented research on
affordable methods, controlled by women, to prevent HIV
and other sexually transmitted diseases ... and on
methods of care, support and treatment of women, ensuring
their involvement in all aspects of such research;
(p) Support and initiate research which addresses
women's needs and situations, including research on HIV
infection and other sexually transmitted diseases in
women, on women-controlled methods of protection, such as
non-spermicidal microbicides, and on male and female
risk-taking attitudes and practices.
Strategic objective C.4. Promote research and disseminate information on
women's health
Paragraph Background / Actions to be taken
109. (a) Train researchers and introduce systems that allow
By Governments for the use of data collected, analysed and disaggregated
and [other by ... sex and age, other established demographic
organizations] criteria and socio-economic variables, in policy-making,
... ... planning, monitoring and evaluation;
(b) Promote gender-sensitive and women-centred health
research, treatment and technology and link traditional
and indigenous knowledge with modern medicine, making
information available to women to enable them to make
informed and responsible decisions;
(c) Increase the number of women in leadership positions
in the health professions, including researchers and
scientists, to achieve equality at the earliest possible
date;
(d) Increase financial and other support from all
sources for preventive, appropriate biomedical,
behavioural, epidemiological and health service research
on women's health issues and for research on the social,
economic and political causes of women's health problems,
and their consequences, including the impact of gender
and age inequalities...
(e) Inform women about the factors which increase the
risks of developing cancers and infections of the
reproductive tract, so that they can make informed
decisions about their health;
(f) Support and fund social, economic, political and
cultural research on how gender-based inequalities affect
women's health...
(g) Support health service systems and operations
research to strengthen access and improve the quality of
service delivery, to ensure appropriate support for women
as health-care providers and to examine patterns with
respect to the provision of health services to women and
use of such services by women;
(h) Provide financial and institutional support for
research on safe, effective, affordable and acceptable
methods and technologies for the reproductive and sexual
health of women and men...
(i) ...Research to understand and better address the
determinants and consequences of induced abortion ...
should be promoted, as well as research on treatment of
complications of abortions and post-abortion care;
(j) Acknowledge and encourage beneficial traditional
health care, especially that practised by indigenous
women...
(k) Develop mechanisms to evaluate and disseminate
available data and research findings to researchers,
policy makers, health professionals and women's groups,
among others;
(l) Monitor human genome and related genetic research
from the perspective of women's health and disseminate
information and results of studies conducted in
accordance with accepted ethical standards.
Strategic objective C.5. Increase resources and monitor follow-up for
women's health
Paragraph Background / Actions to be taken
110. (a) Increase budgetary allocations for primary health
By Governments care and social services ... give special attention to
at all levels the reproductive and sexual health of girls and women and
[and other give priority to health programmes in rural and poor
organizations].. urban areas;
. (b) Develop innovative approaches to funding health
services through promoting community participation and
local financing...
(c) Develop local health services, promoting ...
community-based participation and self-care and ...
preventive health programmes;
(d) Develop goals and time-frames ... for improving
women's health and for planning, implementing, monitoring
and evaluating programmes...
(e) Establish ... ministerial and inter-ministerial
mechanisms for monitoring the implementation of women's
health policy and programme reforms and establish ...
high-level focal points in national planning authorities
responsible for monitoring to ensure that women's health
concerns are mainstreamed...
111. (a) Formulate policies favourable to investment in
By Governments women's health...
and [other (b) Provide appropriate material, financial and
organizations] logistical assistance to youth non-governmental
... organizations in order to strengthen them to address
youth concerns in the area of health, including sexual
and reproductive health;
(c) Give higher priority to women's health and develop
mechanisms for coordinating and implementing the health
objectives of the Platform for Action and relevant
international agreements to ensure progress.
Violence against women
Paragraph Background / Actions to be taken
112. ...In all societies, to a greater or lesser degree, women
and girls are subjected to physical, sexual and
psychological abuse that cuts across lines of income,
class and culture. The low social and economic status of
women can be both a cause and a consequence of violence
against women.
113. The term "violence against women" means any act of
gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to
result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or
suffering to women, including threats of such acts,
coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether
occurring in public or private life.
Accordingly, violence against women encompasses but is
not limited to the following:
(a) Physical, sexual and psychological violence
occurring in the family, including battering, sexual
abuse of female children in the household, dowry-related
violence, marital rape, female genital mutilation and
other traditional practices harmful to women, non-spousal
violence and violence related to exploitation;
(b) Physical, sexual and psychological violence
occurring within the general community, including rape,
sexual abuse, sexual harassment and intimidation at work,
in educational institutions and elsewhere, trafficking in
women and forced prostitution;
(c) Physical, sexual and psychological violence
perpetrated or condoned by the State, wherever it occurs.
114. Other acts of violence against women include violation of
the human rights of women in situations of armed
conflict, in particular murder, systematic rape, sexual
slavery and forced pregnancy.
115. Acts of violence against women also include forced
sterilization and forced abortion, coercive/forced use of
contraceptives, female infanticide and prenatal sex
selection.
116. Some groups of women, such as women belonging to minority
groups, indigenous women, refugee women, women migrants,
... women in institutions or in detention, ... women with
disabilities, elderly women, ... women living in poverty
and women in situations of armed conflict ... are also
particularly vulnerable to violence.
117. Acts or threats of violence ... instil fear and
insecurity in women's lives and are obstacles to the
achievement of equality and for development and peace...
High social, health and economic costs to the individual
and society are associated with violence against women.
Violence against women is one of the crucial social
mechanisms by which women are forced into a subordinate
position compared with men...
118. ...Violence against women throughout the life cycle
derives essentially from cultural patterns ... Violence
against women is exacerbated by social pressures, notably
the shame of denouncing certain acts that have been
perpetrated against women; women's lack of access to
legal information, aid or protection; the lack of laws
that effectively prohibit violence against women; failure
to reform existing laws; inadequate efforts on the part
of public authorities to promote awareness of and enforce
existing laws; and the absence of educational and other
means to address the causes and consequences of violence.
Images in the media of violence against women ... are
factors contributing to the continued prevalence of such
violence...
119. Developing a holistic and multidisciplinary approach to
the challenging task of promoting families, communities
and States that are free of violence against women is
necessary and achievable...
120. ...Lack of or inadequate documentation and research on
domestic violence, sexual harassment and violence against
women and girls ... impede efforts to design specific
intervention strategies...
121. Women may be vulnerable to violence perpetrated by
persons in positions of authority in both conflict and
non-conflict situations...
122. The effective suppression of trafficking in women and
girls for the sex trade is a matter of pressing
international concern... The Special Rapporteur of the
Commission on Human Rights on violence against women ...
is invited to address ... the issue of international
trafficking for the purposes of the sex trade, as well as
the issues of forced prostitution, rape, sexual abuse and
sex tourism...
123. In addressing violence against women, ... before
decisions are taken an analysis [should] be made of their
effects on women and men, respectively.
Strategic objective D.1. Take integrated measures to prevent and
eliminate violence against women
Paragraph Background / Actions to be taken
124. (a) Condemn violence against women...
By Governments: (b) Refrain from engaging in violence against women and
... prevent, investigate and ... punish acts of violence
against women...
(c) Enact and/or reinforce ... sanctions in domestic
legislation to punish and redress the wrongs done to
women and girls who are subjected to any form of
violence...
(d) Adopt and/or implement and periodically review and
analyse legislation to ensure its effectiveness in
eliminating violence against women, ... take measures to
ensure the protection of women subjected to violence,
access to just and effective remedies ... and
rehabilitation of perpetrators;
(e) Work actively to ratify and/or implement
international human rights norms and instruments as they
relate to violence against women...
(f) Implement the Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Discrimination against Women...
(g) Promote an active and visible policy of
mainstreaming a gender perspective in all policies and
programmes related to violence against women...
(h) Provide women who are subjected to violence with
access to the mechanisms of justice...
(i) Enact and enforce legislation against the
perpetrators of practices and acts of violence against
women...
(j) Formulate and implement ... plans of action to
eliminate violence against women;
(k) Adopt all appropriate measures ... to modify the
social and cultural patterns of conduct of men and women,
and to eliminate prejudices, customary practices and all
other practices based on the idea of the inferiority or
superiority of either of the sexes and on stereotyped
roles for men and women;
(l) Create or strengthen institutional mechanisms so
that women and girls can report acts of violence against
them in a safe and confidential environment...
(m) Ensure that women with disabilities have access to
information and services in the field of violence against
women;
(n) Create, improve or develop ... and fund the training
programmes for judicial, legal, medical, social,
educational and police and immigrant personnel, in order
to avoid the abuse of power leading to violence against
women ... and sensitize such personnel to the nature of
gender-based acts and threats of violence so that fair
treatment of female victims can be assured;
(o) Adopt ... and reinforce ... laws that punish police,
security forces or any other agents of the State who
engage in acts of violence against women in the course of
the performance of their duties...
(p) Allocate adequate resources within the government
budget and mobilize community resources for activities
related to the elimination of violence against women...
(q) Include in reports ... [to the] United Nations ...
information pertaining to violence against women and
measures taken to implement the Declaration on the
Elimination of Violence against Women;
(r) Cooperate with and assist the Special Rapporteur of
the Commission on Human Rights on violence against women
in the performance of her mandate ... [and] also with
other competent mechanisms ... in relation to violence
against women;
(s) Recommend that the Commission on Human Rights renew
the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on violence against
women when her term ends in 1997 and, if warranted,
update and strengthen it.
125. (a) Provide well-funded shelters and relief support for
By Governments girls and women subjected to violence...
and [other (b) Establish linguistically and culturally accessible
organizations] services for migrant women and girls, including women
... migrant workers, who are victims of gender-based
violence;
(c) Recognize the vulnerability to violence and other
forms of abuse of women migrants, including women migrant
workers, whose legal status in the host country depends
on employers who may exploit their situation;
(d) Support initiatives of women's organizations and
non-governmental organizations all over the world to
raise awareness on the issue of violence against women
and to contribute to its elimination;
(e) Organize, support and fund community-based education
and training campaigns to raise awareness about violence
against women as a violation of women's enjoyment of
their human rights...
(f) Recognize, support and promote the fundamental role
of intermediate institutions, such as primary health-care
centres, family-planning centres ... and so forth in the
field of information and education related to abuse;
(g) Organize and fund information campaigns ... [on the]
personal and social detrimental effects of violence in
the family, community and society...
(h) Disseminate information on the assistance available
to women and families who are victims of violence;
(i) Provide, fund and encourage counselling and
rehabilitation programmes for the perpetrators of
violence and promote research to further efforts
concerning such counselling and rehabilitation so as to
prevent the recurrence of such violence;
(j) Raise awareness of the responsibility of the media
in promoting non-stereotyped images of women and men, as
well as in eliminating patterns of media presentation
that generate violence...
126. (a) Develop programmes and procedures to eliminate
By Governments, sexual harassment and other forms of violence against
employers, women...
trade unions (b) Develop programmes and procedures to educate and
[and others] raise awareness of acts of violence against women that
... constitute a crime and a violation of the human rights of
women;
(c) Develop counselling, healing and support programmes
for girls, adolescents and young women who have been or
are involved in abusive relationships...
(d) Take special measures to eliminate violence against
women, particularly those in vulnerable situations, such
as young women, refugee, displaced and internally
displaced women, women with disabilities and women
migrant workers...
128. Encourage the dissemination and implementation of the
By Governments UNHCR Guidelines on the Protection of Refugee Women and
and [other the UNHCR Guidelines on the Prevention of and Response to
organizations] Sexual Violence against Refugees.
...
Strategic objective D.2. Study the causes and consequences of violence
against women and the effectiveness of preventive measures
Paragraph Background / Actions to be taken
129. (a) Promote research, collect data and compile
By Governments statistics, especially concerning domestic violence
and [other relating to the prevalence of different forms of violence
organizations] against women, and encourage research into the causes,
... nature, seriousness and consequences of [such] violence
...
and the effectiveness of measures implemented to prevent
and
redress [it]...
(b) Disseminate findings of research and studies widely;
(c) Support and initiate research on the impact of
violence...
(d) Encourage the media to examine the impact of gender
role stereotypes, including those perpetuated by
commercial advertisements, which foster gender-based
violence and inequalities ... and take measures to
eliminate these negative images with a view to promoting
a violence-free society.
Strategic objective D.3. Eliminate trafficking in women and assist
victims of violence due to prostitution and trafficking
Paragraph Background / Actions to be taken
130. (b) Take appropriate measures to address the root
By Governments factors, including external factors, ... that encourage
of countries of trafficking in women and girls for prostitution and other
origin, transit forms of commercialized sex, forced marriages and forced
and destination labour...
[and others]... (c) Step up cooperation and concerted action by all
relevant law enforcement authorities...
(e) Develop educational and training programmes and
policies and consider enacting legislation aimed at
preventing sex tourism and trafficking, giving special
emphasis to the protection of young women and children.
Women and armed conflict
Paragraph Background / Actions to be taken
131. ...International humanitarian law, prohibiting attacks on
civilian populations, as such, is at times systematically
ignored and human rights are often violated in connection
with situations of armed conflict, affecting ...
especially women, children, the elderly and the disabled.
...Massive violations of human rights, especially in the
form of genocide, ethnic cleansing as a strategy of war
and its consequences, and rape, including systematic rape
of women in war situations, creating a mass exodus of
refugees and displaced persons, are abhorrent practices
that are strongly condemned and must be stopped
immediately...
132. The Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of
Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 1949, and the
Additional Protocols of 1977 provide that women shall
especially be protected ... in particular against
humiliating and degrading treatment, rape, enforced
prostitution or any form of indecent assault...
134. In a world of continuing instability and violence, the
implementation of cooperative approaches to peace and
security is urgently needed... Although women have begun
to play an important role in conflict resolution,
peace-keeping and defence and foreign affairs mechanisms,
they are still underrepresented in decision-making
positions. If women are to play an equal part in
securing and maintaining peace, they must be empowered
politically and economically and represented adequately
at all levels of decision-making.
135. While entire communities suffer the consequences of armed
conflict and terrorism, women and girls are particularly
affected because of their status in society and their
sex... The impact of violence against women and
violation of the human rights of women in such situations
is experienced by women of all ages, who suffer
displacement, loss of home and property, loss or
involuntary disappearance of close relatives, poverty and
family separation and disintegration, and who are victims
of acts of murder, terrorism, torture, involuntary
disappearance, sexual slavery, rape, sexual abuse and
forced pregnancy in situations of armed conflict,
especially as a result of policies of ethnic cleansing
and other new and emerging forms of violence...
136. Women and children constitute some 80 per cent of the
world's millions of refugees and other displaced persons,
including internally displaced persons... Particular
attention should be paid to sexual violence against
uprooted women and girls employed as a method of
persecution in systematic campaigns of terror and
intimidation and forcing members of a particular ethnic,
cultural or religious group to flee their homes.
Women may also be forced to flee as a result of a
well-founded fear of persecution for reasons enumerated
in the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees
and the 1967 Protocol, including persecution through
sexual violence or other gender-related persecution, and
they continue to be vulnerable to violence and
exploitation while in flight, in countries of asylum and
resettlement and during and after repatriation. Women
often experience difficulty in some countries of asylum
in being recognized as refugees when the claim is based
on such persecution.
139. During times of armed conflict and the collapse of
communities, the role of women is crucial. They often
work to preserve social order in the midst of armed and
other conflicts. Women make an important but often
unrecognized contribution as peace educators both in
their families and in their societies.
140. Education to foster a culture of peace that upholds
justice and tolerance for all nations and peoples is
essential to attaining lasting peace and should be begun
at an early age. It should include elements of conflict
resolution, mediation, reduction of prejudice and respect
for diversity.
141. In addressing armed or other conflicts ... before
decisions are taken
an analysis [should be] made of the effects on women and
men, respectively.
Strategic objective E.1. Increase the participation of women in conflict
resolution at decision-making levels and protect women living in
situations of armed and other conflicts or under foreign occupation
Paragraph Background / Actions to be taken
142. (a) Take action to promote equal participation of women
By Governments and equal opportunities for women to participate in all
and [other forums and peace activities...
organizations]
...
(b) Integrate a gender perspective in the resolution of
armed or other conflicts and foreign occupation and aim
for gender balance when nominating or promoting
candidates for judicial and other positions in all
relevant international bodies ... related to the peaceful
settlement of disputes;
(c) Ensure that these bodies are able to address gender
issues properly by providing appropriate training to ...
officials ... and integrat[ing] a gender perspective into
their work.
Strategic objective E.2. Reduce excessive military expenditures and
control the availability of armaments
Paragraph Background / Actions to be taken
143. (a) Increase and hasten ... the conversion of military
By Governments: resources and related industries to development and
peaceful purposes;
(b) Undertake to explore new ways of generating new
public and private financial resources ... so as to
permit the possible allocation of additional funds for
social and economic development, in particular for the
advancement of women;
(c) Take action to investigate and punish ... [people]
who perpetrate acts of violence against women, violations
of international humanitarian law and violations of the
human rights of women in situations of armed conflict;
(d) While acknowledging legitimate national defence
needs, recognize and address the dangers to society of
armed conflict and the negative effect of excessive
military expenditures, trade in arms, especially those
arms that are particularly injurious or have
indiscriminate effects, and excessive investment for arms
production and acquisition; similarly, recognize the need
to combat illicit arms trafficking, violence, crime, the
production and use of and trafficking in illicit drugs,
and trafficking in women and children;
(e) Recognizing that women and children are particularly
affected by the indiscriminate use of anti-personnel
land-mines:
(i) Undertake to work actively towards ratification ...
of the 1981 Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on
the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons Which May Be
Deemed to Be Excessively Injurious or to Have
Indiscriminate Effects, particularly the Protocol on
Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Mines, Booby
Traps and Other Devices (Protocol II), with a view to
universal ratification by the year 2000;
(ii) Undertake to strongly consider strengthening the
Convention to promote a reduction in the casualties and
intense suffering caused to the civilian population by
the indiscriminate use of land-mines;
(iii) Undertake to promote assistance in mine
clearance...
(iv) ...Undertake to support efforts to coordinate a
common response programme of assistance in de-mining...
(v) Adopt ... a moratorium on the export of
anti-personnel land-mines...
(vi) Undertake to encourage further international
efforts to seek solutions to the problems caused by
antipersonnel land-mines, with a view to their eventual
elimination...
(f) Recognizing the leading role that women have played
in the peace movement:
(i) Work actively towards general and complete
disarmament under strict and effective international
control;
(ii) Support negotiations on the conclusion ... of a
universal ... and effectively verifiable comprehensive
nuclear-test-ban treaty that contributes to nuclear
disarmament and the prevention of the proliferation of
nuclear weapons in all its aspects;
(iii) Pending the entry into force of a comprehensive
nuclear-test-ban treaty, exercise the utmost restraint in
respect of nuclear testing.
Strategic objective E.3. Promote non-violent forms of conflict
resolution and reduce the incidence of human rights abuse in conflict
situations
Paragraph Background / Actions to be taken
144. (a) Consider the ratification of or accession to
By Governments: international instruments containing provisions relative
to the protection of women and children in armed
conflicts...
(b) Respect fully the norms of international
humanitarian law in armed conflicts and take all measures
required for the protection of women and children...
(c) Strengthen the role of women and ensure equal
representation of women at all decision-making levels in
national and international institutions which may make or
influence policy with regard to matters related to
peace-keeping, preventive diplomacy and related
activities...
145. (a) Reaffirm the right of self-determination of all
By Governments peoples ... and the importance of the effective
and [other realization of this right...
organizations] (b) Encourage diplomacy, negotiation and peaceful
... settlement of disputes...
(c) Urge the identification and condemnation of the
systematic practice of rape and other forms of inhuman
and degrading treatment of women as a deliberate
instrument of war and ethnic cleansing and take steps to
ensure that full assistance is provided to the victims of
such abuse for their physical and mental rehabilitation;
(d) Reaffirm that rape in the conduct of armed conflict
constitutes a war crime ... take all measures required
for the protection of women and children from such acts
and strengthen mechanisms to investigate ... and bring
the perpetrators to justice;
(e) Uphold and reinforce standards set out in
international humanitarian law and international human
rights instruments to prevent all acts of violence
against women in situations of armed and other
conflicts...
(f) Call upon the international community to condemn and
act against all forms and manifestations of terrorism;
(g) Take into account gender-sensitive concerns in
developing training programmes for all relevant personnel
on international humanitarian law and human rights
awareness...
(h) Discourage the adoption of and refrain from any
unilateral measure not in accordance with international
law and the Charter of the United Nations, that impedes
the full achievement of economic and social development
by the population of the affected countries, in
particular women and children, that hinders their
well-being and that creates obstacles to the full
enjoyment of their human rights, including the right of
everyone to a standard of living adequate for their
health and well-being and their right to food, medical
care and the necessary social services. This Conference
reaffirms that food and medicine must not be used as a
tool for political pressure;
(i) Take measures in accordance with international law
with a view to alleviating the negative impact of
economic sanctions on women and children.
Strategic objective E.4. Promote women's contribution to fostering a
culture of peace
Paragraph Background / Actions to be taken
146. (a) Promote peaceful conflict resolution and peace,
By Governments reconciliation and tolerance...
and [other (b) Encourage the further development of peace research
organizations] ... engage in research and identify innovative mechanisms
... for containing violence and for conflict resolution for
public dissemination and for use by women and men;
(c) Develop and disseminate research on the physical,
psychological, economic and social effects of armed
conflicts on women ...
(d) Consider establishing educational programmes for
girls and boys to foster a culture of peace, focusing on
conflict resolution by non-violent means and the
promotion of tolerance.
Strategic objective E.5. Provide protection, assistance and training to
refugee women, other displaced women in need of international protection
and internally displaced women
Paragraph Background / Actions to be taken
147. (a) Take steps to ensure that women are fully involved
By Governments in ... projects and programmes providing assistance to
and [other refugee women [and] other displaced women in need of
organizations] international protection ...
... (c) Take steps to protect the safety and physical
integrity of ... women in need of international
protection ... during their displacement and upon their
return to their communities of origin, including
programmes of rehabilitation...
(d) While fully respecting and strictly observing the
principle of non-refoulement of refugees, take all the
necessary steps to ensure the right of refugee and
displaced women to return voluntarily to their place of
origin in safety and with dignity, and their right to
protection after their return;
(f) Ensure that the international community and its
international organizations provide financial and other
resources for emergency relief and other longer-term
assistance that takes into account the specific needs,
resources and potentials of refugee women [and others]...
(g) Facilitate the availability of educational materials
in the appropriate language ... in order to minimize
disruption of schooling among refugee and displaced
children;
(h) Apply international norms to ensure equal access and
equal treatment of women and men in refugee determination
procedures and the granting of asylum ... and consider
recognizing as refugees those women whose claim to
refugee status is based upon the well-founded fear of
persecution for reasons enumerated in the 1951 Convention
and the 1967 Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees,
including persecution through sexual violence or other
gender-related persecution, and provide access to
specially trained officers, including female officers, to
interview women regarding sensitive or painful
experiences, such as sexual assault;
(i) Support and promote efforts by States towards the
development of criteria and guidelines on responses to
persecution specifically aimed at women...
(j) Promote the self-reliant capacities of refugee women
[and others] ... and provide programmes for women ... in
leadership and decision-making within refugee and
returnee communities;
(k) Ensure that the human rights of refugee and
displaced women are protected and that refugee and
displaced women are made aware of these rights; ensure
that the vital importance of family reunification is
recognized;
(l) Provide ... women who have been determined refugees
with access to vocational / professional training
programmes, including language training, small-scale
enterprise development training and planning and
counselling on all forms of violence against women, which
should include rehabilitation programmes for victims of
torture and trauma...
(m) Raise public awareness of the contribution made by
refugee women to their countries of resettlement, promote
understanding of their human rights and of their needs
and abilities and encourage mutual understanding and
acceptance...
(n) Provide basic and support services to women who are
displaced from their place of origin as a result of
terrorism, violence, drug trafficking or other reasons
linked to violence situations;
(o) Develop awareness of the human rights of women and
provide ... human rights education and training to
military and police personnel operating in areas of armed
conflict and areas where there are refugees.
148. (a) Disseminate and implement the UNHCR Guidelines on
By Governments: the Protection of Refugee Women and the UNHCR Guidelines
on Evaluation and Care of Victims of Trauma and Violence
... in all sectors of refugee programmes;
(b) Protect women and children who migrate as family
members
from abuse or denial of their human rights by sponsors...
Strategic objective E.6. Provide assistance to the women of the colonies
and non-self-governing territories
Paragraph Background / Actions to be taken
149. (a) Support and promote the implementation of the right
By Governments of self-determination of all peoples ... by providing
and [other special programmes in leadership and in training for
organizations] decision-making;
... (b) Raise public awareness ... to create a better
understanding of the situation of women of the colonies
and non-self-governing territories.
Women and the economy
Paragraph Background / Actions to be taken
150. ...In most parts of the world, women are virtually absent
from or are poorly represented in economic
decision-making, including the formulation of financial,
monetary, commercial and other economic policies, as well
as tax systems and rules governing pay...
151. In many regions, women's participation in remunerated
work in the formal and non-formal labour market has
increased significantly and has changed during the past
decade... However, women have been particularly affected
by the economic situation and restructuring processes,
which have changed the nature of employment and ... led
to a loss of jobs, even for professional and skilled
women...
152 Discrimination in education and training, hiring and
remuneration, promotion and horizontal mobility
practices, as well as inflexible working conditions, lack
of access to productive resources and inadequate sharing
of family responsibilities, combined with ...
insufficient services such as child care, continue to
restrict employment, economic, professional and other
opportunities and mobility for women and make their
involvement stressful. Moreover, attitudinal obstacles
inhibit women's participation in developing economic
policy ... and training for economic management.
153. Women's share in the labour force continues to rise...
In many countries, women are the majority of workers in
non-standard work, such as temporary, casual, multiple
part-time, contract and home-based employment.
155. Insufficient attention to gender analysis has meant that
women's contributions and concerns remain too often
ignored in economic structures... As a result, many
policies and programmes may continue to contribute to
inequalities between women and men. Where progress has
been made in integrating gender perspectives, programme
and policy effectiveness has also been enhanced.
156. ...[W]omen still ... perform the great majority of
unremunerated domestic work and community work ...
[which] is often not measured in quantitative terms and
is not valued in national accounts... The full
visibility of the type, extent and distribution of this
unremunerated work will also contribute to a better
sharing of responsibilities.
157. Although some new employment opportunities have been
created for women as a result of the globalisation of the
economy, there are also trends that have exacerbated
inequalities between women and men... More analysis
needs to be done of the impact of globalization on
women's economic status.
158. ...Women, particularly those who are heads of households
with young children, are limited in their employment
opportunities for reasons that include inflexible working
conditions and inadequate sharing, by men and by society,
of family responsibilities.
159. In countries that are undergoing fundamental political,
economic and social transformation, the skills of women,
if better utilized, could constitute a major contribution
to the economic life of their respective countries.
Their input should continue to be developed and supported
and their potential further realized.
160. Lack of employment in the private sector and reductions
in public services and public service jobs have affected
women disproportionately... In many cases, employment
creation strategies have not paid sufficient attention to
occupations and sectors where women predominate; nor have
they adequately promoted the access of women to those
occupations and sectors that are traditionally male.
161. For those women in paid work, many experience obstacles
that prevent them from achieving their potential...
[A]ttitudinal discrimination ... sexual harassment ...
lack of a family-friendly work environment, including a
lack of appropriate and affordable child care, and
inflexible working hours ... prevent women from achieving
their full potential.
162. In the private sector ... women are largely absent from
management and policy levels, denoting discriminatory
hiring and promotion policies and practices. The
unfavourable work environment ... [has] led many women to
seek alternatives... When they gain access to and
control over capital, credit and other resources,
technology and training, women can increase production,
marketing and income for sustainable development.
163. Taking into account the fact that continuing inequalities
and noticeable progress coexist, rethinking employment
policies is necessary... To realize fully equality
between women and men in their contribution to the
economy, active efforts are required for equal
recognition and appreciation of the influence that the
work, experience, knowledge and values of both women and
men...
164. In addressing the economic potential and independence of
women, ... an analysis [should be] made of the effects on
women and men, respectively.
Strategic objective F.1. Promote women's economic rights and
independence, including access to employment, appropriate working
conditions and control over economic resources
Paragraph Background / Actions to be taken
165. (a) Enact and enforce legislation to guarantee the
By Governments: rights of women and men to equal pay for equal work or
work of equal value;
(b) Adopt and implement laws against discrimination
based on sex in the labour market...
(c) Eliminate discriminatory practices by employers and
take appropriate measures in consideration of women's
reproductive role and functions ... and take effective
measures to ensure that pregnant women, women on
maternity leave or women re-entering the labour market
after childbearing are not discriminated against;
(d) Devise mechanisms and take positive action to enable
women to gain access to full and equal participation in
the formulation of policies and definition of structures
...
(e) Undertake legislation and administrative reforms to
give women equal rights with men to economic resources...
(f) Conduct reviews of national income and inheritance
tax and social security systems to eliminate any existing
bias against women;
(g) Seek to develop a more comprehensive knowledge of
work and employment through, inter alia, efforts to
measure and better understand the type, extent and
distribution of unremunerated work ... and encourage the
sharing and dissemination of information on studies and
experience in this field...
(h) Review and amend laws governing the operation of
financial institutions to ensure that they provide
services to women and men on an equal basis;
(i) Facilitate ... more open and transparent budget
processes;
(j) Revise and implement national policies that support
the traditional savings, credit and lending mechanisms
for women;
(k) Seek to ensure that national policies related to
international and regional trade agreements do not have
an adverse impact on women's new and traditional economic
activities;
(m) Adjust employment policies to facilitate the
restructuring of work patterns in order to promote the
sharing of family responsibilities;
(n) Establish mechanisms and other forums to enable
women entrepreneurs and women workers to contribute to
the formulation of policies and programmes being
developed by economic ministries and financial
institutions;
(o) Enact and enforce equal opportunity laws...
(p) Use gender-impact analyses in the development of
macro and micro-economic and social policies in order to
monitor such impact and restructure policies in cases
where harmful impact occurs;
(q) Promote gender-sensitive policies and measures to
empower women as equal partners with men in technical,
managerial and entrepreneurial fields;
(r) Reform laws or enact national policies that support
the establishment of labour laws to ensure the protection
of all women workers, including safe work practices, the
right to organize and access to justice.
Strategic objective F.2. Facilitate women's equal access to resources,
employment, markets and trade
Paragraph Background / Actions to be taken
166. (a) Promote and support women's self-employment and the
By Governments: development of small enterprises...
(b) Strengthen the incentive role of the State as
employer to develop a policy of equal opportunities for
women and men;
(c) Enhance, at the national and local levels, rural
women's income-generating potential...
(d) Promote and strengthen micro-enterprises, new small
businesses, cooperative enterprises, expanded markets and
other employment opportunities...
(h) Review, reformulate ... and implement policies ...
to ensure that they do not discriminate against micro,
small and medium-scale enterprises owned by women in
rural and urban areas;
(i) Analyse, advise on, coordinate and implement
policies that integrate the needs and interests of
employed, self-employed and entrepreneurial women into
sectoral and inter-ministerial policies, programmes and
budgets;
(j) Ensure equal access for women to effective job
training, retraining, counselling and placement services
that are not limited to traditional employment areas;
(k) Remove policy and regulatory obstacles faced by
women in social and development programmes that
discourage private and individual initiative;
(l) Safeguard and promote respect for basic workers'
rights, including ... freedom of association and the
right to organize and bargain collectively, equal
remuneration for men and women for work of equal value
and non-discrimination in employment...
167. (a) Increase the participation of women ... in advisory
By Governments boards and other forums...
and [other (b) Mobilize the banking sector to increase lending and
organizations] refinancing ... [to] serve the needs of women
... entrepreneurs and producers ... and include women in
their leadership, planning and decision-making;
(c) Structure services to reach rural and urban women
... and expand women's access to financial markets by
identifying ... reforms ... to better meet the credit and
other financial needs of the micro, small and
medium-scale enterprises of women;
(d) Ensure that women's priorities are included in
public investment programmes for economic
infrastructure...
168. (a) Pay special attention to women's needs when
By Governments disseminating market, trade and resource information and
and [other provide appropriate training in these fields;
organizations] (b) Encourage community economic development strategies
... that build on partnerships among Governments, and
encourage members of civil society to create jobs and
address the social circumstances of individuals, families
and communities.
Strategic objective F.3. Provide business services, training and access
to markets, information and technology, particularly to low-income women
Paragraph Background / Actions to be taken
173. (a) Provide public infrastructure to ensure equal market
By Governments access for women and men entrepreneurs;
in cooperation (b) Develop programmes that provide training and
with retraining, particularly in new technologies, and
non-governmental affordable services to women in business management,
organizations product development, financing, production and quality
and the private control, marketing and the legal aspects of business;
sector: (c) Provide outreach programmes to inform low-income ...
women ... of opportunities for market and technology
access, and provide assistance in taking advantage of
such opportunities;
(d) Create non-discriminatory support services ... and
target women ... in trade promotion programmes;
(e) Disseminate information about successful women
entrepreneurs in both traditional and non-traditional
economic activities and the skills necessary to achieve
success, and facilitate networking and the exchange of
information;
(f) Take measures to ensure equal access of women to
ongoing training in the workplace ... and increase
incentives to enterprises to expand the number of
vocational and training centres that provide training for
women in non-traditional areas;
(g) Provide affordable support services, such as
high-quality, flexible and affordable child-care
services, that take into account the needs of working men
and women.
Strategic objective F.4. Strengthen women's economic capacity and
commercial networks
Paragraph Background / Actions to be taken
175. (a) Adopt policies that support ... organizations ...
By Governments: [that] provide services to women entrepreneurs in rural
and urban areas;
(b) Integrate a gender perspective into all economic
restructuring and structural adjustment policies and
design programmes for women who are affected by [them]
... and for women who work in the informal sector;
(c) Adopt policies that create an enabling environment
for women's self-help groups, workers' organizations and
cooperatives...
(d) Support programmes that enhance the self-reliance of
special groups of women, such as young women, women with
disabilities, elderly women and women belonging to racial
and ethnic minorities;
(e) Promote gender equality through the promotion of
women's studies and through the use of the results of
studies and gender research in all fields, including the
economic, scientific and technological fields;
(f) Support the economic activities of indigenous women,
taking into account their traditional knowledge, so as to
improve their situation and development;
(g) Adopt policies to extend or maintain the protection
of labour laws and social security provisions for those
who do paid work in the home;
(h) Recognize and encourage the contribution of research
by women scientists and technologists;
(i) Ensure that policies and regulations do not
discriminate against micro, small and medium-scale
enterprises run by women.
Strategic objective F.5. Eliminate occupational segregation and all
forms of employment discrimination
Paragraph Background / Actions to be taken
178. (a) Implement and enforce laws and regulations and
By Governments, encourage voluntary codes of conduct that ensure that
employers, international labour standards ... apply equally to
employees, female and male workers;
trade unions (b) Enact and enforce laws and introduce implementing
and women's measures ... to prohibit direct and indirect
organizations: discrimination...
(c) Enact and enforce laws and develop workplace
policies against gender discrimination in the labour
market, especially considering older women workers, in
hiring and promotion...
(d) Eliminate discriminatory practices by employers on
the basis of women's reproductive roles and functions...
(e) Develop and promote employment programmes and
services for women entering and/or re-entering the labour
market, especially poor urban, rural and young women, the
self-employed and those negatively affected by structural
adjustment;
(f) Implement and monitor positive public- and
private-sector employment, equity and positive action
programmes...
(g) Eliminate occupational segregation, especially by
promoting the equal participation of women in highly
skilled jobs and senior management positions ... and by
stimulating the diversification of occupational choices
by both women and men; encourage women to take up
non-traditional jobs, especially in science and
technology, and encourage men to seek employment in the
social sector;
(h) Recognize collective bargaining as a right and as an
important mechanism for eliminating wage inequality for
women and to improve working conditions;
(i) Promote the election of women trade union officials
and ensure that trade union officials elected to
represent women are given job protection and physical
security in connection with the discharge of their
functions;
(j) Ensure access to and develop special programmes to
enable women with disabilities to obtain and retain
employment...
(k) Increase efforts to close the gap between women's
and men's pay, take steps to implement the principle of
equal remuneration for equal work of equal value by
strengthening legislation...
(l) Establish and/or strengthen mechanisms to adjudicate
matters relating to wage discrimination;
(o) Review, analyse and, where appropriate, reformulate
the wage structures in female-dominated professions, such
as teaching, nursing and child care, with a view to
raising their low status and earnings;
(p) Facilitate the productive employment of documented
migrant women ... through greater recognition of foreign
education and credentials and by adopting an integrated
approach to labour market training that incorporates
language training.
Strategic objective F.6. Promote harmonization of work and family
responsibilities for women and men
Paragraph Background / Actions to be taken
179. (a) Adopt policies to ensure the appropriate protection
By Governments: of labour laws and social security benefits for
part-time, temporary, seasonal and home-based workers;
promote career development based on work conditions that
harmonize work and family responsibilities;
(b) Ensure that full and part-time work can be freely
chosen by women and men on an equal basis, and consider
appropriate protection for atypical workers in terms of
access to employment, working conditions and social
security;
(c) Ensure ... opportunities for women and men to take
job-protected parental leave and to have parental
benefits; promote the equal sharing of responsibilities
for the family by men and women, ... and also promote the
facilitation of breast-feeding for working mothers;
(d) Develop policies ... to change attitudes that
reinforce the division of labour based on gender in order
to promote the concept of shared family responsibility
for work in the home, particularly in relation to
children and elder care;
(e) Improve the development of, and access to,
technologies that facilitate occupational as well as
domestic work, encourage self-support, generate income,
transform gender-prescribed roles within the productive
process and enable women to move out of low-paying jobs;
(f) Examine a range of policies and programmes,
including social security legislation and taxation
systems ... to determine how to promote gender equality
and flexibility in the way people divide their time
between and derive benefits from education and training,
paid employment, family responsibilities, volunteer
activity and other socially useful forms of work, rest
and leisure.
180. (a) Adopt appropriate measures ... so that women and men
By Governments are able to take temporary leave from employment, have
and [other transferable employment and retirement benefits and make
organizations] arrangements to modify work hours without sacrificing
... their prospects for development and advancement at work
and in their careers;
(b) Design and provide educational programmes ... to
raise awareness on gender equality and non-stereotyped
gender roles of women and men within the family; provide
support services and facilities, such as on-site child
care at workplaces and flexible working arrangements;
(c) Enact and enforce laws against sexual and other
forms of harassment in all workplaces.
Women in power and decision-making
Paragraph Background / Actions to be taken
181. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that
everyone has the right to take part in the Government of
his/her country... Equality in political decision-making
performs a leverage function without which it is highly
unlikely that a real integration of the equality
dimension in government policy-making is feasible.
In this respect, women's equal participation in political
life plays a pivotal role in the general process of the
advancement of women. Women's equal participation in
decision-making is not only a demand for simple justice
or democracy but can also be seen as a necessary
condition for women's interests to be taken into
account...
182. ...Globally, only 10 per cent of the members of
legislative bodies and a lower percentage of ministerial
positions are now held by women... [W]omen continue to
be seriously underrepresented as candidates for public
office. The traditional working patterns of many
political parties and government structures continue to
be barriers to women's participation in public life...
183. ...Socialization and negative stereotyping of women and
men ... reinforces the tendency for political
decision-making to remain the domain of men. Likewise,
the underrepresentation of women in decision-making
positions in the areas of art, culture, sports, the
media, education, religion and the law have prevented
women from having a significant impact on many key
institutions.
184. Owing to their limited access to the traditional avenues
to power ... women have gained access to power through
alternative structures, particularly in the
non-governmental organization sector. Through
non-governmental ... and grass-roots organizations, women
have been able to articulate their interests and concerns
and have placed women's issues on the national, regional
and international agendas.
185. ...The unequal division of labour and responsibilities
within households ... also limits women's potential to
find the time and develop the skills required for
participation in decision-making in wider public forums.
A more equal sharing of those responsibilities between
women and men not only provides a better quality of life
for women and their daughters but also enhances their
opportunities to shape and design public policy, practice
and expenditure so that their interests may be recognized
and addressed...
186. The low proportion of women among economic and political
decision makers ... reflects structural and attitudinal
barriers that need to be addressed through positive
measures...
187. The equitable distribution of power and decision-making
at all levels is dependent on Governments and other
actors undertaking statistical gender analysis and
mainstreaming a gender perspective in policy development
and the implementation of programmes. Equality in
decision-making is essential to the empowerment of
women...
189. In addressing the inequality between men and women in the
sharing of power and decision-making at all levels ...
before decisions are taken, an analysis [should be] made
of the effects on women and men, respectively.
Strategic objective G.1. Take measures to ensure women's equal access to
and full participation in power structures and decision-making
Paragraph Background / Actions to be taken
190. (a) Commit themselves to establishing the goal of gender
By Governments: balance in governmental bodies and committees, as well as
in public administrative entities, and in the
judiciary...
(b) Take measures ... that encourage political parties
to integrate women in elective and non-elective public
positions in the same proportion and at the same levels
as men;
(c) Protect and promote the equal rights of women and
men to engage in political activities and to freedom of
association, including membership in political parties
and trade unions;
(d) Review the differential impact of electoral systems
on the political representation of women in elected
bodies and consider ... the adjustment or reform of those
systems;
(e) Monitor and evaluate progress in the representation
of women through the regular collection, analysis and
dissemination of quantitative and qualitative data...
(f) Support ... organizations ... that conduct studies
on women's participation in and impact on decision-making
and the decision-making environment;
(g) Encourage greater involvement of indigenous women in
decision-making at all levels;
(h) Encourage and, where appropriate, ensure that
government-funded organizations adopt non-discriminatory
policies and practices...
(i) Recognize that shared work and parental
responsibilities between women and men promote women's
increased participation in public life, and take
appropriate measures to achieve this, including measures
to reconcile family and professional life;
(j) Aim at gender balance in the lists of national
candidates nominated for election or appointment to
United Nations bodies, specialized agencies and other
autonomous organizations of the United Nations system,
particularly for posts at the senior level.
191. (a) Consider examining party structures and procedures
By political to remove all barriers that directly or indirectly
parties: discriminate against the participation of women;
(b) Consider developing initiatives that allow women to
participate fully in all internal policy-making
structures and appointive and electoral nominating
processes;
(c) Consider incorporating gender issues in their
political agenda, taking measures to ensure that women
can participate in the leadership of political parties on
an equal basis with men.
192. (a) Take positive action to build a critical mass of
By Governments women leaders, executives and managers in strategic
and [other decision-making positions;
organizations] (b) Create or strengthen ... mechanisms to monitor
... women's access to senior levels of decision-making;
(c) Review the criteria for recruitment and appointment
to advisory and decision-making bodies and promotion to
senior positions to ensure that such criteria are
relevant and do not discriminate against women;
(d) Encourage efforts by non-governmental organizations,
trade unions and the private sector to achieve equality
between women and men in their ranks, including equal
participation in their decision-making bodies and in
negotiations in all areas and at all levels;
(e) Develop communications strategies to promote public
debate on the new roles of men and women in society, and
in the family ...
(f) Restructure recruitment and career-development
programmes to ensure that all women have equal access to
managerial, entrepreneurial, technical and leadership
training, including on-the-job training;
(g) Develop career advancement programmes for women of
all ages that include career planning, tracking,
mentoring, coaching, training and retraining;
(h) Encourage and support the participation of women's
non-governmental organizations in United Nations
conferences and their preparatory processes;
Strategic objective G.2. Increase women's capacity to participate in
decision-making and leadership
Paragraph Background / Actions to be taken
195. (a) Provide leadership and self-esteem training to
By Governments, assist women and girls ... to strengthen their
national self-esteem and to encourage them to take decision-making
bodies, the positions;
private sector, (b) Have transparent criteria for decision-making
political positions and ensure that the selecting bodies have a
parties, trade gender-balanced composition;
unions, (c) Create a system of mentoring for inexperienced women
employers' and offer training, including training in leadership and
organizations, decision-making, public speaking and self-assertion, as
[and others]... well as in political campaigning;
(d) Provide gender-sensitive training for women and men
to promote non-discriminatory working relationships and
respect for diversity in work and management styles;
(e) Develop mechanisms and training to encourage women
to participate in the electoral process, political
activities and other leadership areas.
Institutional mechanisms for the advancement of women
Paragraph Background / Actions to be taken
196. National machineries for the advancement of women have
been established in almost every Member State to ...
design, promote the implementation of, execute, monitor,
evaluate, advocate and mobilize support for policies that
promote the advancement of women... Often marginalized
in national government structures, these mechanisms are
frequently hampered by unclear mandates, lack of adequate
staff, training, data and sufficient resources, and
insufficient support from national political leadership.
198. Successive international conferences have underscored the
need to take gender factors into account in policy and
programme planning. However, in many instances this has
not been done.
200. Methodologies for conducting gender-based analysis ...
and for dealing with the differential effects of policies
on women and men have been developed ... and are
available for application but are often not being applied
or are not being applied consistently.
201. A national machinery for the advancement of women is the
central policy-coordinating unit inside government...
The necessary conditions for an effective functioning of
such national machineries include:
(a) Location at the highest possible level in the
Government, falling under the responsibility of a Cabinet
minister;
(b) Institutional ... processes that facilitate ...
decentralized planning, implementation and monitoring
with a view to involving non-governmental organizations
and community organizations from the grass-roots upwards;
(c) Sufficient resources in terms of budget and
professional capacity;
(d) Opportunity to influence development of all
government policies.
Strategic objective H.1. Create or strengthen national machineries and
other governmental bodies
Paragraph Background / Actions to be taken
203. (a) Ensure that responsibility for the advancement of
By Governments: women is vested in the highest possible level of
government...
(b) Based on a strong political commitment, create ...
[or] strengthen ... existing national machineries for the
advancement of women at the highest possible level of
government ... [with] adequate resources and the ability
and competence to influence policy and formulate and
review legislation ... perform policy analysis, undertake
advocacy, communication, coordination and monitoring of
implementation;
(c) Provide staff training in designing and analysing
data from a gender perspective;
(d) Establish procedures to allow the machinery to
gather information on government-wide policy issues at an
early stage and continuously use it in the policy
development and review process within the Government;
(e) Report ... to legislative bodies on the progress of
efforts ... to mainstream gender concerns, taking into
account the implementation of the Platform for Action;
(f) Encourage and promote the active involvement of the
broad and diverse range of institutional actors in the
public, private and voluntary sectors to work for
equality between women and men.
Strategic objective H.2. Integrate gender perspectives in legislation,
public policies, programmes and projects
Paragraph Background / Actions to be taken
204. (a) Seek to ensure that before policy decisions are
By Governments: taken, an analysis of their impact on women and men,
respectively, is carried out;
(b) Regularly review national policies, programmes and
projects, as well as their implementation...
(c) Promote national strategies and aims on equality
between women and men in order to eliminate obstacles to
the exercise of women's rights and eradicate all forms of
discrimination against women;
(d) Work with members of legislative bodies ... to
promote a gender perspective in all legislation and
policies;
(e) Give all ministries the mandate to review policies
and programmes from a gender perspective and in the light
of the Platform for Action...
205. (a) Facilitate the formulation and implementation of
By national government policies on equality between women and men,
machinery: develop appropriate strategies and methodologies, and
promote coordination and cooperation within the central
Government in order to ensure mainstreaming of a gender
perspective in all policy-making processes;
(b) Promote and establish cooperative relationships with
relevant branches of government, centres for women's
studies and research, academic and educational
institutions, the private sector, the media,
non-governmental organizations, especially women's
organizations, and all other actors of civil society;
(c) Undertake activities focusing on legal reform with
regard ... to the family, conditions of employment,
social security, income tax, equal opportunity in
education, positive measures to promote the advancement
of women...
(e) Establish direct links with national, regional and
international bodies dealing with the advancement of
women;
(f) Provide training and advisory assistance to
government agencies in order to integrate a gender
perspective in their policies and programmes.
Strategic objective H.3. Generate and disseminate gender-disaggregated
data and information for planning and evaluation
Paragraph Background / Actions to be taken
207. (a) Ensure the regular production of a statistical
By Governments: publication on gender that presents and interprets
topical data on women and men in a form suitable for a
wide range of non-technical users;
(b) Ensure that producers and users of statistics ...
regularly review the adequacy of the official statistical
system and its coverage of gender issues, and prepare a
plan for needed improvements, where necessary;
(c) Develop and encourage the development of
quantitative and qualitative studies ... on the sharing
of power and influence in society...
(d) Use more gender-sensitive data in the formulation of
policy and implementation of programmes and projects.
Human rights of women
Paragraph Background / Actions to be taken
210. Human rights and fundamental freedoms are the birthright
of all human beings; their protection and promotion is
the first responsibility of Governments.
211. The World Conference on Human Rights reaffirmed the
solemn commitment of all States to fulfil their
obligation to promote universal respect for, and
observance and protection of, all human rights and
fundamental freedoms... The universal nature of these
rights and freedoms is beyond question.
212. ...The Platform for Action reaffirms the importance of
ensuring the universality, objectivity and
non-selectivity of the consideration of human rights
issues.
213. The Platform for Action reaffirms that all human rights
... are universal, indivisible, interdependent and
interrelated... [T]he human rights of women and the girl
child are an inalienable, integral and indivisible part
of universal human rights. The full and equal enjoyment
of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by women and
girls is a priority for Governments and the United
Nations and is essential for the advancement of women.
217. The gap between the existence of rights and their
effective enjoyment derives from a lack of commitment by
Governments to promoting and protecting those rights and
the failure of Governments to inform women and men alike
about them...
218. ...Unless the human rights of women, as defined by
international human rights instruments, are fully
recognized and effectively protected, applied,
implemented and enforced ... they will exist in name
only.
219. ...Women's full enjoyment of equal rights is undermined
by the discrepancies between some national legislation
and international law and international instruments on
human rights. Overly complex administrative procedures,
lack of awareness within the judicial process and
inadequate monitoring of the violation of the human
rights of all women, coupled with the underrepresentation
of women in justice systems, insufficient information on
existing rights and persistent attitudes and practices
perpetuate women's de facto inequality...
220. Every person should be entitled to participate in,
contribute to and enjoy cultural, economic, political and
social development. In many cases women and girls suffer
discrimination in the allocation of economic and social
resources. This directly violates their economic, social
and cultural rights.
221. The human rights of all women and the girl child must
form an integral part of United Nations human rights
activities... Cooperation is also needed to strengthen,
rationalize and streamline the United Nations human
rights system and to promote its effectiveness and
efficiency, taking into account the need to avoid
unnecessary duplication and overlapping of mandates and
tasks.
222. If the goal of full realization of human rights for all
is to be achieved, international human rights instruments
must be applied in such a way as to take more clearly
into consideration the systematic and systemic nature of
discrimination against women that gender analysis has
clearly indicated.
223. ...[T]he Fourth World Conference on Women reaffirms that
reproductive rights rest on the recognition of the basic
right of all couples and individuals to decide freely and
responsibly the number, spacing and timing of their
children and to have the information and means to do so,
and the right to attain the highest standard of sexual
and reproductive health. It also includes their right to
make decisions concerning reproduction free of
discrimination, coercion and violence, as expressed in
human rights documents.
224. Violence against women both violates and impairs ... the
enjoyment by women of human rights and fundamental
freedoms... [G]ender-based violence, such as battering
and other domestic violence, sexual abuse, sexual slavery
and exploitation ... as well as violence against women
resulting from cultural prejudice, racism and racial
discrimination ... are incompatible with the dignity and
the worth of the human person and must be combated and
eliminated. Any harmful aspect of certain traditional,
customary or modern practices that violates the rights of
women should be prohibited and eliminated. Governments
should take urgent action to combat and eliminate all
forms of violence against women in private and public
life...
225. Many women face additional barriers to the enjoyment of
their human rights because of such factors as their race,
language ... or socio-economic class... They may also be
disadvantaged and marginalized by a general lack of
knowledge and recognition of their human rights...
226. The factors that cause the flight of refugee women [and
others] ... may be different from those affecting men.
These women continue to be vulnerable to abuses of their
human rights during and after their flight.
227. ...Legal literacy programmes and media strategies have
been effective in helping women to understand the link
between their rights and other aspects of their lives and
in demonstrating that cost-effective initiatives can be
undertaken to help women obtain those rights...
228. Women engaged in the defence of human rights must be
protected... Non-governmental organizations, women's
organizations and feminist groups have played a catalytic
role in the promotion of the human rights of women
through grass-roots activities, networking and advocacy
and need encouragement, support and access to information
from Governments in order to carry out these activities.
229. In addressing the enjoyment of human rights, before
decisions are taken, an analysis [should be] made of the
effects on women and men, respectively.
Strategic objective I.1. Promote and protect the human rights of women,
through the full implementation of all human rights instruments,
especially the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination against Women
Paragraph Background / Actions to be taken
230. (a) Work actively towards ratification of or accession
By Governments: to and implement international and regional human rights
treaties;
(b) Ratify and accede to and ensure implementation of
the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination against Women...
(c) Limit the extent of any reservations to the
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination against Women...
(d) Consider drawing up national action plans
identifying steps to improve the promotion and protection
of human rights, including the human rights of women...
(e) Create or strengthen independent national
institutions for the protection and promotion of these
rights, including the human rights of women...
(f) Develop a comprehensive human rights education
programme to raise awareness among women of their human
rights and raise awareness among others of the human
rights of women;
(g) ...[I]mplement the Convention by reviewing all
national laws, policies, practices and procedures to
ensure that they meet the obligations set out in the
Convention...
(h) Include gender aspects in reporting under all other
human rights conventions and instruments ...
(i) Report on schedule to the Committee on the
Elimination of Discrimination against Women regarding the
implementation of the Convention...
(j) Enable the Committee on the Elimination of
Discrimination against Women fully to discharge its
mandate...
(k) Support the process initiated by the Commission on
the Status of Women with a view to elaborating a draft
optional protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of
All Forms of Discrimination against Women ... on a right
of petition procedure...
(l) Take urgent measures to achieve universal
ratification of or accession to the Convention on the
Rights of the Child before the end of 1995...
(m) Address the acute problems of children ... by
supporting efforts in the context of the United Nations
system aimed at adopting efficient international measures
for the prevention and eradication of female infanticide,
harmful child labour, the sale of children and their
organs, child prostitution, child pornography and other
forms of sexual abuse and consider contributing to the
drafting of an optional protocol to the Convention on the
Rights of the Child;
(n) Strengthen the implementation of all relevant human
rights instruments in order to combat and eliminate,
including through international cooperation, organized
and other forms of trafficking in women and children,
including trafficking for the purposes of sexual
exploitation, pornography, prostitution and sex tourism,
and provide legal and social services to the victims...
(o) ...[C]onsider a declaration on the rights of
indigenous people for adoption by the General Assembly
within the International Decade of the World's Indigenous
People and encourage the participation of indigenous
women in the working group elaborating the draft
declaration...
Strategic objective I.2. Ensure equality and non-discrimination under
the law and in practice
Paragraph Background / Actions to be taken
232. (a) Give priority to promoting and protecting the full
By Governments: and equal enjoyment by women and men of all human rights
and fundamental freedoms without distinction of any
kind...
(b) ...[P]rohibit discrimination on the basis of sex ...
and assure women of all ages equal rights and their full
enjoyment;
(c) Embody the principle of the equality of men and
women in ... legislation and ensure ... the practical
realization of this principle;
(d) Review national laws ... in order to ensure the
implementation of ... all relevant international human
rights instruments ... and remove gender bias in the
administration of justice;
(e) Strengthen and encourage the development of
programmes to protect the human rights of women in the
national institutions on human rights ... according them
appropriate status, resources and access to the
Government...
(f) Take action to ensure that the human rights of women
... are fully respected and protected;
(g) Take urgent action to combat and eliminate violence
against women, which is a human rights violation,
resulting from ... cultural prejudices and extremism;
(h) Prohibit female genital mutilation wherever it
exists...
(i) Provide gender-sensitive human rights education and
training to public officials ... including people who
deal with migration and refugee issues, and teachers at
all levels of the educational system...
(j) Promote the equal right of women to be members of
trade unions and other professional and social
organizations;
(k) Establish effective mechanisms for investigating
violations of the human rights of women perpetrated by
any public official...
(l) Review and amend criminal laws and procedures ... to
eliminate any discrimination against women ... regardless
of the relationship between the perpetrator and the
victim, and ensure that women defendants, victims and/or
witnesses are not revictimized or discriminated
against...
(m) Ensure that women have the same right as men to be
judges, advocates or other officers of the court...
(n) Strengthen ... administrative mechanisms and legal
aid programmes to assist disadvantaged women seeking
redress for violations of their rights;
(o) Ensure that all women ... enjoy fully all human
rights and freedoms in accordance with the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights and all other human rights
instruments...
(p) Strengthen and encourage the implementation of the
recommendations contained in the Standard Rules on the
Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with
Disabilities, paying special attention to ensure
non-discrimination and equal enjoyment of all human
rights and fundamental freedoms by women and girls with
disabilities...
(q) Encourage the development of gender-sensitive human
rights programmes.
Strategic objective I.3. Achieve legal literacy
Paragraph Background / Actions to be taken
233. (a) Translate ... into local and indigenous languages,
By Governments ... publicize and disseminate laws and information
and [other relating to the equal status and human rights of all
organizations] women...
... (b) Publicize and disseminate such information in easily
understandable formats and alternative formats
appropriate for persons with disabilities, and persons at
low levels of literacy;
(c) Disseminate information on national legislation and
its impact on women, including easily accessible
guidelines on how to use a justice system to exercise
one's rights;
(d) Include information about international and regional
instruments and standards in ... training programmes to
ensure that human rights are effectively protected;
(e) Make widely available and fully publicize
information on the existence of ... mechanisms for
seeking redress when the human rights of women are
violated;
(f) Encourage, coordinate and cooperate with ... women's
groups
[and relevant others] ... to make women aware of their
human rights;
(g) Promote education on the human and legal rights of
women ...
at all levels of education and undertake public campaigns
... on the equality of women and men in public and
private life...
(h) Promote education in all countries in human rights
and international humanitarian law for members of the
national security and armed forces, ... giving special
attention to the rules on the protection of women and
children and to the protection of human rights in
situations of armed conflict;
(i) Take appropriate measures to ensure that refugee and
... migrant women ... are made aware of their human
rights and of the recourse mechanisms available to them.
Women and the media
Paragraph Background / Actions to be taken
234. During the past decade, advances in information
technology have facilitated a global communications
network that ... has an impact on public policy, private
attitudes and behaviour, especially of children and young
adults. Everywhere the potential exists for the media to
make a far greater contribution to the advancement of
women.
235. ...[Few women] have attained positions at the
decision-making level or serve on governing boards and
bodies that influence media policy...
236. The continued projection of negative and degrading images
of women in media communications ... must be changed.
Print and electronic media in most countries do not
provide a balanced picture of women's diverse lives and
contributions to society in a changing world...
237. Women should be empowered by enhancing their skills,
knowledge and access to information technology...
Self-regulatory mechanisms for the media need to be
created and strengthened and approaches developed to
eliminate gender-biased programming...
238. In addressing the issue of the mobilization of the media,
Governments and other actors should promote an active and
visible policy of mainstreaming a gender perspective in
policies and programmes.
Strategic objective J.1. Increase the participation and access of women
to expression and decision- making in and through the media and new
technologies of communication
Paragraph Background / Actions to be taken
239. (a) Support women's education, training and employment
By Governments: to promote and ensure women's equal access to all areas
and levels of the media;
(b) Support research into all aspects of women and the
media so as to define areas needing attention and action
and review existing media policies with a view to
integrating a gender perspective;
(c) Promote women's full and equal participation in the
media, including management, programming, education,
training and research;
(d) Aim at gender balance in the appointment of women
and men to all advisory, management, regulatory or
monitoring bodies...
(e) Encourage ... programmes for and by women to see to
it that women's needs and concerns are properly
addressed;
(f) Encourage and recognize women's media networks ...
as a means for the dissemination of information and the
exchange of views ... and support women's groups active
in all media work and systems of communications to that
end;
(g) Encourage ... the creative use of programmes in the
national media for the dissemination of information on
various cultural forms of indigenous people and the
development of social and educational issues in this
regard...
(h) Guarantee the freedom of the media ... and encourage
... the positive involvement of the media in development
and social issues.
241. (a) Encourage the development of educational and
By Governments training programmes for women ... and the use of the new
... or national technologies ...
machinery for (b) Encourage the use of communication systems,
the advancement including new technologies, as a means of strengthening
of women: women's participation in democratic processes;
(c) Facilitate the compilation of a directory of women
media experts;
(d) Encourage the participation of women in the
development of professional guidelines and codes of
conduct ... to promote balanced and non-stereotyped
portrayals of women by the media.
Strategic objective J.2. Promote a balanced and non-stereotyped
portrayal of women in the media
Paragraph Background / Actions to be taken
243. (a) Promote research and implementation of a strategy of
By Governments information, education and communication aimed at
and promoting a balanced portrayal of women and girls and
international their multiple roles;
organizations... (b) Encourage the media and advertising agencies to
develop specific programmes to raise awareness of the
Platform for Action;
(c) Encourage ... the creation and use of
non-stereotyped, balanced and diverse images of women in
the media;
(d) Encourage the media to refrain from presenting women
as inferior beings and exploiting them as sexual objects
and commodities, rather than presenting them as creative
human beings, key actors and contributors to and
beneficiaries of the process of development;
(e) Promote the concept that the sexist stereotypes
displayed in the media are gender discriminatory,
degrading in nature and offensive;
(f) Take effective measures or institute such measures,
including appropriate legislation, against pornography
and the projection of violence against women and children
in the media.
Women and the environment
Paragraph Background / Actions to be taken
246. Human beings are at the centre of concern for sustainable
development. They are entitled to a healthy and
productive life in harmony with nature. Women have an
essential role to play in the development of sustainable
and ecologically sound consumption and production
patterns and approaches to natural resource management...
While poverty results in certain kinds of environmental
stress, the major cause of the continued deterioration of
the global environment is ... unsustainable ...
consumption and production...
247. All States and all people shall cooperate in the
essential task of eradicating poverty as an indispensable
requirement for sustainable development... The
deterioration of natural resources displaces communities,
especially women, from income-generating activities while
greatly adding to unremunerated work. In both urban and
rural areas, environmental degradation results in
negative effects on the health, well-being and quality of
life of the population at large, especially girls and
women of all ages...
248. ...As consumers and producers, caretakers of their
families and educators, women play an important role in
promoting sustainable development through their concern
for the quality and sustainability
of life for present and future generations...
249. Women remain largely absent at all levels of policy
formulation and decision-making in natural resource and
environmental management, conservation, protection and
rehabilitation, and their experience and skills in ...
proper natural resource management too often remain
marginalized... Women are rarely trained as professional
natural resource managers with policy-making capacities
...
250. Women have often ... taken the lead in promoting an
environmental ethic, reducing resource use, and reusing
and recycling resources to minimize waste and excessive
consumption... [I]ndigenous women have particular
knowledge of ecological linkages and fragile ecosystem
management...
251. The strategic actions needed for sound environmental
management require a holistic, multidisciplinary and
intersectoral approach... Sustainable development will be
an elusive goal unless women's contribution to
environmental management is recognized and supported.
252. In addressing the lack of adequate recognition and
support for women's contribution to conservation and
management of natural resources and safeguarding the
environment, Governments and other actors should promote
an active and visible policy of mainstreaming
a gender perspective in all policies and programmes,
including ... an analysis of the effects on women and men
... before decisions are taken.
Strategic objective K.1. Involve women actively in environmental
decision-making at all levels
Paragraph Background / Actions to be taken
253. (a) Ensure opportunities for women ... to participate in
By Governments, environmental decision-making at all levels...
at all (b) Facilitate and increase women's access to
levels... information and education, including in the areas of
science, technology and economics, thus enhancing their
knowledge, skills and opportunities for participation in
environmental decisions;
(c) Encourage ... the effective protection and use of
the knowledge, innovations and practices of women of
indigenous and local communities ... endeavour to ensure
that these are respected, maintained, promoted and
preserved in an ecologically sustainable manner, and
promote their wider application with the approval and
involvement of the holders of such knowledge; in
addition, safeguard the existing intellectual property
rights of these women as protected under national and
international law...
(d) Take appropriate measures to reduce risks to women
from identified environmental hazards at home, at work
and in other environments...
(e) Take measures to integrate a gender perspective in
the design and implementation of ... environmentally
sound and sustainable resource management mechanisms,
production techniques and infrastructure development in
rural and urban areas;
(f) Take measures to empower women as producers and
consumers so that they can take effective environmental
actions, along with men, in their homes, communities and
workplaces;
(g) Promote the participation of local communities,
particularly women, in identification of public service
needs, spatial planning and the provision and design of
urban infrastructure.
Strategic objective K.2. Integrate gender concerns and perspectives in
policies and programmes for sustainable development
Paragraph Background / Actions to be taken
256. (a) Integrate women, including indigenous women, their
By Governments: perspectives and knowledge ... in decision-making ... and
the development of policies and programmes for
sustainable development...
(b) Evaluate policies and programmes in terms of
environmental impact and women's equal access to and use
of natural resources;
(e) Integrate the results of gender-sensitive research
into mainstream policies with a view to developing
sustainable human settlements;
(f) Promote knowledge of and sponsor research on the
role of women ... in food gathering and production, soil
conservation, irrigation, watershed management,
sanitation, coastal zone and marine resource management,
integrated pest management, land-use planning, forest
conservation and community forestry, fisheries, natural
disaster prevention, and new and renewable sources of
energy, focusing particularly on indigenous women's
knowledge and experience;
(g) Develop a strategy for change to eliminate all
obstacles to women's full and equal participation in
sustainable development and equal access to and control
over resources;
(h) Promote the education of girls and women of all ages
in science, technology, economics and other disciplines
relating to the natural environment...
(i) Develop programmes to involve female professionals
and scientists, as well as technical, administrative and
clerical workers, in environmental management, develop
training programmes ... expand opportunities for ...
hiring and promotion ... and implement special measures
to advance women's expertise and participation in these
activities;
(j) Identify and promote environmentally sound
technologies that have been designed, developed and
improved in consultation with women and that are
appropriate to both women and men;
(k) Support the development of women's equal access to
housing infrastructure, safe water, and sustainable and
affordable energy technologies ... through participatory
needs assessments, energy planning and policy formulation
at the local and national levels;
(l) Ensure that clean water is available and accessible
to all...
Strategic objective K.3. Strengthen or establish mechanisms at the
national, regional and international levels to assess the impact of
development and environmental policies on women
Paragraph Background / Actions to be taken
258. (a) Provide technical assistance to women ... in the
By Governments sectors of agriculture, fisheries, small enterprises,
and [other trade and industry to ensure the continuing promotion of
organizations] human resource development and the development of
... environmentally sound technologies and of women's
entrepreneurship;
(b) Develop gender-sensitive databases, information and
monitoring systems and participatory action-oriented
research, methodologies and policy analyses, with the
collaboration of academic institutions and local women
researchers, on the following:
(i) Knowledge and experience on the part of women
concerning the management and conservation of natural
resources...
(ii) The impact on women of environmental and natural
resource degradation...
(iii) Analysis of the structural links between gender
relations, environment and development...
(iv) Measures to develop and include environmental,
economic, cultural, social and gender-sensitive analyses
as an essential step in the development and monitoring of
programmes and policies;
(v) Programmes to create rural and urban training,
research and resource centres that will disseminate
environmentally sound technologies to women;
(c) Ensure the full compliance with relevant
international obligations ... relating to the
transboundary movements of hazardous wastes ... enact and
enforce regulations for environmentally sound management
related to safe storage and movement...
(d) Promote coordination within and among institutions
to implement the Platform for Action and chapter 24 of
Agenda 21...
The girl child
Paragraph Background / Actions to be taken
259. The Convention on the Rights of the Child recognizes that
"States Parties shall respect and ensure the rights set
forth in the present Convention to each child within
their jurisdiction without discrimination of any kind
..." However, in many countries available indicators
show that the girl child is discriminated against from
the earliest stages of life, through her childhood and
into adulthood. In some areas of the world, ... fewer
girls than boys survive into adulthood.
260. Girls are often treated as inferior and are socialized to
put themselves last, thus undermining their
self-esteem... Initiatives should be taken to prepare
girls to participate actively, effectively and equally
with boys at all levels of social, economic, political
and cultural leadership.
261. Gender-biased educational processes ... reinforce
existing gender inequalities.
262. Girls and adolescents may receive a variety of
conflicting and confusing messages on their gender roles
from their parents, teachers, peers and the media. Women
and men need to work together with children and youth to
break down persistent gender stereotypes, taking into
account the rights of the child and the responsibilities,
rights and duties of parents...
264. ...Girls are often not encouraged or given the
opportunity to pursue scientific and technological
training and education, which limits the knowledge they
require for their daily lives and their employment
opportunities.
265. Girls are less encouraged than boys to participate in and
learn about the social, economic and political
functioning of society, with the result that they are not
offered the same opportunities as boys to take part in
decision-making processes.
267. ...In all actions concerning children, the best interests
of the child shall be a primary consideration. Support
should be given to integral sexual education for young
people...
269. Sexual violence and sexually transmitted diseases,
including HIV/AIDS, have a devastating effect on
children's health, and girls are more vulnerable than
boys to the consequences of unprotected and premature
sexual relations. Girls often face pressures to engage
in sexual activity...
270. The girl child with disabilities faces additional
barriers and needs to be ensured non-discrimination and
equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental
freedoms...
271. Some children are particularly vulnerable, especially the
abandoned, homeless and displaced, street children,
children in areas in conflict, and children who are
discriminated against because they belong to an ethnic or
racial minority group.
272. All barriers must therefore be eliminated to enable girls
without exception to develop their full potential and
skills through equal access to education and training,
nutrition, physical and mental health care and related
information.
273. In addressing issues concerning children and youth, ...
before decisions are taken, an analysis [should be] made
of the effects on girls and boys, respectively.
Strategic objective L.1. Eliminate all forms of discrimination against
the girl child
Paragraph Background / Actions to be taken
274. (a) ...[B]y States that have signed and ratified the
By Governments: Convention [on the Rights of the Child], ensure its full
implementation through the adoption of all necessary
legislative, administrative and other measures and by
fostering an enabling environment that encourages full
respect for the rights of children;
(b) Consistent with article 7 of the Convention on the
Rights of the Child, take measures to ensure that a child
is registered immediately after birth and has the right
from birth to a name, the right to acquire a nationality
and, as far as possible, the right to know and be cared
for by his or her parents;
(c) ...[E]nsure that children receive appropriate
financial support from their parents, by, among other
measures, enforcing child-support laws;
(f) Develop and implement comprehensive policies, plans
of action and programmes for the survival, protection,
development and advancement of the girl child to promote
and protect the full enjoyment of her human rights and to
ensure equal opportunities for girls...
275. (a) Disaggregate information and data on children by sex
By Governments and age, undertake research on the situation of girls and
and [other integrate ... the results in the formulation of policies,
organizations] programmes and decision-making for the advancement of the
... girl child;
Strategic objective L.2. Eliminate negative cultural attitudes and
practices against girls
Paragraph Background / Actions to be taken
276. (a) Encourage and support ... organizations in their
By Governments: efforts to promote changes in negative attitudes and
practices towards girls;
(c) Develop and adopt curricula, teaching materials and
textbooks to improve the self-image, lives and work
opportunities of girls, particularly in areas where women
have traditionally been underrepresented, such as
mathematics, science and technology;
277. (a) Promote an educational setting that eliminates all
By Governments barriers that impede the schooling of married and/or
and [other pregnant girls and young mothers, including ...
organizations] affordable and physically accessible child-care
... facilities...
(b) Encourage educational institutions and the media to
adopt and project balanced and non-stereotyped images of
girls and boys, and work to eliminate child pornography
and degrading and violent portrayals of the girl child;
(c) Eliminate all forms of discrimination against the
girl child...
(d) Develop policies and programmes ... that support
girls and enable them to acquire knowledge, develop
self-esteem and take responsibility for their own
lives...
Strategic objective L.3. Promote and protect the rights of the girl
child and increase awareness of her needs and potential
Paragraph Background / Actions to be taken
278. (a) Generate awareness of the disadvantaged situation of
By Governments girls among policy makers, planners, administrators and
and [other implementors at all levels, as well as within households
organizations] and communities;
... (b) Make the girl child, particularly the girl child in
difficult circumstances, aware of her own potential,
educate her about the rights guaranteed to her under all
international human rights instruments...
(c) Educate women, men, girls and boys to promote girls'
status and encourage them to work towards mutual respect
and equal partnership between girls and boys;
(d) Facilitate the equal provision of appropriate
services and devices to girls with disabilities and
provide their families with related support services, as
appropriate.
Strategic objective L.4. Eliminate discrimination against girls in
education, skills development and training
Paragraph Background / Actions to be taken
279. (c) Promote human rights education ... and include ...
By Governments: the fact that the human rights of women and the girl
child are an inalienable, integral and indivisible part
of universal human rights;
(f) Take actions to ensure that female teachers and
professors have the same possibilities and status as male
teachers and professors.
280. (a) Provide education and skills training to increase
By Governments girls' opportunities for employment and access to
and [other decision-making processes;
organizations] (b) Provide education to increase girls' knowledge and
... skills related to the functioning of economic, financial
and political systems;
(c) Ensure access to appropriate education and
skills-training for girl children with disabilities for
their full participation in life;
(d) Promote the full and equal participation of girls in
extracurricular activities, such as sports, drama and
cultural activities.
Strategic objective L.5. Eliminate discrimination against girls in
health and nutrition
Paragraph Background / Actions to be taken
281. (c) Strengthen and reorient health education and health
By Governments services, particularly primary health care programmes,
and [other including sexual and reproductive health, and design
organizations] quality health programmes that meet the physical and
... mental needs of girls...
(d) Establish peer education and outreach programmes with
a view to strengthening individual and collective action
to reduce the vulnerability of girls to HIV/AIDS and
other sexually transmitted diseases...
(e) Ensure education and dissemination of information to
girls, especially adolescent girls, regarding the
physiology of reproduction, reproductive and sexual
health...
(f) Include health and nutritional training as an
integral part of literacy programmes and school curricula
starting at the primary level for the benefit of the girl
child;
(g) Emphasize the role and responsibility of adolescents
in sexual and reproductive health and behaviour through
the provision of appropriate services and counselling...
(h) Develop information and training programmes for
health planners and implementors on the special health
needs of the girl child;
(i) Take all the appropriate measures with a view to
abolishing traditional practices prejudicial to the
health of children...
Strategic objective L.6. Eliminate the economic exploitation of child
labour and protect young girls at work
Paragraph Background / Actions to be taken
282. (a) In conformity with article 32 of the Convention on
By Governments: the Rights of the Child, protect children from economic
exploitation and from performing any work that is likely
to be hazardous or to interfere with the child's
education, or to be harmful to the child's health or
physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development;
(b) Define a minimum age for a child's admission to
employment in national legislation ... including girls in
all sectors of activity;
(c) Protect young girls at work, inter alia, through:
(i) A minimum age or ages for admission to employment;
(ii) Strict monitoring of work conditions...
(iii) Application of social security coverage;
(iv) Establishment of continuous training and education;
Strategic objective L.7. Eradicate violence against the girl child
Paragraph Background / Actions to be taken
283. (a) Take effective actions and measures to enact and
By Governments enforce legislation to protect the safety and security of
and [other girls from all forms of violence at work ... and take
organizations] measures to eliminate incidents of sexual harassment of
... girls in educational and other institutions;
(b) Take appropriate legislative, administrative, social
and educational measures to protect the girl child ...
from all forms of physical or mental violence, injury or
abuse, neglect or negligent treatment, maltreatment or
exploitation, including sexual abuse;
(c) Undertake gender sensitization training for those
involved in healing and rehabilitation and other
assistance programmes for girls who are victims of
violence and promote programmes of information, support
and training for such girls;
(d) Enact and enforce legislation protecting girls from
all forms of violence ... and develop age-appropriate
safe and confidential programmes and medical, social and
psychological support services to assist girls who are
subjected to violence.
Strategic objective L.8. Promote the girl child's awareness of and
participation in social, economic and political life
Paragraph Background / Actions to be taken
284. (a) Provide access for girls to training, information and
By Governments the media on social, cultural, economic and political
and [other issues and enable them to articulate their views;
organizations] (b) Support non-governmental organizations ... in their
... efforts to promote the equality and participation of
girls in society.
Strategic objective L.9. Strengthen the role of the family in improving
the status of the girl child
Paragraph Background / Actions to be taken
285. (a) Formulate policies and programmes to help the family
By Governments ... in its supporting, educating and nurturing roles,
and [other with particular emphasis on the elimination of
organizations] intra-family discrimination against the girl child;
... (b) Provide an environment conducive to the strengthening
of the family ... with a view to providing supportive and
preventive measures which protect, respect and promote
the potential of the girl child;
(c) Educate and encourage parents and caregivers to treat
girls and boys equally and to ensure shared
responsibilities between
and boys in the family...
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