Message from Dr. Ali Abdussalam Treki,
President of the UN General Assembly
Remarks delivered at the Commemorative Meeting of the General Assembly on 2 March 2010 marking the 15th Anniversary of the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action
We have gathered here today to mark the fifteenth anniversary of the Beijing
Declaration and to renew our commitment to the full and accelerated
implementation of the Platform for Action.
The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action represents a milestone in
the advancement of women’s rights. Fifteen years ago, the Beijing World
Conference on Women moved the global agenda for gender equality and
empowerment of women into the twenty-first century. The Beijing Declaration
consolidated five decades of legal and policy advances, aimed at securing equality
of women in law and in practice. The Platform for Action expanded and deepened
previous political agreements, and charted a results-oriented way forward. In doing
so, the Beijing conference built on the rights, gains and new opportunities that
women in all parts of the world had worked hard to acquire.
Since Beijing, much has changed for the better for the world’s women and
girls, but new challenges have also arisen. The recent economic and financial
crisis, the food crisis and the challenges of climate change are having an often
disproportionate impact on women. We need to ensure that women can benefit
equally from recovery measures. The scourge of violence against women remains
pervasive, both in times of peace and in situations of conflict. I commend the
Secretary-General for launching a global, multi-year campaign “UNite to End
Violence against Women”, and I join him in his call for urgent and committed
action. Ending violence against women is our shared responsibility.
This Assembly is increasingly recognizing the impact of gender differences
in many areas of the Organization’s work. This fall, the High-level Plenary
Meeting on the Millennium Development Goals will be a test case for
demonstrating our commitment to the Beijing Platform for Action. Without
progress in gender equality, there can only be limited progress towards achieving
the Millenium Development Goals.
The fifteen year’s since the Beijing Conference have seen considerable
advances in gender equality and empowerment of women, but many challenges
remain. Let us recommit ourselves to the full and accelerated implementation of
the Beijing Platform for Action at national level, and make this a better – and more
equal world – for all women and girls.