BEIJING REPORT					

						Number 3, 8 September 1995

Fourth World Conference on Women Delegates Busy Negotiating Removal of (tk)
Brackets from draft Platform for Action to be adopted at the end of
conference.  Four working groups have been set up to deal with specific
sections of the of the draft Platform and Declaration.  In the plenary,
delegates are reviewing progress made in advancement of women and making
commitments to address remaining challenges.  Below are excerpts from
statements by three heads of government:

Benezir Bhutto, Prime Minister of Pakistan: "As a Muslim woman, I feel a
special responsibility to counter the propaganda of a handful that Islam gives
women a second class status.  This is not true.  Today the Muslim world boasts
three women prime ministers elected by male and female voters."
Begum Khaleda Zia, Prime Minister of Bangladesh: "Women in (Bangladesh) have
begun to play a key role in politics.  They freely participate in national and
local elections. ... 10 per cent of parliamentary seats are reserved for
women.  There are specific quotas at all levels of government services."
Speciosa Kazibwe, Prime Minister of Uganda: "After almost a decade of
consolidating its fragile peace, Uganda is now embarking on a process of
democratization and is committed to the protection of human rights and women's
rights in particular."

Administrator Speth Pledged Concrete Actions by UNDP to Advance Status of
Women in address to Conference on Women delegates on 5 September.  Actions
include:  fill nearly 40 per cent of UNDP professional posts with women by end
of 1997; build partnerships between women and men by "engendering" programmes;
and work with governments in drafting agendas, setting timetables and creating
programmes to benefit women and build women-men partnerships.  Citing the
Human Development report 1995, Mr. Speth said that women held keys to solving
many of the world's problems but lacked the opportunity to use them for the
common good.  "For men who hold the reins of power there is a special
responsibility" to right the imbalances between women and men, Mr. Speth said.
 "Parliamentarians and heads of state must seize the opportunity to revise
legal codes to give equal protection under the law, and to rectify the
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women."
Mr. Speth made a special appeal to delegates to strengthen UNIFEM, "the UN
agency that is at the centre of the struggle to advance women in development.
He said that UNIFEM's funding should be made quadrupled "to provide a lever to
help women lift themselves to their full potential."

Bella Abzug, Devaki Jain Honoured at Bradford Morse Memorial Gender Lecture on
5 September for their outstanding contribution to the promotion of gender
equality over several years. "Poverty eradication is the best engine of
growth," said Ms. Jain, founder of Development Alternatives with Women for a
New Era and an environmental activist. "If this is a conference of
commitments, we will keep track of governments' commitments on a scoreboard,"
warned Bella Abzug, Co-Chair of the Women's Environment and Development
Organization. The two honourees shared their fond memories of former UNDP
Administrator, Bradford Morse, who passed away last December.  Ms. Jain
remembered him as "a partner in a just struggle" against the construction of
an environmentally-unsound dam at Narmada in India while Ms. Abzug called him
 called him a friend and "a deeply emotional guy -- full of passion, full of
caring -- qualities not usually associated with men."

ELSEWHERE IN BEIJING...

Japan aid to focus on Women. Japan's Deputy Director-General for Economic
Cooperation, Norio Hittori, announced at a press conference in Beijing that
his country will invest less in the infrastructure of developing countries and
more in people, especially women.  Specifically, Japan will increase support
for women's education, health and greater economic and social participation.
In 1993, Japan spent about US$600 million on projects targetting women in the
South, said Mr. Hittori.  The figure is expected to grow in the next few
years.

Mr. Speth Announced $1 Million Japan Trust Fund created to strengthen the
economic and political empowerment of women.  The fund will be managed by
UNDP's Gender in Development Programme.

UNIFEM CELEBRATED 20th BIRTHDAY AT STAR-STUDDED GALA EVENT ON 7 SEPTEMBER.
Actress-activist Jane Fonda was master of ceremonies at a UNFEM gala event to
celebrate the organization's 20th anniversary.  UNIFEM honoured 17
individuals, organizations and governments for contributions to women.
Margaret Snyder, first UNIFEM director, was among those honoured.  Ms. Fonda
congratulated UNIFEM on its "vision and determination to help women realise
their dream."  Noeleen Heyzer, UNIFEM Director, recalled the "magical moment"
at the presentation of Peace Torch during the NGO Forum opening on 30 August.
 The torch, first lit in South Africa in early August, will return to Africa
to serve as a beacon of hope for countries in conflict.

500 Parliamentarians adopted Beijing Declaration on 7 September committing
themselves to action in the political, social and economic areas to foster
equality between men and women, including ensuring that "the necessary
resources are made available for carrying out any measures we adopt."

UNDP Poverty Clock Display, shut down at 11.15 am 8 September at close of NGO
Forum, showed that 541,228 children had been born into poverty  during eight
days of the Forum (31 August - 8 September).  Mr. Speth said that "The Clock
itself keeps ticking away the 47 children born into absolute poverty every
minute, whether the display is on or not.  It is up to governments, UN
agencies, NGOs and concerned citizens everywhere to help stop the clock by
eradicating poverty."



Editor: Hilda Paqui
Director, Division of Public Affairs: Djibri Diallo