E/CN.6/2000/PC/L.5

Original: English
[As orally revised]
[Advanced unedited version]

Commission on the Status of Women acting as the
preparatory committee for the special session of the
General Assembly entitled "Women 2000: gender equality,
development and peace for the twenty-first century"

3-17 March 2000

Item 2 of the provisional agenda*

We, the Governments participating in the special session of the General Assembly,

1. Reaffirm our commitment to the goals and objectives contained in the Beijing Declaration and the Platform for Action, adopted in 1995 at the Fourth World Conference on Women, and the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women to the Year 2000 as the culmination of the United Nations Decade for Women, 1976 to 1985;

2. Reaffirm our commitment to the implementation of the 12 critical areas of concern in the Beijing Platform for Action, which are women and poverty; education and the training of women; women and health; violence against women; women and armed conflict; women and the economy; women in power and decision making; institutional mechanisms for the advancement of women; human rights of women; women and the media; women and the environment; and the girl child, and call for the implementation of the Agreed Conclusions and resolutions on the follow-up to the Fourth World Conference on Women adopted by the Commission on the Status of Women since the thirty-ninth session of the Commission;

3. Recognize that we have primary responsibility for the full implementation of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women, the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and all the relevant commitments for the advancement of women, and in this connection call for continued international cooperation including the reaffirmation to strive to fulfill the yet to be attained internationally agreed target of 0.7% of the gross national product of developed countries for overall official development assistance as soon as possible;

4. Welcome progress made thus far towards gender equality and the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action and reaffirm our commitment to accelerate the achievement of universal ratification of Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women and in this regard acknowledge the efforts at all levels of governments, the United Nations system, intergovernmental, other international and regional organizations and urge continued efforts for the full implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action;

5. Recognize the role and contribution of civil society, in particular non-governmental organizations and women’s organizations, in the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and the Platform for Action, and encourage their participation in further implementation and assessment processes;

6. Emphasize that men must involve themselves and take joint responsibility with women for the promotion of gender equality;

7 Reaffirm the importance of mainstreaming a gender perspective in the process of implementation of the outcome of other major United Nations conferences and Summits and the need for a coordinated follow-up to all major conferences and Summits by Governments, regional organizations, and all of the bodies and organizations of the UN system within their respective mandates;

We, the Governments, at the beginning of the new millennium,

8. Reaffirm our commitment to overcoming obstacles encountered in the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action and the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies and to strengthen and safeguard a national and international enabling environment, and to this end pledge to undertake further action to ensure its full and accelerated implementation, including through the promotion and protection of all human rights and fundamental freedoms, mainstreaming a gender perspective into all policies and programmes and promoting women’s full participation and empowerment and enhanced international cooperation for the full implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action;

9. Agree to regularly assess further implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action with a view to bringing together all parties involved in 2005 to assess progress and consider new initiatives, as appropriate, 10 years after the adoption of the Beijing Platform for Action and 20 years after the adoption of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies;

10. Pledge to ensure the realization of societies in which both women and men work together towards a world where every individual can enjoy equality, development and peace in the twenty-first century.