The Dag Hammarskjöld Library has digitized 692 documents—17,098 pages—covering the 1980 UN Women’s Conference, now fully accessible in the UN Digital Library. Available in all official UN languages, these records preserve a pivotal moment in the global effort for women’s equality and rights.
The “World Conference of the United Nations Decade for Women: Equality, Development and Peace” convened in Copenhagen, Denmark, from 14 to 30 July 1980 and marked the second global gathering on women during the United Nations Decade for Women (1976–1985), serving as a mid-decade review of progress made since the first World Conference on Women in Mexico City in 1975.
Attended by 145 Member States, the Conference adopted a Programme of Action calling for stronger national measures to ensure women’s ownership and control of property, as well as improvements in protecting women’s rights to inheritance, child custody and nationality.
Thanks to the Library’s digitization work, researchers, policymakers, and the public can now explore these historical documents online, ensuring that decades of progress in women’s rights remain accessible for future generations.
These documents, identified by the series symbol A/CONF.94/–, are now freely accessible in the UN Digital Library.
