Beijing Conference: Achievements and Directions

Table of Contents

What is Beijing Conference?

Beijing Conference is the Fourth World Conference on Women held in the year 1995.
Assembled in Beijing on September 1995, the year of the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the United Nations, 17000 participants and 30000 activists participated for this conference.
Beijing conference strongly forwarded a bold mindset to advance the objectives of equality, development, and peace for all women universally in the concern of all humankind
Beijing Conference remains as a major cornerstone in the fight for gender equality.
Recognizing the power of speech of all women universally and taking note of the multiplicity of women and their roles and statuses, honoring the women who flagged the way and motivated by the optimism existing in the world’s youth
It identified that the position of women has progressed in some important respects in the earlier decade but that advancement has been irregular, disparities between women and men have continued and major hindrances remain, with severe consequences for the welfare of all people.
Moreover, the conference identified various situations aggravated by the growing poverty that is distressing the survival of the majority of the world’s people, in specific women and children.

Beijing Conference identified 12 areas of concern. They were:

Beijing Conference endorsed commitment to:

The equal rights and intrinsic human self-respect of women and men and other resolutions and moralities preserved in the Charter of the United Nations, to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights instruments, in specific the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, in addition to the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women and the Declaration on the Right to Development;
Certify the complete execution of the human rights of women and of the girl child as an unchallengeable, essential and inseparable part of all human rights and fundamental freedoms.

Beijing Conference was determined to:

Strengthen determinations and activities to accomplish the aims of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Progression of Women by the expiration of this century
Make sure the full satisfaction by women and the girl child of all human rights and necessary freedoms and take operational action against violations of these rights and freedoms
Take essential actions to eradicate all forms of discrimination against women and the girl child and eliminate all hindrances to gender equality and the development and empowerment of women
Inspire men to contribute entirely to all actions on the road to impartiality.

Beijing Conference mainstreamed women right as human rights.
Life expectancy and fertility rates, gender mainstreaming had improved
It was a historic event in terms of civil society participation.
More girls are registered in primary schooling; more women are making an income compared to past situations It provided a global momentum to promote gender equality and fairness.
It provided a moral shield to all the girls and women of the world to protect their rights.

New challenges have begun, containing the objectionable practice of trading or trafficking in women, the amassed aiming of women in armed battle and the alarming advancement of HIV/AIDS among women.
Focus should also be given on ensuring the binding enforcement mechanisms.
Policies to advocate for feminism led leadership must be rooted in solidarity of all the countries.
Contextualization of policies is of utmost importance to ensure real change as envisioned by the Beijing Conference.