Preparations
for the 2005 CSW review and appraisal of the implementation of the Beijing
Platform for Action (1995) and the Outcome Document of the 23rd
special session of the General Assembly (2000)
Carolyn
Hannan
Director,
UN Division for the Advancement of Women
Presented
at the
Member
States Gender Experts Meeting
Organized by
the European Commission
Brussels,
26 November 2003
I wish to thank the European Commission (EC)
for inviting me to this meeting of gender experts. I am especially appreciative
for the opportunity to, at an early stage of preparations, share information
and get your feedback and ideas on the preparations for the review and
appraisal of the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action (1995) and
the outcome document of the 23rd special session of the General
Assembly (Beijing +5, 2000), which will be carried out by the Commission on the
Status of Women (CSW) in 2005. In my presentation I would also like to
highlight areas where support from Member States of the United Nations and the
United Nations is needed in this process.
Background
The General Assembly in a recent resolution
(57/270B) called for integrated and coordinated follow-up to global conferences
and summits. Some of the basic principles outlined include: the Millennium
Declaration and MDGs as the basis for review processes; Member State responsibility for
implementation; the three-tiered review process involving the functional
commissions (for example, the CSW), the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)
and the General Assembly; the need for coordination in the United Nations
system; the key role of the regional commissions; the importance of
simplification and harmonization of processes; and the importance of statistics
and indicators (including development of national capacity).
The Commission is mandated in its multi-year
programme of work for 2002-2006 to consider two themes at its 49th
session in March 2005: “Review of the implementation of the Beijing Platform
for Action and the outcome documents of the twenty-third special session of the
General Assembly”; and “Current challenges and forward-looking strategies for
the advancement and empowerment of women and girls”.
I would like place the review and appraisal
of 10 years of implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action in the CSW in
a much broader context, as 2005 will be a critical review year in different
ways. Member States have agreed that a major event on the follow-up to the
Millennium Declaration and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) will be
organized in 2005. It will be important to ensure that the follow-up to the
global mandates on gender equality are included in this process. The ten-year
review and appraisal of the social summit (Copenhagen, 1995) will also be
undertaken in 2005, as well as follow-up processes on the Monterrey Consensus
and the Johannesburg Declaration and Plan of Implementation. A report on the
implementation of Security Council resolution 1325 (2001) will be prepared in
2005. In addition, the World Summit on the Information Society will be held in
Tunis in the same year. Clear links should be established between the review
process in the CSW and these other global processes, and gender perspectives
should be given full attention in all global events and review processes
carried out in 2005.
In the context of discussing the review and
appraisal it is particularly important to give attention to the Millennium
Declaration and MDGs. The Millennium Declaration is increasingly used as an
overall development framework by Member States and the United Nations system.
The Millennium Declaration recognized that gender equality is a key indicator
of, and precondition for, eradication of poverty and hunger and achievement of
sustainable development. The MDGs clearly set out critical development goals,
targets and indicators, including one goal on gender equality. The focus in the
Millennium Declaration framework on implementation and monitoring and
reporting, with a stong emphasis on targets and indicators, provides an
important opportunity for promotion of gender equality, if adequate attention
to gender perspectives can be assured.
The important rationale - that the MDGs cannot be achieved unless gender
perspectives are brought to the fore - needs to be more strongly emphasized. Work
is already underway at national level, and in the context of the United Nations
and other international and regional organizations, to increase attention to
gender equality. The major event planned in 2005 provides an opening for
consolidating these efforts and expanding the focus on gender equality.
Efforts have been made, particularly in the
Fourth World Conference on Women (Beijing 1995) and the 23rd special
session of the General Assembly (2000) to set concrete targets against which
progress on gender equality could be measured. Targets were, however,
identified in only a limited number of areas. The strong focus on targets and
indicators in the MDGs provides therefore an opportunity to increase and
strengthen the targets and indicators on gender equality. This requires,
however, awareness that one separate goal on gender equality is not enough; the
gender perspectives on each of the other MDGs need to be recognized and
addressed. It also requires recognizing and addressing the fact that the targets
and indicators already developed for gender equality need further development,
including in relation to violence against women, political participation, and
reproductive health and in terms of linking education with employment
opportunities and sustainable livelihoods.
The review and appraisal
process
The Division for the
Advancement of Women, as the substantive secretariat of the CSW, will prepare
Secretary-General's reports on the implementation of the Beijing Platform for
Action and the outcome document of the special session for discussion in the
CSW in 2005. The basis for these reports will include the Member State's
National Action Plans and their updates, progress reports submitted in the
context of the 23rd special session (Beijing +5) in 2000; reports of
States parties to CEDAW; other existing reports such as Country MDG reports,
Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers, and Human Development Reports; statistics
submitted to the United Nations; as well as reporting in other contexts of
other functional commissions, for example on sustainable development, social
development and population. Regional review and appraisal processes are also
underway, under the guidance of the regional commissions. The regional
commissions may require financial support to implement these processes.
Non-governmental
organizations will also be engaged in preparatory activities. The United
Nations Research Institute for Social Development will carry out an independent
study, in collaboration with research institutes and individual researchers, to
complement the mandated review by the United Nations Secretariat.
To complement the information already
available at both global and regional levels, a questionnaire on the
implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action and the outcome document of
the special session has been prepared by the Division for the Advancement of
Women, in collaboration with the regional commissions. Efforts have been made
to ensure that the regional and global processes are complementary and that there
is no duplication or over-burdening of Member States. The questionnaire was
sent to all Member States in September 2003 and the deadline for responses (to
be no more than 20 pages) is the end of April 2004. Member States are requested
to provide information on four overall questions: The main achievements and
gaps and challenges in 10 years of implementation; the progress in
implementation of the specific Critical Areas of Concern and the areas
identified in Beijing +5); the status of institutional arrangements and
mechanisms; and the commitments Governments will make to address identified
gaps and challenges. Many Member States may require support in the preparation
of these reports from the United Nations system and bilateral agencies.
The Division for the Advancement of Women
will also organize expert group meetings on critical issues to complement the
information received. The organization of such meetings is an important
mechanism for accessing the most recent thinking on different issues. Experts
from around the world are brought together to exchange ideas and experience and
formulate recommendations for further action. Topics the expert group meetings
in preparation for the 49th session of CSW will cover include, for
example, the role of national machineries and other national mechanisms
established to promote gender equality at national levels. Support from Member
States in terms of hosting such expert group meetings, or providing funding for
participants, will be needed. The Division will also initiate a series of
on-line discussions for young women and men on their priorities and
recommendations for promotion of gender equality in the coming decade, the
results of which will be presented at the CSW in 2005.
To ensure that as many interested groups, networks
and individuals as possible from around the world can contribute to the
preparations of the review and appraisal, on-line discussions will also be
organized, in the context of the inter-agency network, on all the critical
areas of concern and other issues emerging from Beijing +5. These on-line
discussions are important to ensure possibilities for active engagement and
contribution of groups, networks and individuals, who may not have the chance
to attend the sessions of the CSW or participate in the Expert Group Meetings.
The on-line discussions will be carried out on the inter-agency network
website: WomenWatch. There is urgent need for support to WomenWatch, to
effectively carry out the on-line discussions.
The 49th session
of the CSW in 2005
The 49th session of the CSW in
2005 will be commemorating both the ten years of implementation of the Beijing
Declaration and Platform for Action, and the 30 years of United Nations efforts
on promoting gender equality since the World Conference on Women in Mexico in
1975. There have been calls for visibility of the process and high-level
representation. Many Member States and NGOs have also indicated that a strong
focus at global level enhances the work at national level, and therefore
advocate a high-profile review and appraisal process. There is consensus that
the process should lead to a stronger focus on implementation and impacts,
sharing of experiences and good practices, identification of gaps and
challenges, increased political will, and clear commitments from Governments.
No decisions have, as yet, been taken on the format of the CSW 49th
session. These decisions will be taken by the Member States, presumably at the
48th session in 2004.
Two flagship publications of the United
Nations will be available at the CSW in 2005: The World Survey on The Role of Women in Development, prepared by
the Division for the Advancement of Women, which will focus on gender and
migration; and The World's Women: Trends
and Statistics, prepared by the United Nations Statistics Division in
collaboration with the Division for the Advancement of Women. Support is needed
to cover the costs of production of The World's Women: Trends and Statistics.
As is the practice at the CSW sessions, there
will be "side-events" in 2005, which will provide opportunities for
Governments, NGOs, research institutes, private sector, and UN entities to
organize panels, workshops, seminars, hearings, exhibitions, etc. to highlight
the achievements made over the past decade.
Conclusion
Information on preparations for CSW in 2005
will be available on the website of the Division for the Advancement of Women
throughout 2004, including information on the regional preparations, and on NGO
preparations, as information becomes available.
Resources are required to support the
preparatory work outlined. Following the Fourth World Conference in Beijing in
1995, a trust fund was established to support the work of the Division for the
Advancement of Women on implementation of the Platform for Action. The trust
fund was utilized for preparatory processes for the 23rd special
session (Beijing +5) in 2000. In the context of the preparations for the 49th
session of the CSW in 2005, there is a need to replenish the trust fund.
The Division for the Advancement of Women
welcomes inputs on the preparatory processes and encourages organizations to
already now begin to consider possible side events for the CSW in 2005 which
would highlight progress made and gaps and challenges. We look forward to your
support in this process in different ways.
Thank you.