Foundational Information

Foundational Information for Learners New to the United Nations or Women’s Human Rights

An Overview

“Gender equality has been recognized as intrinsic to peace and justice since the founding of the United Nations (UN). However, challenges to achieve peace and justice have remained strong within UN negotiations. The Beijing Platform for Action (BPfA) is an historic policy document and to date remains the strongest document in the UN on gender equality and women’s human rights. However, like Declarations, Agreed Conclusions and Resolutions, the BPfA is “soft law” and not legally binding. This means it implies a moral obligation for Member States to comply with, but governments are free to consider their way of implementing the content of these texts. In contrast, treaties such as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women are legally binding.” (p 16, section 5.1 https://ngocsw.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/NGO-Main-Guide-2020-1.pdf)

The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)

Gender equality and women’s human rights are an intrinsic part of comprehensive human rights. This is most clearly affirmed in the 1979 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), along with its 1967 Declaration and 1999 Optional Protocol. CEDAW develops and clarifies the principle of gender equality and nondiscrimination. CEDAW is a treaty and is legally binding for those countries that have ratified it. To date, CEDAW is nearly universally signed (notably excluding the United States), with 188 signatories and 99 ratifications.

Read the CEDAW: https://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/cedaw/

Fourth World Conference on Women and the Beijing Platform for Action (BPfA)

Four world conferences on Women have been organized by the UN. These conferences have taken place in Mexico City in 1975; Copenhagen in 1980; Nairobi in 1985; and Beijing in 1995.

The 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing was a turning point for the global women’s movement. Over 17,000 participants attended, including 6,000 government delegates, 4,000 accredited NGO representatives, many international civil servants and about 4,000 media representatives. A parallel NGO Forum took place near Beijing in Huairou, which gathered over 30,000 people. The outcome of the conference, the Beijing Declaration and the Platform for Action, was adopted unanimously by 189 countries. This agenda, according to UN Women, is considered “the most progressive blueprint ever for advancing women’s rights” and “the key global policy document on gender equality”.

Read the BPfA: https://www.un.org/en/events/pastevents/pdfs/Beijing_Declaration_and_Platform_for_Action.pdf (including the 12 Critical Areas of Concern in section 44 pages 16-17).

United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Gender Equality

At a UN summit on 25 September 2015, 193 Member States of the UN unanimously adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which includes an ambitious set of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The framework brings together the three dimensions of sustainable development— economic, social and environmental—with 17 goals and 169 targets to be met by all countries before 2030. The 2030 Agenda is a comprehensive agenda that reaffirms previous agreements, such as the Beijing Platform for Action and CEDAW, as well as Agenda 21 and the 2012 UN Conference on Sustainable Development. The Agenda is universal and based on the principles of human rights. Goal 5 to “achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls” is recognized as critical to the successful implementation of all goals.

Read more about the SDGs: https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdgs ,particularly Sustainable Development Goal 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal5

The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW)

Nearly 4,000 NGO representatives participate in the UN Commission on the Status of Women each year. It is the largest annual gathering of the international women’s movement at the UN—a time for renewal of collective purpose and action. The CSW provides a unique opportunity for leaders in gender equality and women’s empowerment to influence the UN agenda.

Learn more about the CSW: https://ngocsw.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/NGO-Main-Guide-2020-1.pdf

The CEDAW Committee

The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) is the body of independent experts that monitors implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. The CEDAW Committee consists of 23 experts on women’s rights from around the world elected by States parties.

Read more about the CEDAW Committee: https://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/cedaw/committee.htm

An Important Resource

A guide for NGOs and Women’s Human Rights Activists at the UN and CSW 2020

This resource, frequently cited above is an overview and a primer for beginners to the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW). It include summary information on:

The Commission and the United Nations, including the General Assembly, ECOSOC, UN Women
International Policies and UN Women’s Conferences
The Sustainable Development Goals
Women’s Human Rights at the UN, including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), key treaties and monitoring committees
Key international agreements and case studies
The intergovernmental process during CSW
Guides to advocacy

This resource is available in Arabic, English, French, Spanish and Russian

Advocacy Guide