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Draft Platform for Action
Annex IV
AMENDMENTS TO THE INITIAL POSITION OF THE GROUP OF 77, SUBMITTED BY CANADA

Beijing Declaration

We, the Governments participating in the Fourth World Conference on Women, gathered here in Beijing, in September 1995, on the eve of the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the United Nations, recognize that the status of women has advanced in important respects in the past decade but that progress has been uneven and inequalities between women and men have continued. This has serious consequences for the well-being of all people and requires urgent action in a spirit of hope and determination, now and to carry us forward into the next century.

We reaffirm:

our commitment to the equal rights of women and men enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, to the objectives of equality, development and peace in the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women, our obligations under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the commitments made at previous United Nations summits and world conferences.

We are convinced that:

  • equal rights, equal sharing of responsibilities and opportunities in all aspects of life and harmonious partnership between women and men are critical to the well-being of humanity
  • people-centred sustainable development requires the full and equal participation of women and men as both agents and beneficiaries
  • national, regional and global peace is attainable and women are a fundamental force in leadership and for the promotion of lasting peace
  • it is both essential and possible to design and implement effective, efficient and mutually reinforcing policies that will foster equality, development and peace.

We are determined to:

  • intensify efforts to achieve the goals of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women by the end of this century
  • take all necessary measures to eliminate all forms of discrimination against girls and women and remove all obstacles to gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls
  • promote and protect the human rights of all women and girls
  • promote the full and equal participation of girls and women of all ages in building a better world for all.

We hereby adopt and commit ourselves, as Governments, to implement the following Platform for Action of the Fourth World Conference on Women. We call upon the United Nations system, non-governmental organizations and all other actors in civil society, as well as individual women and men, to fully contribute to the implementation of this agenda for action.

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