UN Fourth World Conference on Women - Bejing, China
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We must do everything possible to create, promote and sustain awareness of the role and contribution of women by all means possible. -Hon'ble Prime Minister of the People's Republic of Bangladesh [2]
Overview
The United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women (UN FWCW) was a conference held in Beijing, China from the 4th to 15th of September, 1995. Thousands of women and men, from both governmental and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), from around the globe gathered in Beijing, China to assess how women’s lives have changed over the past decade and to make sure issues of concern to women remained high on the international agenda. Individuals that attended the conference, served to change and advance world public opinion and policy concerning women. The UN FWCW provided an opportunity for individuals to exchange information, discuss issues at hand, and organize new groups or networks. Women’s rights are human rights, so the efforts of those who participated in the UN FWCW had profound and long lasting effects.
We are going to share our different experiences in order to take action for a better world. - Gertrude Mongella, Secretary-General of the Conference [3]
Using their diversity as a source of strength and unity, UN FWCW attendants sought to advance the status of women by focusing on the broader themes of equality, development, and peace. Thus, reviewing the past while looking to the future, participants in the UN FWCW addressed persistent problems that were common to women from all over the world. Consequently, they focused on women’s progression in the areas of health, education, employment, family life, politics, and human rights. Additionally, at the conference there was discussion about the adoption of the Platform for Action, which was negotiated by delegates at the annual session of the UN commission on the Status of women, held at the United Nations in New York from March 15th to April 7th, 1995. [4];[5] (Hopkins, 1996; UN Chronicle, 1995)
