Beijing betrayed

Assessing the progress of the Beijing Platform

Published by: Women's Environment and Development Organization (WEDO) , 2005
Via: Eldis

This document assesses governments’ progress in implementing the commitments they made to the world’s women at the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women that met in Beijing in 1995. It consists of reports from women in 150 countries representing every region of the world. Their realities often contrast sharply with the official reports of their governments.
The main critique of the document is that governments worldwide have adopted a piecemeal and incremental approach to implementation that cannot achieve the economic, social and political transformation underlying the promises and vision of Beijing. The document considers the main recommendations of the Beijing Platform and assesses progress made in the following areas:

• human rights
• power and decision-making
• peace and security
• natural resources and environmental security.

The report concludes that the rhetoric of governments at Beijing has failed to play out in the reality of women’s lives. Governments have displayed a lack of will in turning their commitments to women’s rights into decisive action, instead adopting a piecemeal and incremental approach that cannot achieve the economic, social and political transformation underlying the promises of Beijing