NOTE TO READERS
The 2014 session of the United Nations
Commission on the Status of Women reached
a momentous global consensus on actions
needed to accelerate the achievement of the
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) for
women and girls and built a strong foundation for reflecting gender equality, the empowerment of women and the human rights
of women and girls in the post-2015 development agenda.
Following this introductory part, the
Commission (in paragraph 42) urges governments and other stakeholders to take actions
in five areas:
The “agreed conclusions” adopted by the
Commission on the Status of Women at the
conclusion of its fifty-eighth session (E/2014/27)
represent the first goal-by-goal assessment
of the MDGs from a gender perspective. The
introductory part (paragraphs 1 to 41) sets out
existing commitments on gender equality, the
empowerment of women and women’s and
girls’ full enjoyment of human rights. It analyzes
progress, gaps and challenges in the achievement of all the MDGs for women and girls and
factors that hold back progress, such as unequal
power relations between women and men,
poverty and inequalities and disadvantages in
access to resources and opportunities, discriminatory laws, social norms, harmful customary
and contemporary practices and gender stereotypes, as well as violence against women and
girls. This part also addresses the impacts of the
economic crisis, of climate change, and of natural disasters on the achievement of the MDGs
for women and girls. By identifying the critical
gender equality issues that were not sufficiently
addressed in the MDGs, the document signals
important priorities for the future. It acknowledges the role of national machineries for the
advancement of women, and contributions
made by women’s organizations and feminist
groups to advancing gender equality.
C. Maximizing investments in gender equality
and the empowerment of women (paragraph 42 (yy) to (ddd))
A. R
ealizing women’s and girls’ full enjoyment
of all human rights (paragraph 42 (a) to (ii))
B. S
trengthening the enabling environment
for gender equality and the empowerment
of women (paragraph 42 (jj) to (xx))
D. Strengthening the evidence-base for gender
equality and the empowerment of women
(paragraph (eee) to (hhh))
E. Ensuring women’s participation and leadership at all levels and strengthening accountability (paragraph (iii) to (mmm)).
Section A sets out actions necessary to realize women’s and girls’ full enjoyment of all
human rights. It calls for full implementation
of the Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Discrimination against Women,
the Beijing Platform for Action and the
Programme of Action of the International
Conference on Population and Development.
Actions aim to address the multiple and
intersecting factors contributing to women’s
and girls’ poverty, to eliminate all forms of
violence against women and girls, promotion
and protection of sexual and reproductive
health and reproductive rights, to recognize,
reduce and redistribute unpaid care work, to
promote rights to education and work, and
access to services and infrastructure. It also
highlights actions to benefit particular groups
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