NOTE TO THE READER
In 2015, the United Nations Commission on the
Status of Women conducted a review and appraisal
of the implementation of the Beijing Declaration
and Platform for Action (E/2015/27), twenty years
after its adoption at the Fourth World Conference
on Women, and of the outcomes of the twentythird special session of the General Assembly,
held in 2000.
• strengthening implementation of laws, policies, strategies and programme activities for
all women and girls;
The Political Declaration adopted by the Commission
on the Status of Women on this occasion provides
a strong basis for the full, effective and accelerated
implementation of the commitments made in
Beijing. It also champions the key role of gender
equality and the empowerment of women in the
post-2015 development agenda.
• the transformation of discriminatory norms
and gender stereotypes;
In adopting the Political Declaration twenty years
after Beijing, Governments welcome progress made,
but also recognize that no country has fully achieved
equality and empowerment for women and girls,
that progress has been slow and uneven, and
that major gaps remain and new challenges have
emerged in the implementation of the 12 critical
areas of concern of the Platform for Action.
In response, Governments pledge to take further
actions to ensure the full, effective and accelerated
implementation of the Beijing Declaration and
Platform for Action, including through:
• strengthening and increasing support for institutional mechanisms for gender equality
and the empowerment of women and girls at
all levels;
• significantly increasing investment to close
resource gaps;
• strengthening
accountability for the implementation of existing commitments; and
• enhancing capacity-building, data collection,
monitoring and evaluation.
Governments recognize the important role of the
United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the
Empowerment of Women (UN-Women) in promoting
gender equality and the empowerment of women.
They welcome the contributions made by civil society
to the implementation of the Platform for Action and
pledge to promote a safe and enabling environment
for them. They also pledge to achieve measurable
results by 2020 and to strive for full gender equality
and the empowerment of women by 2030.