that specific follow-up activities were being planned for the implementation of regional plans of action. 30. One representative reported on the Regional Conference on Intra-Familial Violence which took place at Phnom Penh in December 1994. 31. References were made to the achievements of the international conferences in Mexico and Copenhagen. (d) Draft Platform for Action 32. Many representatives commended the draft Platform for Action as comprehensive and providing the basis for further discussion. Some representatives found it too extensive and detailed, as well as weak regarding content analysis and consistency in the critical areas of concern. Many representatives suggested that it should reflect reality and sensitivity to common global problems and in a balanced way embody regional diversity without, however, duplicating the regional platforms for action. 33. Many representatives urged that the Platform for Action should reflect the many important and hard-won gains that were achieved in other United Nations world conferences - issues related to human rights; the commitment of the International Conference on Population and Development to the empowerment of women and women’s health and reproductive rights; and the reaffirmation at the World Summit for Social Development that equality between men and women was crucial to the attainment of social and economic development. The key outcomes of those conferences should be used as the starting-point for the elaboration of further action on the Platform for Action. 34. Many representatives stressed that while the Platform for Action defined the mission and critical areas of concern as well as the global framework, the document lacked the punch and the vision that could only be provided with dramatic impact by a well-constructed declaration. Such a declaration should be brief, all-encompassing and with vision. One representative suggested that the declaration should be political and future-oriented, while another representative strongly urged that it should voice the commitment of Governments. Some representatives were of the view that the declaration should include the main proposals for action agreed upon in the Platform for Action. 35. Many representatives stressed that the Platform for Action should lead to the empowerment of women and embody actions that enabled women to participate fully in all spheres of life and to be involved in the decisions that affected them. The economic independence of women, as well as equality, provided the environment for the realization of women’s full potential, individually and collectively. The progress of humanity and the modernization of societies depended on the new role played by women. In that respect, greater prominence should be given to the need for the integration of gender impact analyses in policy-making and programme planning as a central approach to achieving equality. One representative suggested that the Platform for Action should be considered an agenda for equality. 36. Many representatives emphasized that the Platform for Action should focus on measures that could be realistically implemented in the immediate future. That would, of necessity, lead to an examination of institutional mechanisms both nationally and internationally, while avoiding proliferation and duplication of mechanisms. Some representatives reaffirmed the need to create national machineries, or reinforce existing ones by increasing the financial and -39-