A/RES/56/188 Recognizing the significant contribution that women make to the economy and the major force that they represent for change and development in all sectors of the economy, especially in key areas such as agriculture, industry and services, Reaffirming that women are key contributors to the economy and to combating poverty through both remunerated and unremunerated work at home, in the community and in the workplace, and that the empowerment of women is a critical factor in the eradication of poverty, Recognizing that population and development issues, education and training, health, nutrition, the environment, water supply, sanitation, housing, communications, science and technology and employment opportunities are important elements for effective poverty eradication and the advancement and empowerment of women, Recognizing rights, including environment that participation and women, also, in this context, the importance of respect for all human the right to development, and of a national and international promotes, inter alia, justice, gender equality, equity, popular political freedom for the advancement and empowerment of Recognizing further that education and training, in particular in business, trade, administration, information and communication technologies and other new technologies, are essential for gender equality, the empowerment of women and poverty eradication, Recognizing that the difficult socio-economic conditions that exist in many developing countries, in particular the least developed countries, have resulted in the acceleration of the feminization of poverty and that the empowerment of women is a critical factor in the eradication of poverty, Recognizing also that poverty eradication and the achievement and preservation of peace are mutually reinforcing, and recognizing further that peace is inextricably linked to equality between women and men and to development, Aware that, although globalization and liberalization processes have created employment opportunities for women in many countries, they have made women, especially in developing countries and in particular in the least developed countries, more vulnerable to problems caused by increased economic volatility, Recognizing that some effects of market liberalization may deepen the socioeconomic marginalization of women in the agricultural sector, including through the loss of employment among small-scale farmers who are more likely to be women than men, and emphasizing that women who are small-scale farmers need special support and empowerment so as to be able to meet the challenges and take advantage of the opportunities of agricultural market liberalization, Recognizing also that enhanced trade opportunities for developing countries, including through trade liberalization, will improve the economic condition of those societies, including women, which is of particular importance in rural communities, Aware that, while women represent an important and growing proportion of business owners, their contribution to economic and social development is constrained by, inter alia, the lack of equal access of women and men to, and control over, credit, technology, support services, land and information, Concerned that the continuing discrimination against women, the denial or lack of equal rights and access to education, training and credit facilities and the lack of control over land, capital, technology and other areas of production impede 2