A/RES/56/188 their full and equal contribution to, and equal opportunity to benefit from, development, Emphasizing the promotion of programmes aimed at financial intermediation with a view to ensuring the access of rural women to credit and to agricultural inputs and implements and, in particular, to easing collateral requirements for access to finance by women, Expressing its concern about the under-representation of women in economic decision-making, and stressing the importance of mainstreaming a gender perspective in the formulation, implementation and evaluation of all policies, Noting the importance of the organizations and bodies of the United Nations system, in particular its funds and programmes, including the United Nations Development Fund for Women, in facilitating the advancement of women in development, and recognizing the work done by the International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women, Welcoming the fact that the Commission on the Status of Women will take up the theme of eradicating poverty, including through the empowerment of women throughout their life cycle in a globalizing world, at its forty-sixth session, in 2002, 1. Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General entitled “Women in development: access to financial resources: a gender perspective”; 6 2. Calls for the accelerated and effective implementation of the Beijing Declaration 2 and Platform for Action 3 and the relevant provisions of the outcome documents of the twenty-third special session of the General Assembly, 4 as well as the outcomes of all other major United Nations conferences and summits and other relevant special sessions of the General Assembly and their follow-up processes; 3. Stresses that a favourable and conducive national and international environment in all fields of life is necessary for the effective integration of women in development; 4. Urges Governments to develop and promote methodologies for mainstreaming a gender perspective in all aspects of policy-making, including economic policy-making; 5. Recognizes the mutually reinforcing links between gender equality and poverty eradication, as well as the need to elaborate and implement, where appropriate, in consultation with civil society, comprehensive gender-sensitive poverty eradication strategies that address social, structural and macroeconomic issues; 6. Stresses the importance of developing national strategies for the promotion of sustainable and productive entrepreneurial activities that will generate income among disadvantaged women and women living in poverty; 7. Urges all Governments to ensure women’s equal rights with men and their full and equal access to education, training, employment, technology and economic and financial resources, including credit, in particular for rural women and women in the informal sector, and to facilitate, where appropriate, the transition of women from the informal to the formal sector; _______________ 6 A/56/321 and Corr.1. 3