An informative report by Member at Large, Social Justice, The Rev. Irene Miller Radcliff Some Background and Facts about Gender Discrimination"Thirty-five years ago (1975), the first World Conference on Women, an international movement for women's rights was held in Mexico City, with the goal of elimination of discrimination against women and full gender equality. Subsequent conferences followed:
1980 Copenhagen
Determined that there is discrepancy in gender equality and the ability to obtain equal rights;
1985 NairobiDetermined that efforts to reduce discrimination only benefited a small number of women;
1995 Beijing
Recognized, based on the Vienna Conference on Human Rights, that women's rights are human rights and that every societal institution and all relations between women and men must be re-evaluated; Adopted the Beijing Declaration and Beijing Platform for Action (BPfA).
"The BPfA specified twelve critical areas of concern, requiring solutions necessary for the advancement of women.
- Women and poverty;
- Education and training of women;
- Women and health;
- Violence against women;
- Women in armed conflict;
- Women and the economy;
- Women in power and decision making;
- Institutional mechanisms for the advancement of women;
- Human rights of women;
- Women and the media;
- Women and the environment;
- The girl child.
"In 2000, 189 Member States of the United Nations participated in a Millennium Summit, with a goal to create a plan for action that would address in a holistic manner the most persistent problems of humanity, eliminate human suffering and promote an agenda that would be inclusive of all societies. The outcome of the summit was the Millennium Declaration (MD) with a list of values essential for international relations as freedom, equality, solidarity, tolerance, shared responsibility and respect for nature.
"The MD and commitments from previous world conferences established eight objectives, the Millennium Development Goals (MDG's). These are:
- Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger;
- Achieve universal primary education;
- Promote gender equality and empower women;
- Reduce child mortality;
- Improve maternal health;
- Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases;
- Ensure environmental sustainability;
- Develop a global partnership for development.
"The MD resolved 'to promote gender equality and the empowerment of women as effective ways to combat poverty, hunger and disease and to stimulate sustainable development' and to combat violence against women and to implement the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.
"The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1979 and became a force in 1981. CEDAW provides all States with comprehensive guidelines for adoption of anti-discrimination policies and outlines women's fundamental human rights in the form of a legally binding international human rights treaty.
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