In 1995, the Fourth World Conference on Women, the largest conference held by the United Nations at the time, adopted the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (“Beijing Platform”) with the still highly relevant mission of “removing all the obstacles to women’s active participation in all spheres of public and private life through a full and equal share in economic, social, cultural and political decision-making.”
More than 17,000 diplomats and world leaders came together to agree on a set of human rights principles and a plan for the future. After two weeks of political debate and negotiations, 189 governments collectively agreed to commitments that were unprecedented in scope and, to date, remain a blueprint with which to monitor and promote the progress of women’s and girls’ rights in the world. The Beijing Platform identified 12 critical areas of concern with strategic objectives and actions.
One essential and foundational key action in the Beijing Platform for Action to be undertaken by States is to “revoke any remaining laws that discriminate on the basis of sex”. This historic pledge inspired movements, reforms, and hope.
This pledge was reiterated in the recently adopted Pact for the Future, in which UN member states called on each other to “Urgently remove all legal, social and economic barriers to achieve gender equality.…”
30 years on from Beijing, we continue to report on progress on the Beijing Platform for Action, and work to inspire governments to accelerate legal equality to the benefit of all, turning Words into Deeds.
In 1999, we published a groundbreaking report called Words & Deeds, in which we identified and called out sex-discriminatory laws around the world.
We have since published an updated report every five years to hold governments accountable to their commitments under the Beijing Platform for Action and international law, while inspiring and supporting global efforts toward legal and policy reforms.
Over 60% of the discriminatory laws that were highlighted in our 1999 report have now been changed or repealed.
Sex discrimination in law continues to undermine the rights and freedoms of women and girls everywhere. To realize the vision of the Beijing Platform for Action, the Sustainable Development Goals, and other international human rights law and standards, governments must act, urgently and decisively.
All governments must review and amend sex discriminatory laws and establish clear constitutional or legal guarantees of equality. This is a fundamental obligation under international law, and a critical step toward safeguarding the civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights of all women and girls.
But governments cannot do it alone. Achieving legal equality requires coordinated action across all sectors of society.
Introduce gender-sensitive legislation that complies with international law and is shaped through meaningful consultation with civil society, survivors, and human rights advocates.
Every person, institution, and nation has a role to play in achieving legal equality. With your voice and action, we can end the discrimination in the law that continues to hold women and girls back.
