Negotiated and agreed prior to the commencement of the 59th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW59), member states adopted this Political Declaration that seeks to reaffirm the Beijing Platform for Action (BPfA) on the twentieth anniversary of its signing. Together with the ‘Future organisation and methods of the work of the CSW’, it is one of two CSW outcome documents that stand in place of an Agreed Conclusions document.
To summarise the Political Declaration, it states that the CSW:
- Reaffirms the BPfA, the outcome document of the 23rd special session of the General Assembly, and the CSW declarations on the 10th and 15th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference for Women
- Recognises that the implementation of the BPfA and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) are important, and calls upon States to consider their ratification
- Welcomes progress made in the implementation of the BPfA, and welcomes review activities undertaken by governments and stakeholders
- Expresses concern that progress has been slow and uneven, and that no country has fully achieved gender equality
- Recognises that new challenges have emerged, and firmly commits to tackling challenges in all 12 areas of concern in the BPfA
- Pledges to take concrete action to ensure full implementation of the BPfA, including strengthening of laws and policies, the transformation of discriminatory norms, increasing financial resources to build on progress, and enhanced capacity building
- Emphasises that the full implementation of the BPfA is essential for completing the unfinished work of the Millennium Development Goals, and for a transformative and comprehensive approach to gender equality in the Sustainable Development Goals
- Reaffirms the primary responsibility for, and the catalytic role of, the CSW in promoting gender equality and the empowerment of women
- Recognises the important role of UN-Women in promoting gender equality and the empowerment of women, and the central role it is playing in supporting stakeholders
- Welcome the contributions made by civil society, and pledges to continue supporting, at all levels, civil society engaged in gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls
- Recognises the importance of, and the need to commit to, the full engagement of men and boys for the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls
- Commits to engaging all stakeholders for the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls, and calls upon them to intensify their efforts in this regard
- Also commit to using all opportunities and processes in 2015 and beyond to accelerate and achieve the full and effective implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform, and achieve full realisation of gender equality by 2030