Preparations

For information about previous review and appraisal processes for the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, click here. For the mandate for the 20-year review, see Economic and Social Council resolution 2013/18.

National-level review of implementation

States are called upon to undertake comprehensive national-level reviews of the progress made and challenges encountered in the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and the outcomes of the 23rd special session of the General Assembly. Governments should collaborate with relevant stakeholders at all levels of preparations for the 2015 review so as to benefit from their experience and expertise. They should continue to support the role and contribution of civil society, in particular non-governmental organizations and women’s organizations, in the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.

National reviews should cover trends, achievements and remaining gaps and challenges, as well as future plans to accelerate implementation at the national level.

The regional commissions will use the national reviews to prepare regional assessment reports over the course of 2014. All States are invited to complete their national reviews by 1 May 2014.

National reviews will also contribute to the global review and appraisal that UN Women will prepare and submit to the 59th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW59).

UN Women and the regional commissions have developed a common guidance note to assist in and facilitate the preparation of these national reviews.

Retrieve the guidance note: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, Spanish.

Please note: All documents are in PDF format, and are available in the original language submitted by the respective Member States and Observer States, and any translations if available.


Regional 20-year review processes

Regional review processes—which involve the preparation of regional reports and the organization of regional intergovernmental meetings—took place in all five regions by the United Nations regional commissions:

  • Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP)
    The third session of the Committee on Social Development took place from 18 to 20 August 2014, in Bangkok, as a preparatory body for the regional Conference on Beijing+20. The Asian and Pacific Conference on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment: Beijing+20 Review was held from 17 to 20 November 2014, in Bangkok. For more information, visit: http://www.unescapsdd.org/beijing20

  • Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA)
    The Arab High-Level Conference on Progress Achieved in the Implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action After 20 Years was held from 2 to 3 February 2015, in Cairo. For more information, visit: http://www.escwa.un.org/sites/BeijingPlus20/index.asp

The outcomes of these regional review processes fed into the 59th session of the Commission on the Status of Women in March 2015.

Expert Group Meeting

In preparation for the fifty-ninth session, UN Women convened an expert group meeting (EGM) on “Envisioning women’s rights in the post-2015 context” from 3 to 5 November 2014 in New York.
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