Africa's Contribution to the Global Evaluation of the Implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action

Scope of the Review

The Eighth Africa Regional Conference on Women (Beijing+15) will be held in Banjul, The Gambia from 16-20 November 2009. Beijing+15 fits within the global evaluation framework for assessing progress achieved after 15 years of implementing the 1995 Beijing Platform for Action on Women (BPFA). The review will also detail progress in addressing the 12 Priority Areas of Concern and emerging issues.

The Conference will give special recognition to the efforts employed by respective governments and institutions to mainstream gender in policy formulation and implementation. This is a critical time for taking stock and determining the next steps to be taken towards achieving gender equality and women's empowerment. It will also assess implementation of other relevant global and regional frameworks, including review of achievements in relation to the Millennium Declaration, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) etc.

The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), like all other Regional Economic Commissions, is mandated by the General Assembly to coordinate the Regional reviews and the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action. In this regard UNECA in partnership with the UN family is facilitating the convening of the 8th Regional Conference on Women (Beijing plus 15). FEMNET is coordinating the participation of NGOs/CSOs in the Beijing Plus 15 review process.

Major Outcomes Expected

The Beijing +15 review process encourages African governments to make all gender-related critical areas the focus of national and regional action. The major outcome of the conference will be recommendations for inclusion in the global report to be discussed in New York during the Committee on the Status of Women (CSW) in February 2010; an Outcome document that reflects convergence and articulates a series of actions and measures over a five-year period, designed to help overcome major obstacles in achieving gender equality and women’s empowerment in Africa.

In order to achieve this goal, collaboration of all key players is vital, including of African intergovernmental organizations, national governments, the private sector, trade unions, and sectoral stakeholders, including NGOs and other civil society organizations (CSOs). A specific monitoring and reporting mechanism will be created as part of the implementation process.

From March 1 to 12 2010, government delegations attending the UN Commission on the Status of Women will assess progress made in the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action (BPFA) 15 years since it was adopted at the UN Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing, China in 1995.