Press Release No. G/29/99
22 October 1999

Bangkok (United Nations Information Services) -- ESCAP members and associate members will review progress in implementing the Beijing Platform for Action of 1995 at a High-level Intergovernmental Meeting in Bangkok, 26-29 October at the United Nations Conference Centre.

The meeting organized by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN/ESCAP) is expected to discuss progress in implementing the objectives of the Platform for Action. Countries will present reports which will highlight gaps in meeting targets, the obstacles faced as well as future action and plans for progress.

The Platform is based on 12 "critical areas" of the most fundamental concerns of women: poverty alleviation, education and training, health, violence against women, armed conflict, economic opportunity, power and decision-making, institutional mechanisms , human rights, the media, the environment, and the girl child.

The meeting will focus on key issues within the context of global trends and demographic changes in the region.

The issues around economic empowerment for women are on the proposed agenda of the ESCAP meeting, including the impact of globalization and the Asian economic crisis, the feminization of poverty, and the unpaid work of women in their roles of mother, wife, and family worker. Poverty will be viewed from the perspective of economic growth, as well as from the viewpoint of empowering women to make their rightful claim for redistribution and access to resources.

Issues of women's rights as human rights are on the agenda. These include using a rights-based approach to empowerment, integrated approaches to combat violence against women, trafficking of women and children which are prevalent in three subregions - South-east Asia, South Asia and Central Asia , and promoting greater implementation and utilization of international legal instruments especially the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). About two thirds of ESCAP countries have ratified this Convention.

"The political empowerment of women is an area of progress crucial to the future of women's rights. The issues that hamper women's access to power and decision-making particularly women's participation in politics, government and local governance will be discussed. Some proven solutions will offer hope for women in countries where few have been elected to office such as quota systems and targeted training and lobbying which have greatly enlarged the access of women to political means for advancing their goals," said an ESCAP official.

"To create an enabling environment and to have the tools and methodologies to handle all pressing priority issues, the meeting will look at effective strategies for empowerment. Emphasis would have to be given to key areas such as monitoring and evaluation of the Beijing Platform for Action linked to the crucial issue of accountability and to ensure that plans and policies aimed at ensuring gender equality and securing women's rights are being translated into action and reality," she said.

The intergovernmental meeting will consider and adopt its report on Friday, 29 October 1999. The report is expected to contain key actions and initiatives to accelerate regional implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action. The report will be the input of the Asia and Pacific region to a special session of the United Nations General Assembly "Women 2000: gender equality, development, and peace for the 21st century" which will be held in New York in June 2000 to review implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action globally.

For further information, please contact Ms. Thelma Kay, Chief, Women in Development Section, Social Development Division, ESCAP, Tel. (66-2) 288 1989, Fax: (66-2) 288 1018.

Note to editor: You or your representatives are cordially invited to attend the opening session on Tuesday, 26 October 1999 at 9:00 a.m.