Beijing +5

In 1995 women from all over the world gathered at Beijing for the United Nations' Fourth World Conference on Women. The main outcome from the Beijing Conference was agreement on a Platform for Action outlining the actions which governments, intergovernmental organisations, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and all other actors in civil society could take in 12 key areas to improve the status of women over the following five to 10 years.

Five years after the original conference, another was held which has become known as the Beijing + 5 conference. This took place in New York in June, 2000, as a special session of the United Nations General Assembly. The conference was a review of the 12 areas of the Platform for Action and was a chance for the participating governments to assess their own progress and that of others, and to learn from each other tactics which may help them advance further in these areas.

The areas of the Platform for Action were:

· Women and poverty

· Education and training of women

· Women and health

· Violence against women

· Women and armed conflict

· Women and the economy

· Women in power and decision-making

· Institutional mechanisms for the advancement of women

· Human rights of women

· Women and the media

· Women and the environment

· The girl child.