Prime Minister of Iceland addresses 25th anniversary meeting of the Beijing Women’s Conference
Katrín Jakobsdóttir, Prime Minister of Iceland, addresses today the high-level meeting of the General Assembly to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women (FWCW), which took place in Beijing, China in September 1995. Following the report of the FWCW, governments adopted a political declaration as well as the Beijing Platform for Action. The Beijing conference was the result of decades of coordinated efforts by international women’s movements leading to the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and later the Beijing Platform for Action. In addition to national leaders, the leaders of the United Nations address today’s meeting.
Katrín Jakobsdóttir, Prime Minister of Iceland:
"There have been setbacks in gender equality around the world in recent years. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated this even further. We have for instance witnessed an increase in gender-based violence due to growing isolation of women leading to worse access to health care and education. It is also a matter of great concern to see the progress that has been made regarding the sexual health of women now jeopardized. With this in mind, I welcome the initiative of UN Women to launch the The Generation Equality Forum, where Iceland is among the states in leadership in developing international action plans against gender-based violence."
The Icelandic government, along with 188 other countries, supported the adoption of the Beijing Platform for Action. With reference to the provisions of CEDAW and the Beijing Platform for Action, important milestones have been achieved in the struggle for gender equality. These include provisions on specific temporary measures in legislation on equal rights and opportunities of women and men and obligation of governments to take the initiative in promoting gender equality. The Beijing Platform for Action remains a powerful and comprehensive blueprint for international cooperation on gender equality. Its main goal is the empowerment of women and girls around the world and that the perspectives of equality are mainstreamed into all aspects of policies, decision making and actions.