Commitments made 25 years ago in Beijing not matched by action, investments and accountability, NGO Committee on Status of Women Vienna asserts in a statement

Vienna, Austria, 28 January 2021 (CoNGO InfoNews) – “Gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls are inextricably linked to achieving sustainable development for all. We acknowledge the recognition by global leaders that the commitments made 25 years ago in Beijing have not been matched by action, investments and accountability. We welcome the commitment of governments to significantly accelerate concrete actions towards achieving Sustainable Development Goal #5, Gender Equality,” says the opening paragraph of a statement by members of the NGO Committee on Status of Women Vienna submitted to the sixty-fifth session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (UN CSW).

Twenty-two non-governmental organizations in consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council who are members of the NGO Committee joined to submit the statement (E/CN.6/2021/NGO/16).

This year’s session is a follow-up to the Fourth World Conference on Women and to the twenty-third special session of the General Assembly entitled “Women 2000: gender equality.” It will meet from 15 March 2021 and closes on 26 March.

Among the Committee’s fifteen calls to UN member states is the enactment of  “policies and commit funds to enable women’s full participation in public life, including: elimination of all discriminatory laws, structural barriers, social norms and gender stereotypes; strengthening institutions to promote gender equality; providing child care and parental leave to enable the redistribution of care work in households; recognizing the value of women’s unpaid care work in gross domestic product or income account indicators.”

The NGO Committee on Status of Women Vienna is one of 37 substantive and regional committees of CoNGO.

Open here for the full statement.