ESCAP to Hold High-level Intergovernmental Meeting to Review Regional Implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action

BANGKOK (UN/ESCAP Information Services) -- Fifteen years after the historic Fourth World Conference on Women took place in Beijing in 1995, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) is reviewing the situation of women from a regional perspective in preparation for the global fifteen-year review of the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action in New York in March 2010.

The Beijing +15 Regional Review Meeting entitled "Accountability and Implementation: Making Change Happen through the Implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action" will be held from 16 to 18 November 2009 at the United Nations Conference Center in Bangkok.

Approximately 300 high-level national delegates from the 62 ESCAP member States, and representatives from international and non-governmental organizations active in Asia-Pacific region will discuss the key issues at stake for gender equality. The meeting will provide an opportunity to take stock of the progress made on gender equality and women’s empowerment and to address the major challenges that lie ahead in the region.

Dr. Noeleen Heyzer, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of ESCAP, will lead a panel on the UN Secretary-General’s Campaign to End Violence against Women. The Meeting will also feature a number of interactive panel discussions, examining country experiences, challenges and opportunities across the following themes:

Accountability for gender equality and women’s empowerment through gender responsive planning and public spending;

    *   Responses to the economic crisis – women’s economic security and rights;

    *   Closing the gender gaps in achieving the Millennium Development Goals;

    * Implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women in Asia Pacific: successes and challenges.

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Source: UNESCAP