First observation: Why did the United Nations commemorate this conference held in Beijing 25 years ago?
On October 1, the United Nations General Assembly held a high-level meeting to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Beijing World Conference on Women. President Xi Jinping attended the meeting and delivered a speech.
Commemorating the Beijing World Conference on Women in the form of a high-level meeting reflects the unique status of the Beijing World Women’s Conference.
Why does the United Nations commemorate this conference held in Beijing 25 years ago?
In history, the United Nations has hosted 4 sessions of the World Conference on Women.
The first conference was held in Mexico in 1975, and then two conferences were held in Copenhagen in 1980 and Nairobi in 1985.
In 1995, the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women was held in Beijing.
The conference passed the "Beijing Declaration" and "Platform of Action", and reached strategic goals and policy frameworks to promote equality between men and women and guarantee women's rights.
On September 4, 1995, the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women was held in Beijing, China (issued by Xinhua News Agency)
This is an important World Conference on Women held in the history of the United Nations. The spirit, strategic goals and policy frameworks announced by the Beijing World Conference on Women have profoundly affected the development of women worldwide in the past quarter of a century.
Five years ago, on the 20th anniversary of the Beijing World Conference on Women, President Xi Jinping pointed out when he attended and presided over the Global Women’s Summit at the United Nations Headquarters in New York: “The spirit declared by the Beijing World Women’s Conference has brought about positive changes in the world.”
This "positive change" first took root and blossomed in China.
Just in 1995, my country promulgated and implemented the first national-level action plan aimed at promoting gender equality and women's development-"Chinese Women's Development Program".
Its formulation marks the formation of the national work system for women and children.
Subsequently, under the guidance of the "Beijing Declaration" and "Platform of Action", the cause of women in China steadily advanced and entered the fast lane of all-round development.
Improving laws and regulations provide strong support for the protection of women's rights and interests. The basic national policy of equality between men and women has become an important concept and content of the party's governance of the country. The decisive victory of poverty alleviation has benefited many poor women...
With the deepening of the concept of equality between men and women, the status of women has been continuously improved, women's abilities have been continuously improved, and the feminine style has also shined on the stage of the times.
In the prevention and control of the epidemic, female doctors, female nurses, female community workers, female police, and female party members and cadres have stepped forward to build a steel line of defense and hold up "half the sky."
"We want to give them a thumbs up." This is President Xi Jinping's praise to the vast number of women compatriots and an affirmation of the all-round development of the cause of women in my country.
On March 8, 2020, female medical staff and female patients participated in the "March 8th" Women's Day event in Wuchang Fangcai Hospital (Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Xiong Qi)
Looking at the world, the Beijing World Women's Conference has also promoted the global women's cause to bear fruit.
As President Xi Jinping pointed out in his speech: “Women’s social status has been significantly improved, and the role of'half the sky' has become increasingly prominent. Gender equality and women’s empowerment have become important goals of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.”
But at the same time, we must also see that the severe test of the new crown pneumonia epidemic has brought new pressures to women’s poverty alleviation, education, health, employment, and rights protection, and gender equality is also facing new challenges.
The data of the “Global Gender Response Tracking to the New Coronary Epidemic” jointly released by UN Women and the United Nations Development Programme a few days ago shows that social security and employment support measures during the new crown epidemic mostly ignored the needs of women, and only 12% of countries took special measures to protect women rights and interests.
On March 6, 2020, the United Nations Women’s Day commemoration called for "equality generation" (Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Li Muzi)
Such a critical time point is even more significant to commemorate the World Women’s Conference held in Beijing 25 years ago, to relive the important spirit of the Beijing World Women’s Conference, and to plan the future of the development of global women’s cause.
How to implement the "Beijing Declaration" and "Platform of Action" and take concrete actions to promote gender equality and women's development?
President Xi Jinping put forward four points:
These four propositions have guided the development of the global women's cause under the new situation and once again demonstrated China's leading role in the world's women's cause.
In his speech, President Xi Jinping also made tangible commitments on China's support for global women's cause, including continuing to establish the China-UNESCO Girls' and Women's Education Award, and supporting global girls' and women's education.
China’s commitment is in line with the spirit of the Beijing World Women’s Conference.
It not only demonstrates the responsibility of a big country, but also a vivid practice of the concept of a community with a shared future for mankind.
To build a world where women are free from discrimination and to build a society that is inclusive and development requires the whole world to work together and act together.
President Xi Jinping proposed that the Global Women's Summit be held again in 2025.
This initiative will paint a brighter prospect and a more brilliant future for the development of women in the world.
Planning: Huo Xiaoguang
Producer: Che Yuming, Zhang Xiaosong
Lead writer: Wang Peng
Vision｜Editor: Zhang Huihui, Shao Yibo
Produced by Xinhua News Agency