The Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace was the name given for a conference convened by the United Nations during 4–15 September 1995 in Beijing, China.
At this conference, governments from around the world agreed on a comprehensive plan to achieve global legal equality, known as the Beijing Platform for Action.
Background
The founding United Nations charter (1945) included a provision for equality between men and women (chapter III, article 8). Subsequently, from 1945 to 1975 various female officials within the United Nations and leaders of women's movements on the global stage attempted to turn these principles into action. The United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution (resolution 3010) that 1975 should be International Women's Year. In December 1975, the UN General Assembly passed a further resolution (resolution 31/136) that 1976–1985 should be the "Decade of Women".
First World Conference on Women, Mexico City, 1975
In conjunction with International Women's Year, the first world conference on women was held in Mexico City in 1975. It resulted in the Declaration of Mexico on the Equality of Women and Their Contribution to Development and Peace.
Second World Conference on Women, Copenhagen, 1980
The second world conference on women was held in Copenhagen in 1980. The conference agreed that the 1979 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women was an important milestone. The Copenhagen conference also acknowledged the gap between rights being secured for women and women's ability to exercise those rights. It was also agreed that it was action on the three areas of: equal access to education; employment opportunities; and adequate health care services are essential to achieve the goals set out in Mexico.
Third World Conference on Women, Nairobi, 1985
The third world conference on women was held in Nairobi in 1985. The Nairobi conference set out areas by which progress in women's equality could be measured: constitutional and legal measures; equality in social participation; equality in political participation; and decision-making. The conference also acknowledged that women need to participate in all areas of human activity, not just those areas that relate to gender.
Preceding the Fourth World Conference on Women, Beijing, 1995
Delegates had prepared the UNDP Beijing Express Declaration aimed at achieving greater equality and opportunity for women.
Attendees
The conference was attended by representatives of 189 governments, UN agencies, intergovernmental organizations such as the European Union and League of Arab States, as well as activists and organizations from across the world. There were 17,000 participants, with a further 30,000 activists attending a parallel Forum.
Gertrude Mongella of Tanzania was the secretary-general of the conference.
Aung San Suu Kyi delivered the keynote address at the conference.
A full list of the statements made by attendees can be found on the UN website.
Speeches
Hillary Rodham Clinton, at the time the First Lady of the United States, gave the speech Women's Rights Are Human Rights at the conference on 5 September 1995. That speech is considered to be influential in the women's rights movement, and in 2013 Clinton led a review of how women's rights have changed since her 1995 speech. The 1995 speech was listed as No. 35 in American Rhetoric's Top 100 Speeches of the 20th Century (listed by rank)."If there is one message that echoes forth from this conference, it is that human rights are women's rights.... And women's rights are human rights.
Let us not forget that among those rights are the right to speak freely. And the right to be heard.
Women must enjoy the right to participate fully in the social and political lives of their countries if we want freedom and democracy to thrive and endure."
--Hillary Rodham ClintonBeverly Palesa Ditsie became the first African lesbian woman to address the United Nations about LGBT rights when she made her speech on 13 September 1995."No woman can determine the direction of her own life without the ability to determine her sexuality. Sexuality is an integral, deeply ingrained part of every human being's life and should not be subject to debate or coercion. Anyone who is truly committed to women's human rights must recognize that every woman has the right to determine her sexuality free of discrimination and oppression.