GA/SM/172
WOM/1213

GENERAL ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT HIGHLIGHTS ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF ‘WOMEN 2000’; CONGRATULATES DELEGATES FOR ‘JOB WELL DONE’

Following is the text of the closing statement of the President of the General Assembly, Theo-Ben Gurirab (Namibia), to the Assembly’s twenty-third special session “Women 2000: Gender Equality, Development and Peace for the Twenty-first Century”, on 9 June:

What a difference a day makes, ladies and gentlemen! We are now at the stage where we had hoped to be 24 hours ago. Hours of round-the-clock negotiations finally paid off, and we have just adopted a document to move the global agenda for the advancement of women beyond the Platform for Action adopted at the 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women.

The road has been long and arduous, but we can now breathe a collective sigh of relief. For, as I always knew we would, Member States reached agreement, at this twenty-third special session of the General Assembly, on an outcome document which will chart the course for further actions and initiatives to implement the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. That Platform, as everyone in this Hall knows, identified 12 critical areas of concern affecting women’s lives.

We can all congratulate ourselves for a job well done. There was no backward movement on any of the Beijing language and commitments. That Platform, with its numerous proposals for action, remains fully valid for national and international actions. Indeed, the text we have just adopted updates the Beijing Platform, further strengthening the document in the areas of violence against women; trafficking in women; health, including the right to sexual and reproductive health; education; human rights; poverty, debt relief and globalization; armed conflict; sovereignty; land and inheritance rights for women; political participation and decision making.

In the many statements heard in this august Hall, delegates drew attention to the obstacles and challenges remaining for the achievement of women’s empowerment and gender equality. We also heard many innovative proposals for implementing the next phase effectively. By adopting this outcome document today, governments have committed themselves to the Beijing Platform for Action and the way forward.

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We gathered at United Nations Headquarters, 5 to 9 June 2000, with a single purpose, namely, to further the global agenda for the advancement of women through inclusive governance, empowerment and gender equality. If governments demonstrate the necessary political will and allocate the human and financial resources required, I am convinced that the goals of gender equality, development and peace will become a reality very early in the twenty-first century.

Organizations of the United Nations system, the Bretton Woods institutions, the World Trade Organization, other international and regional intergovernmental bodies, parliaments, civil society, including the private sector and the non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and other entities are called upon to support government efforts and develop complementary programmes of their own to achieve full and effective implementation of the Platform for Action. It is clear that all of us are stakeholders in this common endeavour.

In their various statements, governments, observers, the heads of United Nations programmes and agencies, NGOs and others reviewed and appraised the progress made towards women’s advancement by implementing the Beijing Platform. In all, we heard a total of 207 speakers in the plenary -– 178 Member States, three non-Member States, 16 observers, four heads of United Nations programmes and specialized agencies, one United Nations Committee and 5 NGOs -- 77 per cent of whom were women. Additional statements were made in the Ad Hoc Committee of the Whole.

Attendance at the special session was impressive. Some 2,300 delegates, not including the staff of Permanent Missions, participated. Both this special session and the 1995 Beijing Conference benefited immensely from the involvement and participation of NGOs, of which there were 2,043 representing 1,036 accredited organizations from throughout the world, not to mention the 2,000 plus NGOs, sponsored by the host country and other governments. That number would have been far greater had the United Nations Building been able to accommodate more people. The document we have just adopted acknowledges the vital role which NGOs must continue to play, as active partners with governments and the United Nations system, in the promotion of gender equality, development and peace everywhere. We heard the voices and pleas of their representatives both in the plenary and in the Ad Hoc Committee.

In closing, let me express appreciation to everyone present for your commitment and dedication towards advancing the rights of women. Special thanks go to the Vice Presidents of the General Assembly; to the Chairperson of the Ad Hoc Committee of the Whole, Christine Kapalata; to the Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women, Angela King; to the staff of the Division for the Advancement of Women; to General Assembly and Conference Services staff; to my own office staff; and to all the United Nations agencies and bodies, to the ever dutiful translators and interpreters -– for their tireless efforts in making this twenty-third special session a resounding success.

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I also wish to acknowledge the presence of two eminent women at this special session, former Secretaries-General of the United Nations Women’s Conferences in Nairobi and Beijing, Gertrude Mongella (United Republic of Tanzania) and Leticia Ramos-Shahani (Philippines).

We can, indeed, take pride in the accomplishments of this first special session of the millennium. In that context, let us acknowledge the efforts of all involved during the many months of preparations, at all levels.

In a little over two weeks, many of us will meet again, this time in Geneva, for the General Assembly’s twenty-fourth special session on social development. There, delegates will examine the implementation of the 10 commitments made at the 1995 Social Summit in Copenhagen for the eradication of poverty, the achievement of full employment and the inclusion and participation of all people in society. These two special sessions are significant in that they both address the need for equality, social justice, resources for development, and human rights, among other issues.

I wish all of you Godspeed as you return to your homes. It is now onward to Geneva. All is well that ends well. Geneva here we come! I will see you all there.

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United Nations