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We the Governments participating in the special session of the General Assembly
1. Reaffirm our commitment to the goals and objectives contained in the Beijing Declaration /1 and Platform for Action,/2 adopted in 1995 at the Fourth World Conference on Women, and the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women to the year 2000 as the culmination of the United Nations Decade for Women, 1976 to 1985;/3
2. Also reaffirm our commitment to the implementation of the twelve critical areas of concern in the Beijing Platform for Action, which are women and poverty, education and training of women, women and health, violence against women, women and armed conflict, women and the economy, women in power and decision-making, institutional mechanisms for the advancement of women, human rights of women, women and the media, women and the environment, and the girl child; and call for the implementation of the agreed conclusions and resolutions on the follow-up to the Fourth World Conference on Women adopted by the Commission on the Status of Women since the fortieth session of the Commission;
3. Recognize that we have primary responsibility for the full implementation of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women, the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and all the relevant commitments for the advancement of women, and, in this connection, call for continued international cooperation, including the reaffirmation to strive to fulfil the yet to be attained internationally agreed target of 0.7 per cent of the gross national product of developed countries for overall official development assistance as soon as possible;
4. Welcome the progress made thus far towards gender equality and the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action and reaffirm our commitment to accelerate the achievement of universal ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women /4 and in this regard acknowledge the efforts at all levels of Governments, the United Nations system, and intergovernmental, other international and regional organizations and urge continued efforts for the full implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action;
5. Recognize the role and contribution of civil society, in particular nongovernmental organizations and women's organizations, in the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, and encourage their participation in further implementation and assessment processes;
6. Emphasize that men must involve themselves and take joint responsibility with women for the promotion of gender equality;
7. Reaffirm the importance of mainstreaming a gender perspective in the process of implementation of the outcome of other major United Nations conferences and summits and the need for a coordinated follow-up to all major conferences and summits by Governments, regional organizations, and all of the bodies and organizations of the United Nations system within their respective mandates. We the Governments, at the beginning of the new millennium,
8. Reaffirm our commitment to overcoming obstacles encountered in the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action and the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women and to strengthening and safeguarding a national and international enabling environment, and to this end pledge to undertake further action to ensure their full and accelerated implementation, inter alia , through the promotion and protection of all human rights and fundamental freedoms, mainstreaming a gender perspective into all policies and programmes and promoting full participation and empowerment of women and enhanced international cooperation for the full implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action;
9. Agree to assess regularly further implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action with a view to bringing together all parties involved in 2005 to assess progress and consider new initiatives, as appropriate, ten years after the adoption of the Beijing Platform for Action and twenty years after the adoption of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women;
10. Pledge to ensure the realization of societies in which both women and men work together towards a world where every individual can enjoy equality, development and peace in the twenty-first century.
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