Implementation of the
Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies
for the Advancement of Women
THE THIRD WORLD CONFERENCE ON WOMEN
TO REVIEW AND APPRAISE THE ACHIEVEMENT
OF
UN DECADE FOR WOMEN AND NGO FORUM
United Nations
A/RES/40/108
General Assembly
Distr. GENERAL
13 December 1985
116th plenary meeting
The General Assembly,
Recalling its resolution 3520 (XXX) of 15 December 1975, in which it
proclaimed the period from 1976 to 1985 the United Nations Decade for
Women: Equality, Development and Peace,
Bearing in mind the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, which was adopted on 18 December 1979 and which came into force on 3 September 1981,
Recalling also the principles and objectives set forth in the Declaration of Mexico on the Equality of Women and Their Contribution to Development and Peace, 1975, the World Plan of Action for the Implementation of the Objectives of the International Women's Year and the Programme of Action for the Second Half of the United Nations Decade for Women,
Bearing in mind also its resolutions 3201 (S-VI) and 3202 (S-VI) of 1 May 1974, containing the Declaration and Programme of Action on the Establishment of a New International Economic Order, 3281 (XXIX) of 12 December 1974, containing the Charter of Economic Rights and Duties of States, 3362 (S-VII) of 16 September 1975 on development and international economic co-operation and 2542 (XXIV) of 11 December 1969 proclaiming the Declaration on Social Progress and Development,
Bearing in mind further the consensus achieved in the text of the International Development Strategy for the Third United Nations Development Decade, contained in its resolution 35/56 of 5 December 1980, in particular regarding the implementation of the objectives of the United Nations Decade for Women within the framework of the Strategy,
Recalling also its resolution 37/63 of 3 December 1982, by which it proclaimed the Declaration on the Participation of Women in Promoting International Peace and Co-operation,
Recalling further its resolution 39/29 of 3 December 1984 on the critical economic situation in Africa,
Recalling its resolution 35/136 of 11 December 1980, in which it decided to convene in 1985, at the conclusion of the Decade, a World Conference to Review and Appraise the Achievements of the United Nations Decade for Women,
Conscious of the considerable and constructive contribution made by the Commission on the Status of Women acting as preparatory body for the Conference, the specialized agencies, the regional commissions and other organizations of the United Nations system, Member States and non-governmental organizations in the preparations for the Conference,
Aware of the continued contribution made by the Non-Governmental Organizations Forum to the advancement of women,
Convinced that the full integration of women in all aspects of political, economic and social life, at the international, regional and national levels, is essential if the obstacles to the achievement of the goals and objectives of the Decade are to be overcome,
Having considered the report of the World Conference to Review and Appraise the Achievements of the United Nations Decade for Women: Equality, Development and Peace,
Convinced that the Conference, by adopting the Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women, has made an important and positive contribution to the attainment of the objectives of the Decade and provided a policy framework for advancing the status of women to the year 2000,
Further convinced that the Conference has made an important and constructive contribution by appraising the progress achieved and obstacles encountered in the implementation of the objectives of the Decade and by preparing and adopting strategies to advance the status of women for the next fifteen years,
Stressing that during the period 1986-2000 the primary responsibility for implementing the Forward-looking Strategies rests with individual countries, as they are intended to serve as guidelines for a process of continuous adaptation to diverse and changing situations at speeds and in modes determined by overall national priorities, within which the integration of women in development should rank high,
Reaffirming that the realization of equal rights for women at all levels and in all areas of life will contribute to the achievement of a just and lasting peace, to social progress and to respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, and that the integration of women in the mainstream of the development process requires not only commitment at the national, regional and international levels, but also continuing financial and technical support, and also requires the establishment of the new international economic order,
Considering that the Forward-looking Strategies should immediately be translated into concrete action by Governments, as determined by overall national priorities, by organizations of the United Nations system, specialized agencies and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, including women's organizations,
Persuaded of the importance of taking measures to ensure system-wide co-ordination within the United Nations in order to develop a comprehensive and integrated approach to the issues which are crucial to the advancement of women,
1. Takes note with satisfaction of the report of the World Conference to Review and Appraise the Achievement of the United Nations Decade for Women: Equality, Development and Peace;
2. Endorses the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women;
3. Affirms that the implementation of the Forward-looking Strategies should result in the elimination of all forms of inequality between women and men and in the complete integration of women into the development process and that that should guarantee broad participation by women in efforts to strengthen peace and security in the world;
4. Declares that the objectives of the United Nations Decade for Women: Equality, Development and Peace, with the sub-themes: employment, health and education, remain valid;
5. Calls upon Governments to allocate adequate resources and to take effective appropriate measures to implement the Forward-looking Strategies as a matter of high priority, including the establishment or reinforcement, as appropriate, of national machineries to promote the advancement of women, and to monitor the implementation of these strategies with a view to ensuring the full integration of women in the political, economic, social and cultural life of their countries;
6. Further calls upon all Governments of Member States to appoint women to decision-making positions, bearing in mind their contribution to national development;
7. Invites Governments, when preparing and evaluating national plans and programmes of action, to incorporate measurable targets for overcoming obstacles to the advancement of women and to include measures for the involvement of women in development, both as agents and beneficiaries, on an equal basis with men, and to review the impact of development policies and programmes on women;
8. Invites governmental, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations to give high priority to the implementation of the Forward-looking Strategies and, in particular, to ensure that sectoral policies and programmes for development include strategies to promote the participation of women as agents and beneficiaries on an equal basis with men;
9. Urges all Governments to contribute to the strengthening of institutional co-ordination in their regions and subregions in order to establish collaborative arrangements and to develop approaches for the implementation of the Forward-looking Strategies at those levels;
10. Urges all organizations of the United Nations system, including the regional commissions and all specialized agencies, to take the necessary measures to ensure a concerted and sustained effort for the implementation of the provisions of the Forward-looking Strategies with a view to achieving a substantial improvement in the status of women by the year 2000 and to ensure that all projects and programmes take into account the need for the complete integration of women and women's concerns;
11. Requests the Secretary-General and the specialized agencies and bodies of the United Nations system to establish, where they do not already exist, focal points on women's issues in all sectors of the work of the organizations of the United Nations system;
12. Urges the Administrative Committee on Co-ordination to review periodically the system-wide implementation of the Forward-looking Strategies and to hold regular inter-agency meetings on women within the framework of the Administrative Committee on Co-ordination;
13. Emphasizes the central role of the Commission on the Status of Women in matters related to the advancement of the status of women and calls upon it to promote the implementation of the Forward-looking Strategies to the year 2000 based on the goals of the United Nations Decade for Women: Equality, Development and Peace, and the sub-themes: employment, health and education, and urges all organizations of the United Nations system to co-operate with the Commission in this task;
14. Requests the Secretary-General to ensure that the Commission on the Status of Women receives the support services it requires to fulfil its central role effectively;
15. Requests the Secretary-General to invite Governments, organizations of the United Nations system, including regional commissions and specialized agencies, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations to report periodically through the Commission on the Status of Women to the Economic and Social Council on the activities undertaken at all levels to implement the Forward-looking Strategies;
16. Requests the Secretary-General, in preparing the note on the integrated reporting system for periodic review and appraisal of progress in the advancement of women for submission to the Commission on the Status of Women at its thirty-first session, as called for in Economic and Social Council decision l984/l23 of 24 May l984, to include proposals for a reporting system to facilitate the monitoring of the implementation of the Forward-looking Strategies as set out in paragraph 15 above, taking into account the experience gained during the Decade, the views of Governments and the need not to duplicate existing reporting obligations, bearing in mind the need to carry out periodical in-depth sectoral reviews of progress achieved and obstacles encountered in implementing the Forward-looking Strategies to the year 2000;
17. Recommends that the Secretary-General prepare and submit to the Commission on the Status of Women at its thirty-first session, bearing in mind the remarks and concrete recommendations made during the debate at the fortieth session, in particular the proposals about increasing the number of members and the frequency of meetings of the Commission, a report on alternative measures to strengthen the Commission in the discharge of its functions following the United Nations Decade for Women, and also recommends that the recommendations of the Commission on the matter be reported to the General Assembly at its forty-first session through the Economic and Social Council;
18. Reaffirms the role of the Centre for Social Development and Humanitarian Affairs of the Department of International Economic and Social Affairs of the Secretariat, in particular the Branch for the Advancement of Women, as the substantive secretariat of the Commission and as a focal point for matters on women, and requests the Secretariat to collect and disseminate information on system-wide activities related to the implementation of the Forward-looking Strategies;
19. Takes note with satisfaction of the appointment of the Co-ordinator for the Improvement of the Status of Women in the Secretariat of the United Nations, in accordance with General Assembly resolution 39/245 of 18 December 1984, and, in this context, of the fact that the Secretary-General should continue to plan and implement positive actions and programmes to improve the status of women in the Secretariat and to monitor the progress achieved;
20. Calls upon the Secretary-General and the heads of the specialized agencies and other United Nations bodies to establish new five-year targets at each level for the percentage of women in Professional and decision-making positions, in accordance with the criteria established by the General Assembly, in particular that of equitable geographical distribution, in order that a definite upward trend in the application of Assembly resolution 33/143 of 20 December 1978 be registered in the number of Professional and decision-making positions held by women by 1990 and to set additional targets every five years;
21. Welcomes Economic and Social Council resolution 1985/46 of 3l May l985 regarding women and development and, noting the particular importance of paragraph 4 of that resolution, recommends that immediate measures be taken to ensure that future medium-term plans of the United Nations and the specialized agencies should contain intersectoral presentations of the various programmes dealing with issues of concern to women and that revisions of current plans should be considered in the light of the results of the World Conference to Review and Appraise the Achievements of the United Nations Decade for Women: Equality, Development and Peace;
22. Requests the Secretary-General to take into account the requirements of the Forward-looking Strategies in preparing the programme budget and programme of work for the biennium 1988-1989;
23. Urges all financial institutions and all international regional and subregional organizations, institutions, development banks and general funding agencies to ensure that their policies and programmes promote the full participation of women as agents and beneficiaries in the development process;
24. Invites the Secretary-General to circulate the report of the Conference among Member States, all organizations of the United Nations system and specialized agencies, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations in order to ensure that the Forward-looking Strategies are publicized and disseminated as widely as possible, and encourages Governments to translate the Strategies into their national languages;
25. Requests the Secretary-General and the heads of all organizations within the United Nations system and of the specialized agencies to continue to give high priority in their public information programmes to disseminating information concerning women and, in particular, the Forward-looking Strategies and, in the light of the recommendations contained in the Strategies, further requests the Secretary-General to provide in the regular budget for the continuation of the existing weekly radio programmes on women, with adequate provision for distributing them in different languages;
26. Also requests the Secretary-General to report to the General Assembly at its forty-first session on measures taken to implement the present resolution;
27. Decides to consider these questions further at its forty-first session under an item entitled "Forward-looking strategies for the advancement of women to the year 2000".