Press
Release ECE/GEN/99/32
Geneva, 21 December 1999
FIVE YEARS AFTER BEIJING - WOMEN
IN EUROPE
From 19 to 21 January 2000, the United
Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UN/ECE) is organizing, at the Palais des Nations,
in Geneva, the European Regional Preparatory Meeting on the 2000 Review of Implementation
of the Beijing Platform for Action.
The Meeting will be organized around four
substantive issues: women and the economy; institutional mechanisms for the advancement of
women; women and violence; women in power and decision-making.
This event which will gather around 400 to
500 participants, representatives of UN/ECE Governments, experts and NGOs, is organized by
the UN/ECE in partnership with the Council of Europe, the European Commission, UNDP and
UNIFEM.
The outcome of the Meeting is expected to
open new avenues for further action on gender equality. It will constitute the input of
the UN/ECE region to the global review which will culminate in the Special Session of the
General Assembly on "Women 2000: Gender Equality, Development and Peace for the
Twenty-first Century" next June in New York.
It will also be an opportunity to
facilitate dialogue between NGOs and Governments. Prior to the regional preparatory
meeting, an NGO forum will be held on 17 and 18 January 2000. This would allow NGOs to
first meet among themselves, discuss relevant issues and select representative NGOs to
present their conclusions to the meeting and to participate in the debate. It would also
create the most favourable conditions for an effective dialogue in which both governmental
and non-governmental representatives can be engaged in a balanced manner.
For further
information please contact:
Information Unit
United Nations Economic Commission
for Europe (UN/ECE)
Palais des Nations, Room 356
CH - 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland
Tel: +(41 22) 917 44 44
Fax: +(41 22) 917 05 05
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: http://www.unece.org