The gains in women's rights made at the Beijing conference five years ago are at risk of being rolled back.
Delegates from 188 countries are gathering at the United Nations this week to review progress since the 1995 women's conference in Beijing, and to set new benchmarks for the future.
"The gains we made in Beijing are in danger today," said Regan Ralph, executive director of the Women's Rights Division at Human Rights Watch. "Some governments have come to New York with the clear intent to dismantle what progress we've made."
Ralph criticized efforts by some official delegations to remove language describing governments' role in protecting women from violence. While the original text of the Beijing "Platform for Action" called on governments to take "urgent action to eliminate all forms of violence against women in private and public lives," the "Outcomes" document under discussion now at the U.N. minimizes government's complicity in violence against women and their obligation to prevent it.
"Instead of reaffirming the commitments of Beijing, the risk is that this outcomes document will be used to undermine them," said Ralph.
