Paragraph 143(f)ii – Beijing Platform for Action. Chapter IV
Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen
Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project
Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2019/10/30
Strategic objective E.2.
Reduce excessive military expenditures and control the availability of armaments
Actions to be taken
143. By Governments:
f. Recognizing the leading role that women have played in the peace movement
ii. Support negotiations on the conclusion, without delay, of a universal and multilaterally and effectively verifiable comprehensive nuclear-test-ban treaty that contributes to nuclear disarmament and the prevention of the proliferation of nuclear weapons in all its aspects;
Beijing Declaration (1995)
If we take the paragraph 143(f)(i), the format continues in similar trends as before with the focus on the importance of women in the advancement of peace. The reduction of military expenditures and the international and national control of the number of armaments within the world. This, alone, would prevent a large number of costly and unnecessary wars for us.
The main emphasis standing out is the timeline to me. In which, the general work is for the development of a situation in which the inclusion of women leads to a more immediate development of a comprehensive nuclear-test-ban-treat than not. The specifications are not too deep here. However, we can note the ways of this becoming a reality to some degree.
The reduction in military spending in 1995 was an issue. Same with as recent as 2010 with PeaceWomen stipulating the world military expenditures as “$1,630 billion (SIPRI).” [Ed. Probably based on the numbers from Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.] These almost 2 trillion dollars worth of expenditures create misery and havoc and then the further need for arms to prevent the mitigate the harms of the aggressors on the defenders, and vice versa.
It seems hard to characterize any side in a war as necessarily winning in the war because of the massive and catastrophic damage to that which seems difficult to place a dollar value: human life. As has been noted in some of the other casual commentaries in previous sessions, the general orientation of the Beijing Declaration becomes the requirement of the international community for the inclusion of women into the conversation of equality and on some of the – still – most pressing issues of the modern period.
Some consider mythology the most fundamental issues of the day. However, those days continue to retain a certain passe ignorance of the world and of history. It reminds me of the remarks of H.L. Mencken on the “bombast and make-believe” of some men, which may, in fact, come at moments of marginal religious revival. Those in their denouement now.
Some Canadians harbour sentiments to this effect, often leading 18-35-year-old males who happen to have left some sectors of the atheist movement or questioned it. Women’s equality will continue to shake some of the foundational aspects of society, where equality for women will strike some sectors as unfair. Where the ability of women to make choices for themselves will come with predictable backlashes, the danger, in the era of a rise of nuclear proliferation potentials, comes from the reactions in the reduction or efforts to reduce the number of women in leadership.
This is troublesome. Women are some of the most effective moral actors in the world because of the realism placed on them via dashed dreams far earlier than the Big Disappointment experienced by most men much later. With nearly $2 trillion spent on arms around the world in 2010, and probably closer to this approximation now, the necessity of comprehensive treaties for the stoppage of nuclear testing is as high as ever.
With the attempts to prevent women into the public arena, at any stage, we will suffer the consequences at some point.
–(Updated 2019-08-21, only use the updated listing, please) Not all nations, organizations, societies, or individuals accept the proposals of the United Nations; one can find similar statements in other documents, conventions, declarations and so on, with the subsequent statements of equality or women’s rights, and the important days and campaigns devoted to the rights of women and girls too:
- The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the Preamble, Article 16, and Article 25(2).
- Convention Against Discrimination in Education (1960) in Article 1.
- The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) in Article 3, Article 7, and Article 13.
- International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966).
- Some general declarations (not individual Declaration or set of them but announcement) included the UN Decade for Women (1976-1985).
- Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979) and the Optional Protocol (1999).
- Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984).
- The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women and the optional protocol (1993).
- Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (1995), Five-year review of progress (2000), 10-year review in 2005, the 15-year review in 2010, and the 20-year review in 2015.
- United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000), and the UN Security Council additional resolutions on women, peace and security: 1820 (2008), 1888 (2009), 1889 (2009), 1960 (2010), 2106 (2013), 2122 (2013), 2242 (2015), and 2467 (2019).
- Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (2000).
- The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa or the “Maputo Protocol” (2003).
- Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence or the Istanbul Convention (2011) Article 38 and Article 39.
- UN Women’s strategic plan, 2018–2021
- 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, emphasis on the entirety of the goals with a strong focus on Goal 5
- 2015 agenda with 17 new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (169 targets for the end to poverty, combatting inequalities, and so on, by 2030). The SDGs were preceded by the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) from 2000 to 2015.
- The Spotlight Initiative as another important piece of work, as a joint venture between the European Union and the United Nations.
- February 6, International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation is observed.
- February 11, International Day of Women and Girls in Science is observed.
- June 19, Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict is observed.
- June 23, is International Widows’ Day is observed.
- October 11, International Day of the Girl Child is observed.
- October 15, International Day of Rural Women is observed.
- November 25, International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women is observed.
- Gender Inclusive Guidelines, Toolbox, & United Nations System-wide Strategy on Gender Parity.
- Say No, UNiTE, UNiTE to End Violence against Women, Orange the World: #HearMeToo (2018), and the 16 days of activism.
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