Report of the Asian and Pacific Conference on Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment: Beijing+20 Review

To mark the twentieth anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, the Economic and Social Council, in its resolution 2013/18, called on all Member States to undertake comprehensive national-level reviews of the progress made and challenges encountered in implementation of the Platform for Action.

In accordance with this mandate, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) convened, in cooperation with UN-Women, the "Asian and Pacific Conference on Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment: Beijing+20 Review" from 17 to 20 November 2014 in Bangkok.

Occurring at the juncture between the conclusion of the Millennium Development Goals and the formulation of new global sustainable development goals, the Conference brought together more than 700 representatives from Governments, civil society and development partners from more than 50 countries, to address issues critical to achieving gender equality and women’s empowerment in Asia and the Pacific. These included reducing poverty among women, eliminating violence against women and girls, empowering women economically, increasing their political participation at all levels of government and addressing emerging environmental challenges.