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DOHA DECLARATION AND PROGRAMME OF
ACTION
THIRD MINISTERIAL MEETING OF THE NON-ALIGNED MOVEMENT ONTHE
ADVANCEMENT OF WOMEN IN A CHALLENGING WORLD
First: Women in a globalized world:
1. We, the Ministers and Heads of Delegations from Member
Countries of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), inspiredby the
Founding Principles of the Non-Aligned Movement, and guided
by the Declaration on the Purposes and Principles and the
Role of the Non-Aligned Movement in the Present
International Juncture as reflected in the 14th NAM Summit
in Havana,Sharm El Sheikh Summit Declaration, Bali
Commemorative Declaration,the UN Charterand international
law, met in Doha, the State of Qataron 13 and 14 February
2012to reaffirm our commitment towards the advancement of
women and to foster women's participation in all areas of
life, as well as to assess progress made, address gaps and
challenges, and taketheactions needed towards the full
realization of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for
Action, adopted in the IV World Conference on Women and the
outcomes of its revision processes at United
Nations,theMillennium Development Goals in relation to
gender equality, empowerment of women, as well as the full
advancement and comprehensive development of women.
2. In this regard, the Movement will continue to adhere to
the principles of sovereignty and the sovereign equality of
States, territorial integrity and non-intervention in the
internal affairs of any State; take effective measures for
the suppression of acts of aggression or other breaches of
peace, to defend, promote and encourage the settlement of
international disputes by peaceful means in such a manner
that international peace and security, and justice, are not
endangered; refrain in international relations from the
threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or
political independence of any State or in any other manner
inconsistent with the purposes and principles of the UN
Charter; develop friendly relations based on respect for the
principle of equal rights and the self-determination of
peoples in their struggle against foreign occupation;
achieve international cooperation based on solidarity among
peoples and governments in solving international problems of
a political, economic, social, cultural or humanitarian
character; and promote and encourage the respect for human
rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction
as to race, sex, language or religion.
3. We also reaffirm the Beijing Declaration and its Platform
for Action, the Cairo Declaration and its Programme of
Action, the outcomes of the twenty-third special session of
the General Assembly, entitled "Women 2000: Gender Equality,
Development and Peace for the Twenty-First Century", the
Millennium Declaration and the Millennium Development Goals,
the Beijing Declaration of the forty-ninth session of the
Commission on the Status of Women in 2005, as well as
important contributions made by the above-mentioned
Commission to the advancement of women worldwide, including
empowerment of women and achieving gender equality.
4. We express our grave concern at the humanitarian
situation in the horn of Africa and the impact of the
drought on the people of the region, in particular women and
children.
In conformity with all these principles and commitments, we
hereby:
5. Reaffirm the need for full and accelerated implementation
of the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Discrimination against Women by States Parties to
the Convention.
6. Reaffirm also our commitments contained in the
Putrajayaand Guatemala Declarations and Programme of Action
on the Advancement of Women in Member Countries of the
Non-Aligned Movement, adopted in Malaysia, 2005 and
Guatemala, 2009 respectively.
7. Welcome the establishment of the United Nations entity
for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN WOMEN),
as an important step by the United Nations to strengthen its
system-wide capacity to achieve gender equality and women's
empowerment, and take note with appreciation of the
significant role played by the Joint Coordinating Committee
of the NAM and the G77 and China in negotiating and adopting
General Assembly resolution 64/289 in July 2010 establishing
the new entity. We also welcome the appointment of the first
Under-Secretary General for UN Women, the election of its
first Executive Board and the adoption of the first
strategic plan of action. We further express our
appreciation to UNIFEM, INSTRAW, DAW and the Office of the
Special Advisor for Gender Issues and the Advancement of
Women for all their efforts.
8. While reiterating the need to mobilize additional
resources for the UN Women through the regular budget of the
United Nations, Stress the fundamental responsibility of the
financial contributors, and other member states able to do
so to further increase their support to the budget of UN
WOMEN, on a non- earmarked basis, in order to meet 97% of
its budget which is covered by financial contributions, thus
enabling it to achieve its targeted objectives.
9. Take note of the launching of the Secretary- General's
initiative entitled "7 Billion Actions" on the sidelines of
the high-level segment of the 66th session of the General
Assembly last September, with the aim to confront poverty
and inequality and address challenges facing women, girls
and youth.
10. Emphasize that the current global crises pose huge
challenges in the areas of peace and security, economic
development and social progress, human rights and the rule
of law to Non-Aligned Countries and affirm that many new
areas of concern and challenges have emerged which warrant
the renewal of commitment by the international community to
uphold and defend the purposes and principles of the Charter
of the United Nations (UN) and the principles of
international law. In this special context, we reiterate our
commitment to promote the full enjoyment of all human rights
by women and express our firm resolve to take appropriate
measures at the national, regional and international levels
to improve the quality of life of women and girls, and to
achieve gender equality and empowerment of women, bearing in
mind the inherent potential of women, through, inter alia,
adopting proper socio- economic strategies and programmes,
and provision of government services for all women,
particularly women with disabilities, elderly women in rural
areas and indigenous women, including access to healthcare
services,education and justice services and strengthening
family well-being.
11. Express our confidence that recent national efforts to
strengthen democracy, equality, respect for human rights,
social integration and economic development will contribute
in furthering gender mainstreaming, advancement of women,
and gender equality, particularly in countries which started
conducting major reforms in 2011 towards better future for
their peoples in the political, economic and social fields.
12. Recognise further the importance of expanding and
accelerating NAM's efforts in enhancing the empowerment of
women and the need to eradicate the conditions of inequality
of women and harmonize these efforts with the commitments
made by the countries at related major UN Conferences and
Summits regarding women, as well as the internationally
agreed development goals, including the Millennium
Development Goals.
13. Reaffirm the primary and essential role of the United
Nations General Assembly and the Economic and Social
Council, as well as the central role of the Commission on
the Status of Women which has a broad mandate covering all
dimensions related to women’s development, and the promotion
of all human rights and fundamental freedoms. We also
underscore the validity and relevance of the Movement's
principled positions concerning the institutional reform of
the UN and stress the need to ensure adequate, predictable,
and reliable funding for the United Nations Development
system to meet the needs of Member States, in particular
developing countries, in the area of gender to achieve the
internationally agreed development goals, on the basis of
their national development strategies and stress that reform
efforts should enhance organizational efficiency and achieve
concrete development results.
14. Further acknowledge and encourage the ongoing
intergovernmental process within the United Nations General
Assembly that is being undertaken to achieve gender
equalityand empowerment of women.
15. Reiterate our resolve to eliminate all forms of
discrimination and violence against women and the girl
child, especially in situations of armed conflict and
foreign occupation, thus ensuring the respect of all human
rights which enable them to develop and achieve their full
potential in all areas.
16. Reaffirm our commitment to actively promote the
mainstreaming of a gender perspective in the design,
implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies and
programmes in all political, economic and social spheres,
ensuring full representation and full and equal
participation of women as critical factors in the
eradication of poverty.
17. Recognise that international cooperation, including
South-South Cooperation and partnership in the context of
the Movement's comparative advantage based on the principle
of common values in diversity, is the most effective way of
working towards women's empowerment and gender equality and
equity.
18. Recognise the increasing importance of South-South
Cooperation and the changing context of North-South
interdependence and terms of engagement, and we call for a
more energetic effort to deepen and enhance South-South
cooperation, including triangular cooperation, for the
empowerment of women and promoting their participation in
all areas of life, bearing in mind that such cooperation is
not a substitute for, but rather a complement to, North-
South cooperation.
19. Welcome regional initiatives of South-South cooperation
by some NAM members in the field of sustainable development
and in this regard, we encourage member states to mainstream
gender perspectivein their regional initiatives.
20. Continue topromote the collection and the analysis of
qualitative and quantitative gender disaggregated data,
particularly for the achievement of the Millennium
Development Goals and to facilitate a framework for national
and, as applicable, for regional, sub-regional and
international monitoring and evaluation of the impact of,
inter alia, globalisation and trade liberalization from a
gender perspective.
21. Recognizewith concern, thatclimate change, the economic
and financial crisis as well as food and energy crises
demand more efforts in enhancing regional integration and
international cooperation, prioritization of women and
girls, and mobilization of resources to address these
challenges, especially as they affect women in the enjoyment
of all their human rights, particularly the right to
development, towards the advancement of women and
achievement of the Millennium Development Goals by
developing countries.
22. Recognize also that the lingering negative consequences
of structural adjustment programmes, the increasing debt
burden faced by the most indebted developing countries, in
particular the LDCs, is unsustainable and constitutes one of
the principal obstacles to achieve progress, sustainable
development and poverty eradication strategies that
particularly affect women and girls, and therefore hinder
member states efforts for empowerment of women.
23. Express deep concern over imposing unilateral coercive
measures including economic sanctions and embargo which
impact the efforts of the NAM member states in, achieving
development goals and in particular on the empowerment of
women and children in affected countries.
24. Express also our deep concern over the grave situation
of women and girls living under foreign occupation. In this
regard, we reiterate that all human rights, including the
right of peoples to self-determination, must be respected
and call for exertion of efforts to ensure the realization
and enjoyment of these rights. We also call for
intensification of measures to provide assistance,
especially emergency assistance, for alleviating the dire
socio-economic and humanitarian situation being faced by
women and girls and their families living under foreign
occupation and supporting programmes for their development,
empowerment and advancement.
25. Stressthe importance of the legislative and
constitutional framework, as well as the electoral system in
states members of the movement, aimedat ensuring the full
enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by
women, enhancing their political participation at all levels
particularly in legislative assemblies and local governments
respectively, and strengthening such frameworks and system,
when necessary, in accordance with national law and
regulations, as well as Member States' obligations in
conformity with the relevant international instruments.
26. Recognize that poverty, unemployment, lack of access to
education and healthcare services , as well as stereotypes
of women and girls’ roles in their societies, lack of
awareness of human rights and fundamental freedomsare among
the major obstacles and challenges that face women and
girls, and consequently hinder their empowerment and
participation in the development of their societies.
27. Recognize that all civilizations, religions and faiths
guarantee the respect for women's dignity and their
enjoyment of their all human rights and fundamental
freedoms, without discrimination. Therefore, we stress the
importance of utilizing this universal conviction to ensure
women's full enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental
freedoms all over the world.
28. We recognize the important role of the family
institution in promoting gender equality and empowerment of
women throughout their life.
Second:Promotion of gender equality and empowerment of
women:
29. Gender equality and the empowerment of women are
essential for the comprehensive development of countries.
Therefore, in order to realize women's full potential for
their wellbeing, and that of their family, community and
society, the development and implementation of policies and
programmes should provide women with the following: (a)
access to healthcare services, nutrition, education, justice
and economic resources; (b) economic and political
empowerment and (c) safeguards and remedies against all
forms of violence and abuses, including in armed conflict.
30. Therefore, it is important to create and strengthen
institutional mechanisms at the local, national and regional
levels, with adequate human and financial resources, through
adequate budgeting and appropriate mandate, for effective
development and coordination of strategies, policies and
programmes for women, and monitoring and evaluation of
progress achieved.
31. Actions should be taken to prevent all forms of violence
against women, which create obstacles to achieving
empowerment of women and gender equality and continue to
place women in a marginalized situation.
32. It is important to address, at national, regional and
international levels, the challenges of combating
trafficking in women and girls through the adoption of
adequate policies, programmes and legislations and their
implementation, as well as enacting legislations aimed at
preventing and eliminating the demand for sex tourism and
trafficking, giving special emphasis to the protection of
women and girls.
33. The political leadership and the empowerment of women in
the field of election and representation at local, national,
regional and international levels should be guaranteed.
34. We recognize the role that media can play in promoting
women's rights, eliminating negative images and stereotypes,
and promoting values vital for strengthening gender
equality.
35. We acknowledge the need to reinforce partnership between
governments and civil society, in particular organizations
working for the advancement of women, as well as the private
sector, in the realization of the goal of the empowerment of
women and the promotion of gender equality.
36. We also recognize the contribution made by civil society
in the promotion of gender equality and women empowerment,
and stress the need to support their activities and
encourage the effective networking and collaborative
partnerships between organizations of civil society working
for the advancement of women in NAM members.
We hereby commit ourselves to take the following actions:
36.1. Create opportunities so that children, girls and women
have access to education, healthcare services and nutrition
through policies and programmes that give priority to their
participation and are responsive to their specific needs;
36.2. Encourage men and women to share responsibility in
family life;
36.3. Make adequate provisions for child care services and
formulate policies that will enable parents to balance
family responsibilities with work responsibilities;
36.4. Raise awareness among women, menand youth alike on the
importance of women's participation in decision-making
processes in all sectors and at all levels;
36.5. Invite States to consider the adoption of affirmative
measures, such as quota systems, to promote the access of
women to appointed and elected posts;
36.6. Formulate and adopt policies and ensure effective
application of existing national and international
instrumentsto increase participation and representation of
women in all commissions, tribunals, local government
bodies, statutory bodies, among others, set up by the
government, with the view to achieving equal representation
of women;
36.7. Promote and strengthen national machineries for the
advancement of women to formulate policies, strategies as
well as collect and analyze gender-disaggregated data, in
order to achieve economic empowerment, gender equality and
eliminate all forms of discrimination against women;
36.8. Ensure that national development plans are gender
responsive;
36.9. Mainstream gender-responsive budget initiatives, inter
alia, through training of public officials;
36.10. Ensure that more effective gender responsive
poverty-eradication policies, programmes and strategies are
implemented at local, national, regional and international
levels;
36.11. Support the development of leadership training
programmes for women, particularly young women that would
enable them to exercise all their rights and
responsibilities in decision-making;
36.12. Support the participation of women's organizations in
decision-making in all relevant fields;
36.13. Invite States, which have not done so, to consider
ratifying or acceding to the Convention on the Elimination
of all Forms of Discrimination against Women; and encourage
States Parties to consider signing, ratifying or acceding to
the Optional Protocol to the Convention;
36.14. Enact legislation and ensure effective enforcement to
prevent violence against women and girls, to bring to
justice perpetrators of such crimes, and to provide
effective assistance and rehabilitation to the victims;
36.15. Promote specialized training on gender issues for
public officials to mainstream gender perspectives in
national legislations and in their activities;
36.16. Recognize that women and girls with disabilities are
subject to discrimination, and in this regard, express our
resolve to take appropriate measures to ensure their full
enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms.
Third: Empowering women economically towards promoting their
full and active participation in their societiesincluding by
poverty eradication:
37. The eradication of poverty, particularly the eradication
of the feminization of poverty, is one of the greatest
global challenges facing the world today and is an
indispensable requirement for achieving sustainable
development, in particular in developing countries. This
should be highlighted in the context of the coming United
Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (RIO+20). In
this regard, we emphasize the significant role that women
play in economic development and in the eradication of
poverty. Hence, we should facilitate the participation of
women in the design and application of the economic
development strategies to eradicatepoverty, to ensure their
access to knowledge, and to support their contribution to
the improvement of food security. Moreover,the persistent
inequalities, the discrimination against women and the lack
of their economic empowerment limit their access to goods,
resources, education, services and other development
benefits, as well as deepen economic inequalities and
injustices affecting women in the areas of the family,
community, politics and labour market.
38. We reaffirm that the role of the family unit that
respects the human rights of all its members, as an
institution that provides the highest degree of material and
moral well being, is extremely important as stated in the
Doha Declaration on Family adopted on 30 November 2004.
We hereby commit ourselves to take the following actions:
38.1. Review, modify and promoteeconomic policies and
programmes aimed at poverty eradication in order to include
a gender perspective, thus ensuring women's full and equal
participation in the decision-making process;
38.2. Include a gender perspective in poverty eradication
policies aimed at addressing root causes, manifestations and
challenges of poverty;
38.3. Integrate women's interests and concerns in national,
regional, sub-regional and international economic policies
and reforms on the basis of gender equality and equity,
taking into consideration the impact of global economic
trends;
38.4. Ensure economic autonomy and empowerment of women, as
a critical factor to eradicate poverty;
38.5. Stress the need to create an enabling environment for
improving the situation of rural women and ensuring their
full participation in the development, implementation and
follow-up of macro and micro-economic policies, including
development policies and programmes and poverty eradication
strategies, based on internationally agreed development
goals, including the Millennium Development Goals;
38.6. Provide women, especially those in marginalized and
vulnerable situations, with access to financing and
micro-financing, in particular through credit, micro-credit
and marketing facilities, and provide corresponding
capacity-building programmes in gender awareness, fund
management and other appropriate skillssuch as specially
designed vocational training programs for women;
38.7. Ensure access to finance and microfinance mechanisms,
including micro-credit for poverty eradication as well as
employment generation in private and public sector, and
especially for the empowerment of women and encourage the
strengthening of the existing institutions and emerging
micro-credit institutions as well as enhancing their
capacities;
38.8. Take measures to develop, finance, implement, and
evaluate gender-responsive policies and programmes aimed at
promoting women's entrepreneurship through, inter alia,
microfinance, microcredit and cooperatives;
38.9. Encourage member states to provide support and
facilitation to the marketing of the local products and
commodities of women in rural and urban areas;
38.10. Promote research on the impacts of globalization and
trade liberalization on women's economic status so as to
develop better understanding and mainstreaming of women's
issues in decision-making processes;
38.11. Continue to elaborate and implement effective
strategies for social protection and welfare aiming at
strengthening family cohesion which contributes to women
empowerment and healthy family ties;
38.12. Formulate strategies to effectively address family
issues circumstances causing negative impacts of
globalization on the situation of women and girls worldwide;
38.13. Facilitate full and productive employment and decent
work, and social integration and livelihood opportunities to
improve women's position in the labour market and ensure
equal opportunitiesand favourable working conditionsfor all
women, including migrant women, consistent with all their
human rights in collaboration with the private sector as
appropriate;
38.14. Enact and enforce legislations to guarantee the
rights of women and men to equal pay for equal work or work
of equal value;
38.15. Adopt or strengthen measures to protect the human
rights of women migrant, regardless of their immigration
status; in accordance with the national laws and
international obligations;
38.16. Implement gender-sensitive policies and programmes
for women migrant workers and the members of their families,
and provide safe and legal channels that recognize their
skills and education and fair labour conditions, facilitate
their productive employment and decent work and integration
into the labour force, including, inter alia, in the fields
of education and science and technology, and ensure that all
women, including care workers, are legally protected against
violence and exploitation;
38.17. Recommend the enactment and enforcement of
legislations that ensure recognition of the value of women's
unremunerated work.
Fourth: Achieve universal primary education and promote
access to all education levels as a prerequisite for
empowerment of women:
39. Access to Education, information and communication
contribute to the promotion of all human rights and is an
indispensable tool to achieve gender equality and
empowerment of women. Literacy and primary school education
are the basic learning tools for access to knowledge and
information, as well as for enhancing women's opportunities
to get better-paying jobs and fully exercise their rights,
thus enhancing their full participation in their societies.
40. The illiteracy rate is significantly higher among women
than men and varies greatly in regions and countries,
especially among women from rural and remote areas and from
indigenous peoples. Additionally, the vast majority of
children not going to schools are girls.
41. Welcome the adoptionby Human Rights Counciland the
United Nations General Assembly, of the Declaration on Human
Rights Education and Training .
We hereby commit ourselves to take the following actions:
41.1. create literate environments and societies,
eradicating illiteracy, including among women and girls and
eliminating the gender gap in literacy, inter alia, by
intensifying efforts to implement effectively the
International Plan of Action for the United Nations Literacy
Decade and integrating substantially those efforts in the
Education for All process and other activities of the United
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO), as well as other literacy initiatives within the
framework of the internationally agreed development goals;
41.2. Give adequate attention ,in the implementation of the
International Plan of Action in the final phase of the
Decade, to the cultural diversity of national or ethnic,
religious and linguistic minorities, indigenous women and
girls, and those with disabilities, as well as to design and
deliver high-quality literacy programmes for youth and
adults;
41.3. Take effective measure to allow indigenous women to
have non-discriminatory access to all levels and forms of
education provided by States, and to promote access for
indigenous women to education in their own languages, as
addresses in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights on
Indigenous Peoples;
41.4. Align education policies, curricula, training, and
teaching and learning approaches with the priorities
identified in national development strategies. Education and
training should contribute to sustained, inclusive and
equitableeconomic growth by developing requisite skills, in
line with the labour marketrequirements and development
needs of countries, taking into account theimportance of
gender equality and the empowerment of women in
promotingsustainable development;
41.5. Strengthen public policies for the provision of
information and communication technologies (ICTs) for
education, including the promotion of ICT training for
education that is relevant and of high quality; the
incorporation of ICTs in teacher training and professional
development, as well as in educational management; and the
use, where appropriate, of innovative new ICT platforms in
education that draw on advances in mobile education, open
education resources and social networks, and note the need
to improve cyber-security measures and for appropriate
safeguards, especially for women and girls;
41.6. Strengthen opportunities of scientific
andtechnological innovation, and develop strategies
toincrease girls’ and women's participation in science and
technology education development;
41.7. Developing gender-sensitive curricula for educational
programmes at all levels and taking concrete measures to
ensure that educational materials portray women, men, youth,
girls and boys in positive and non-stereotypical roles;
41.8. Guarantee free and universal primary education to all
as a key issue for the development of our societies and
strengthen public educational systems to improve women and
girls' access to all levels of education, as well as
preventing girls dropping out of school;
41.9. Take also all appropriate measures to enforce
compulsory primary education and to ensure availability and
accessibility to secondary education for every child;
41.10. Promote plans and programmes in the education sector,
in order to eliminate gender stereotypes;
41.11. Take all appropriate measures to strengthen and
improve the quality of the public education system, paying
due attention to Science, Mathematics and other technical
subjects, in order to ensure that women and girls have equal
opportunities and access;
41.12. Remove economic, social and cultural barriers to
achieve gender equality in primary school and adopt measures
to tackle the obstacles that hinder girls' access to
education;
41.13. Implement strategies to reduce the illiteracy rate
among women with a time-limit, including the provision of
literacy programmes for women, taking into account age,
socio-cultural and economic factors, and increase
opportunities and facilities for lifelong learning for
women;
41.14. Take all appropriate measures to ensure the right of
indigenous women and girls to education at all levels and
forms, paying special attention to their cultural diversity;
41.15. Implement strategies to provide education to women
and girls in emergency situations, in order to contribute to
smooth transition from relief to development and stress the
importance of including education as an integral element in
the context of humanitarian assistance, with the support of
the international community, the United Nations system,
donors, multilateral agencies, the private sector and the
civil society including non-governmental organizations.
Fifth: Equal participation of women and men in
decision-making processes at all levels:
42. Equal participation of women and men in decision-making
would provide a balance that more accurately reflects the
composition of society and is needed in order to strengthen
democracy and promote quality growth. However, little
progress has been made in attaining political power for
women and they are largely under-represented in almost all
sectors and at all levels of decision-making.
43. The increasing number of women as presidents, prime
ministers and inother leading positions is an important step
towards gender equality and empowerment of women. Hence, we
welcome the pivotal role playedby women leaders in the
advancement of women in their countries and internationally
as role models to women.
44. The importance of the full and effective participation
of women at all levels, and in all aspects of the peaceful
settlement of disputes, conflict prevention and resolution,
and peace-building as well as the provision of adequate
gender expertise for all mediators and their teams should be
highlighted, noting that further efforts are necessary to
address the lack of women as chief or lead peace mediators,
and in this context reaffirming the full and effective
implementation of all relevant United Nations resolutions
and the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.
45. The increased participation of women at all
decision-making levels is essential to the empowerment of
women. In this regard, we recognize the United Nations
efforts to increase the participation of women in its high
level posts, particularly in the decision-making levels to
50 percent.
We hereby commit ourselves to take the following actions:
45.1. Formulate and adopt policies to increase participation
and representation of women in all commissions, tribunals,
local government bodies, statutory bodies, among others, set
up by the government with the view to achieving equal
representation of women;
45.2. Encourage equal, full and effective participation of
women in all forums and at all levels of the peaceful
settlement of disputes, conflict prevention and resolution,
particularly the decision making level.
45.3. Review regularly the criteria and process of
appointment to decision-making bodies in the public and
private sectors to encourage increased women's participation
and representation. In this regard adopt policies to
increase the proportion of women at the decision making
level, including in the legislatures;
45.4. Take measures, as appropriate, to ensure that
political parties, trade unions and all other private sector
bodies commit themselves to women's equal access to and full
participation in power structures and decision making at all
levels;
45.5. Raise awareness among women and men on the importance
of women's participation in decision making processes at all
levels in political, economic and financial sectors, and in
this connection, develop leadership training programmes for
women, especially for young women, to enable them to
exercise increasing responsibilities at all levels;
45.6. Promote equal access to education, property rights and
inheritance rights and to information technology and
business and economic opportunities, including in
international trade, in order to provide women with the
necessary tools to enable them to take part fully and
equally in decision making processes at all levels;
Sixth:Combating violence against women:
46. Violence against women is an obstacle to the achievement
of the objectives of equality, political participation,
development and peace. It violates, impairs and nullifies
the enjoyment by women of all human rights and fundamental
freedoms. Violence affects the lives of millions of women
worldwide, in all sectors of the community impeding their
ability to participate fully and the promotion of their
society.
47. Violence against women takes a dismaying variety of
forms. Combating violence against women requires changing
the way gender roles and power relations articulated in the
society. NAM Member Countries should play a key role in
eliminating gender-based violence especially during armed
conflict, foreign occupation and natural disasters, and in
this regard stresse the importance of awareness-raising
about UN Codes of Conduct for UN peacekeeping personnel.
We hereby commit ourselves to take the following actions:
47.1. Review all laws and regulations in order to identify
and eliminate negative traditional and customary practices
that discriminate against women, as well as to criminalize
the perpetrators of violence against women and girls; thus
guaranteeing zero tolerance.
47.2. Provide training to all relevant agencies, especially
investigative personnel and the judiciary, civil society,
communities and individuals on ways to prevent and address
gender-based violence using integrated approaches;
47.3. Educate women and girls on their rights and provide
legal aid, counselling and other support services.
47.4. Educate men and boys to respect women and girls as
equal partners in all spheres of life and society and
mobilize them against gender-based violence;
47.5. Develop and implement national, regional and
international plans, multisectoral strategies and measures
to combat all forms of violence against women and girls,
including Female Genital Mutilation (FGM),the exploitation
of widows, orphans and single mothers, trafficking in
persons,sexual exploitation and protection of female migrant
workers, in collaboration with relevant non-governmental and
community-based organizations and other relevant actors of
civil society, as well as establishing appropriate national
mechanisms for monitoring and evaluating their
implementation, and in this regard stress the contribution
of the United Nations Global Plan of Action to Combat
Trafficking in Persons to combating violence against women
and the need for its full and effective implementation.
47.6. Create an enabling environment to combat all forms of
violence; including rape and sexual violence against women
and girls living in situations of armed conflict and foreign
occupation, including by documenting and
disseminatingrelated information;
47.7. To provide psychological treatment, healthcare, legal
and social assistance for women and girls who have been
subject to rape and other forms of sexual violence
particularly during armed conflicts, and foreign occupation.
47.8. Emphasize the important contribution of women in the
processes leading to firmly establish the foundation of
justice.
Seventh: Improve, preserve and promote the comprehensive
healthcare of women, girls:
48. In order to achieve the MDG’s, improvement must be made
in health indicators, especially in the field of child and
maternal health as well as in combating the spread of
malaria, tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS and other communicable and
non-communicable diseases. The high infant and maternal
mortality rates continue to be a challenge, in particular,
in the developing countries, and are directly linked to
inadequate healthcare facilities as well as several social
and economic factors such as poverty, hunger, illiteracy,
lack of access to clean drinking water and basic sanitation
and unemployment which are affecting women.
49. Recognize the role played by the Secretary-General's
Global Strategy for Women's and Children's Health "Every
Woman Every Child", undertaken by a broad coalition of
partners, in support of national plans and strategies in
order reduce the number of maternal, newborn and under-five
child deaths.
50. Moreover, given the increasing feminization of the
HIV/AIDS pandemic, the prevention, treatment, care and
support provided to women should be further strengthened.
Furthermore, children affected with HIV/AIDS, due to the
mother to child transmission, face both medical as well as
social obstacles for their treatment and survival.
51. Malaria related ill health and deaths throughout the
world, especially those that relate to women and children,
can be substantially eliminated through national and
international commitments, commensurate resources, as well
as appropriate healthcare services and access to affordable
generic drugs for the prevention and treatment of malaria,
particularly in countries where the disease is endemic.
52. Note with concern the rapidly growing magnitude of
Non-Communicable diseases among people of all ages, gender,
race and income levels, and further recognizes that poor
populations and those living in vulnerable situations in
particular in developing countries bear a disproportionate
burden of those diseases. NCD's can affect women and men
differently and women bear a disproportionate share of care
giving and as such the gender dimension of those diseases
should be taken into consideration.
We hereby commit ourselves to take the following actions:
52.1. Formulate appropriate policies and programmes
toaddress health rights of women from the perspective of
women's needs, and interests, taking into consideration
distinctive features and factors that differ for women in
comparison with men, particularly the different
responsibilities in the care of those infected and affected
by HIV and AIDS;
52.2. Ensure affordable primary healthcare services and
promotion of healthy lifestyles;
52.3. Ensure also that women have equal access to healthcare
services, information and education throughout their life
cycle;
52.4. Reaffirm the right to the enjoyment of the highest
attainable standard of physical and mental health, protect
and promote the attainment of this right for women and girls
and incorporate it in national legislation;
52.5. Reaffirm also the objectives and commitments adopted
at the International Conference on Population and
Development, contained in its Programme of Action, as well
as the obligation of States Parties to the Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women,
the Beijing Declaration and Platform of Action and other
relevant international conventions and agreements, in order
to ensure and meet the health needs of women and girls;
7 (A) Actions related to
Reducing child morbidity and mortality and improve maternal
health
52.6. Ensure that appropriate efforts are taken to tackle
socio-economic factors like poverty, discrimination and all
forms of violence against women, and restrictions to women's
access to medical facilities due to, inter alia, lack of
control of family resources and lack of decision making
powers in a family, all of which have adversely contributed
to increased infant and maternal mortality rates;
52.7. Ensure availability of and access to quality as well
as universal preventive, curative, sexual and basic
reproductive healthcare services by 2015 and implement all
efforts to achieve this objective;
52.8. Ensure safe motherhood and safe delivery for women
living in armed conflict areas, in situations of foreign
occupation or in areas of natural catastrophes;
52.9. Promote birth spacing, deliveries by qualified staff
including professional midwives, where possible in an
institution, and the transfer and proper management of
gynaecological and obstetric emergencies;
52.10. Provide appropriate training to health personnel,
including voluntary personnel, to identify dangerous signs
and refer cases of obstetric emergency;
52.11. Guarantee improved socio-economic conditionsand
promote a system of education that ensures higher school
retention rates for girls, bearing in mind that the higher
the educational level of the mother, the lower the infant
mortality rate;
52.12. Recognise that infant mortality rate can be affected
by the age of the mother at the time of the delivery as well
as by inadequate nutrition of mother and child, and take
appropriate steps to address these challenges;
52.13. Encourage the exercise of responsible parenthood and
shared responsibility in maternal health;
52.14. Provide programmes and for the prevention of
pregnancies in adolescent girls;
7 (B) Actions related to
Combat HIV and AIDS, malaria and other diseases.
52.15. Promote comprehensive policies and programmes as part
of the multidisciplinary strategies required to address
challenges posed by communicable diseases, including HIV and
AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis, and for non-communicable
diseases like cancer, diabetes and others, as well as
injuries and trauma;
52.16. Reaffirm also the commitments to the Declaration of
Commitment on HIV and AIDS and to the Political Declaration
on HIV/AIDS, and to adopt all necessary measures to ensure
universal access to HIV comprehensive prevention programmes,
treatment, care and support by 2015;
52.17. Implement legal and policy frameworks, in particular
to eliminate discrimination against women living with HIV
and AIDS, especially in the workplace, and to ensure equal
access to prevention, treatment, care and support, including
psycho-social care and support, and promote comprehensive
services to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV,
including by ensuring universal access to antiretroviral
treatment;
52.18. Eliminate discrimination and sexual and gender-based
violence against girls and women that make them more
vulnerable to HIV and AIDS and other sexually transmitted
diseases;
52.19. Encourage the active participation of women,
including those living with HIV and AIDS and other
communicable diseases,in the development of policies,
programmes and services, and their monitoring and
evaluation;
52.20. Develop comprehensive policies in support of the
children affected, orphaned and/or made vulnerable by HIV
and AIDS, and their relatives, so that they can stay in
their communities;
52.21. Take all necessary measures to empower women and
strengthen their economic independence, and to protect and
promote their full enjoyment of all human rights and
fundamental freedoms, in order to enable them to protect
themselves from HIV infection;
52.22. Encourage free access to information on the
prevention of HIV and AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria as well as
other communicable and non-communicable diseases, injuries
and trauma;
52.23. Establish a coordinated implementation of malaria
related activities and enhance funding of relevant
programmes to eradicate malaria.
Eighth: Ensuring the sustainability of the environment:
53. Developed countries bear historical responsibility for
the degradation of the global environment. Ever since the
Industrial Revolution, the developed countries have over
exploited the world’s natural resources through
unsustainable patterns of production and consumption,
leading to climate change and causing damage to the global
environment, to the detriment of the developing countries.
Taking into account the link between environmental
sustainability and gender equality, it is essential to
eradicate poverty that is related to environmental
degradation. It must be recognized that poor households
depend on the access to resources for their survival and
that the need to collect fuel, food and water is a factor
that forces women to discontinue schooling in many
developing countries. Furthermore, women can play a
significant role in environmental, sustainability related
decision in all level, including in the household.
54. We renew our commitment to ensure that the role of women
is taken into account in achieving sustainable development.
In this regard, we encourage member states to ensure the
effective participation of women in the upcoming United
Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD) Rio+20
to be held from 4 to 6 June 2012 in Rio de Janiero.
We hereby commit ourselves to take the following actions:
54.1. Integrate a gender perspective into the design,
implementation, monitoring, evaluation and reporting of
national environmental and sustainable development policies,
through, inter alia, strengthening mechanisms and providing
adequate resources to ensure women's full and equal
participation in decision-making at all levels on these
issues;
54.2. Promote and ensure the participation of women from
indigenous peoplesand local and rural communities in
environmental decision-making, including the acknowledgement
of indigenous knowledge systems;
54.3. Promote and facilitate the access of women to
information and education to decision-making, handling and
managing of resources in the areas of the environment,
sustainable development, natural disasters preparedness,
response and recovery; and the actions related to these
areas, and the design of measures that effectively respond
to impacts of international crises;
54.4. Adopt measures that reduce the risks for women arising
from environmental hazards at home, work and other places;
54.5. Adopt measures that do not further burden women in the
process of achieving environmental sustainability.
Ninth: Encourage global partnership for development:
55. Noting that, according to the 2010 Human Development
Report , the gross national income (GNI) per capita in
developed countries was US$ 37,077.00 for countries of the
Organization for Economic cooperation & Development (OECD)
and US$ 42,370.00 for non-OECD countries, while in
developing countries it averaged only US$ 6,972.5 and in the
least developed countries it was as low as US$ 1,393.00,
that trade liberalization and aid policies have direct
implications on gender equality and equity, and that any
negative consequences resulting from such measures may
affect women more directly. Strategic alliances among
countries are needed to capitalize on the lessons learned
and best practices of the use of innovative technologies for
productivity, as well as for partnership for development.
56. In this regard, investing in women and girls has a
multiplier effect on productivity, efficiency and sustained
economic growth and increasing women's economic empowerment
is central to the achievement of the Millennium Development
Goals, particularly the eradication ofpoverty; and adequate
resources need to be allocated at all levels, mechanisms and
capacities need to be strengthened; and gender-responsive
policies need to be enhanced to fully utilizing the
multiplier effect.
We hereby commit ourselves to take the following actions:
56.1. Strongly urge the developed countries to fulfil their
commitment of allocating 0.7% of their Gross National
Product to be devoted to Official Development Assistance,
which is one of the key elements for the development of
economic policies towards women;
56.2. Stress the need for development-oriented and durable
solutions that integrate a gender perspective into the
external debt and debt-servicing of developing countries,
including least developed countries, inter alia, through
debt relief and debt cancellation, in order to finance
programmes and projects targeted at development, including
the advancement of women;
56.3. Stress also the need to address the differential
impact of trade policies on women and men, and incorporate
gender perspectives in the formulation, implementation and
evaluation of their trade policies, develop strategies to
expand trade opportunities for women producers from
developing countries and facilitate the active participation
of women in national, regional and international trade
decision-making structures and processes;
56.4. Promote effective cooperation among NAM members
through different mechanisms and agreements favouring the
development of just and equitable social policies,
benefiting in particular women, in the framework of the NAM
Founding Principles;
56.5. Encourage greater South-South cooperation, including
through NAM centre for south-south technical cooperation
(NAMCSSTC), resulting in greater benefits for our peoples in
general and women in particular;
56.6. Encourage also mechanisms of integration and
cooperation among regions and NAM members, in order to
develop programmes on poverty eradication, trade, education,
health, women empowerment, environment, sports and other
relevant areas that enhance wellbeing and development for
our peoples, particularly women and girls;
56.7. Stress the need for the United Nations to enhance
international cooperation for development in all the above
mentioned areas of this Programme of Action, to achieve the
full and effective implementation of the internationally
agreed development goals, including the Millennium
Development Goals, and resolve to continue strengthening
coordination within the United Nations system in close
cooperation with all other multilateral financial, trade and
development institutions in order to support sustained
economic growth, poverty and hunger eradication and
sustainable development;
56.8. Promote plans and programmes which will guarantee
women access to the use of new information and communication
technologies.
56.9. Promote investment in youth development in order to
provide an effective means for achieving MDGs,including
gender equality and empowerment of women.
Tenth: Conclusion:
Taking into account all the actions contained in this
Programme of Action, we, the Ministers and other Heads of
Delegations:
57. Reiterate all the commitments undertaken in the
Guatemala Programme of Action in the areas of Eradicating
extreme poverty, hunger, promoting women's economic
development, Achieving universal primary education and
promoting access to all education levels; Promoting gender
equality and empowerment of women; Improving, preserving and
promoting the comprehensive healthcare services for women,
girls and children; Reducing child morbidity and mortality
and improving maternal health; Combating HIV and AIDS,
malaria and other diseases; Ensuring the sustainability of
the environment; and Encouraging global partnership for
development.
58. Stress the role of the international financial
institutions for supporting member states efforts in order
to implement their commitmentstowards the empowerment of
women and enabling them to participate in all areas in life.
59. Reaffirm the vital role of the public sector, and stress
also the vital role of the private sector and civil society,
as a part of their social corporate responsibilities,
towards the society in all efforts aiming at the gender
equality and empowerment of women.
60. Strongly reject and express determination to address
obstacles that impede the full advancement of women and
limit the possibilities of economic and social development
of our peoples and the integration of women, in particular,
all forms of interference in the internal affairs of our
States, wars, armed conflicts, foreign occupation, terrorism
and externally imposed policies of pressures and
conditions,unilateral coercive measures, as well as threat
of military aggression taking into account our commitment to
the purposes and principles enshrined in the Charter of the
United Nations, and reaffirming our decision to support all
efforts to defend the sovereign equality of States, as well
as the right of peoples living under foreign occupation to
self-determination.
61. Gravely concerned about the critical social,
humanitarian, and security situation in the Gaza Strip,
including as a result of the prolonged Israeli blockade and
military operations between December 2008 and January 2009,
which caused extensive loss of life and injury among
Palestinian civilians, including women and children,
widespread destruction and damage to Palestinian homes,
properties and vital infrastructure, which had deepened the
hardship and suffering of the whole population, including by
deepening poverty and despair.
62. We demand that Israel unconditionally and scrupulously
comply with all of its obligations under international law,
including international humanitarian law, human rights law,
and Geneva conventions. In this regard, we call for the
immediate and full lifting of the economic and military
blockade by Israel, the Occupying Power. We also call upon
Israel, the Occupying Power, for the immediate and sustained
opening of the Gaza Strip’s border crossings, fully in
accordance with the terms and provisions of Security Council
Resolution 1860, to ensure the free access to emergency
services, humanitarian aid, including urgently needed water,
food, medicines, fuel and other essential supplies, as well
as to facilitate the passage of persons to and from the Gaza
Strip.
63. Strongly Condemn also the increased difficulties being
faced by Palestinian women and girls living under Israeli
occupation, including the continuation of home demolitions,
evictions of Palestinian residents and arbitrary detention
and imprisonment, as well as high rates of poverty,
unemployment, and food insecurity, inadequate water supply,
and declining health, education and living standards,
including the rising incidence of trauma and decline in
their psychological well-being, and expressing grave concern
about the dire humanitarian crisis and insecurity and
instability on the ground in the Occupied Palestinian
Territory, in particular in the Gaza Strip.
64. Stress the importance of the advancement of Palestinian
women and girls, their self-reliance and integration in the
development of their society, as well as the importance of
efforts to increase their role in decision-making with
regard to conflict prevention and resolution and to ensure
their equal participation and involvement in all efforts
aiming at the achievement, maintenance and promotion of
peace and security.
65. Welcome the application submitted, on 23 September 2011,
by Palestine to be admitted as a member state of the United
Nations, consistent with the right of the Palestinian people
to self-determination and their independent state, convinced
that the realization of such an objective will be a major
step towards the advancement and empowerment of Palestinian
women and their families in an environment of freedom,
peace, dignity and stability.
66. Strongly reject also the adoption of, and demand to put
an end to unilateral coercive measures of any sort not in
accordance with international law and the Charter of the
United Nations, that impedes the full achievement of
economic and social development by the population of the
affected country, in particular women and children, that
hinders their well-being and that creates obstacles to the
full enjoyment of all their human rights.
67. Stress also the need for Member States to provide
humanitarian assistance to their Internally Displaced
Persons and refugees, taking into account the full spectrum
of human vulnerabilities, particularly of women and girls.
68. Reiterate the request to the Executive Director of UN
Women to pay special attention to the situation of women
living under foreign occupation and their suffering by,
inter alia, appointing a focal point to address their
situations in full conformity with international law
including international humanitarian law and human rights
law.
69. Recommend to the Heads of State and Government of the
Non-Aligned Movement that the principle of gender equality
and equityand the advancement of women be integrated in all
NAM programmes and activities, taking into account documents
adopted at the NAM Ministerial meetings on the Advancement
of Women.
70. Express our appreciation to the NAM Institute for the
Empowerment of Women in Kuala Lumpur (NIEW) and reaffirm our
continued support to its activities, and encourage NAM
Member States to enhance their cooperation with the
Institute and its regional offices, including through
financial contributions, in order to strengthen their work
and activities.
71. Express also our appreciation for the efforts of
Guatemala to launch the NAM regional office in Guatemala
City, and look forward to the commencement of its activities
at the earliest possible date.
72. Take note with appreciation of the launch of NAM
regional office in Cairo, and looks forward to the
commencement of its activities, and extend our gratitude to
the Government of Egypt for its efforts in this regard.
73. Stress the importance of linking work of NAM on the
advancement of women with other prominent regional
organizations in member states; including the Arab women
organization and OIC Centre for the advancement of women and
therefore strengthen cooperation in order to enhance their
role in implementing NAM principles and objectives towards
better promotion of gender equality and empowerment of
women.
74. Take note of the convening of the Third OIC Ministerial
Conference on the Role of Women in the Development of OIC
member states, in Tehran, the Islamic Republic of Iran in
December 2010, and the adoption of Tehran Declaration and
Plan of Action.
75. Welcome the adoption of the OIC Plan of Action for
Advancement of Women (OPAAW) by the Member States of the
Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), and Recognize
that the establishment of the OIC Women Development
Organization in Cairo will play a predominant role in
addressing the challenges of Advancement of Women.
76. To take note with appreciation of the launching of the
African Women's decade 2010-2020, and the 10 themes of the
decade within the context of grassroots approach to gender
equality and women empowerment.
77. Recommend to the Movement's Heads of State and
Government the need to emphasize development and
implementation of policies, programmes, and affirmative
action plans, and other follow-up actions of the United
Nations and other international fora to assess the
achievement of Women's political empowerment including their
participation in all spheres of political life and at all
levels.
78. Make the firm resolve to appraise, during the upcoming
NAM Summit of Heads of State and Government to be held in
Tehran in 2012, the progress made towards the advancement of
women and the implementation of the commitments made by the
NAM member states in Doha Declaration with the view to build
upon the lessons learnt and to concretize the actions needed
to attain the advancement of women.
79. Express our recognition and gratitude to the Government
of the State of Qatar for its initiative and hospitality
that facilitated the convening of the Third Ministerial
Meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement on the Advancement of
Women in a challenging world.
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