What we do
What we do
In 1995, 17,000 delegates and 30,000 activists from across the globe, streamed to Beijing to attend the fourth World Women’s Conference. This was one of the largest meetings to promote women’s rights ever held. Our first big project, as an organisation, was to organise a delegation of women to attend the civil society forum in Beijing ahead of the conference with the aim to bring in the intersectional dimension between gender and the environment. A WECF delegation of eco-feminists organised events and demonstrations during the Huairou civil society forum with partners from, amongst others, Brazil, India, Kenya, Russia, Ukraine and Uzbekistan. Our demands and stories have been published in this Publication. The official outcome of the conference is the Beijing Platform for Action, which remains the leading agendas for women’s human rights and a sustainable, just and peaceful world.
Session on Women and Peace at the 4th World Women’s Conference civil society forum in Huairou in 1995, with WECF participants.
WECF publication Beijing 1995.
Resisting the roll-back
Now, more than 30 years later, we are appalled by a roll-back on women’s rights in many countries in the world, and attacks against women’s human rights and environmental defenders. Our international director Sascha Gabizon spoke at the United Nation’s CSW69 in March 2025 during the panel discussion, on why we need to resist anti-rights groups and governments. Sascha held up the red card against anti-rights and polluters in this dialogue with Member States organised on Beijing+30, feminist leadership and environmental governance! You can watch the video session here, from minute 18 minutes 30 seconds onwards. And WECF’s partner from Albania spoke after Sascha, see from minute 25 onwards. Our main message was: Let’s hold the line for our rights and the protection of our planet!
Sascha Gabizon speaking at the 17th plenary meeting – Commission on the Status of Women, Sixty-ninth session (CSW69) – Interactive dialogues
Generation Equality Forums
Whilst in 2020 we achieved the 5-year mark of the Sustainable Development Goals and its goal 5 on achieving gender quality and the resilience of all women and girls, we need to hold high the commitments of Beijing. In 2021, The Generation Equality Forums were held in Mexico and six Action Coalitions worked on draft blueprints for five years of transformative action to achieve gender equality. These Action Plans were adopted at the GEF Paris Forum, in July the same year, that officially launched of the Action Coalitions. Governments, civil society and all other stakeholders presented their commitments to take action. Our director, Sascha Gabizon, was part of the Civil Society Advisory Group to the forums. Read more on the work WECF and partners have been doing for the Generation Equality Forums, on the GEF pages.
Youth Journey for GEF
There was a great effort by youth to shape the Generation Equality Forum, which is reflected in the Youth Journey roadmap for youth leadership in the Generation Equality process. It was conceptualised in consultation with diverse groups of young people belonging to Generation Equality governance structures, youth-led and youth-serving organisations, UN agencies and youth activists. The goal is to put the leadership and participation of young people and girls at the centre of Generation Equality.
Beijing+25
In preparation of the Beijing+25 celebration, WECF organised the civil society forum at the United Nations in Geneva with over 400 participants, a cumulation of many months of work. Read more about it on the pages below.
WECF at Beijing+25 UNECE Region
Roadmap
Civil society forum (28 Oct, Geneva) – As the regional organising partner for Women’s Major Group, we co-facilitated the Civil Society Forum prior to the UNECE regional review meeting on Beijing+25. The outcome document is a compilation report of various feminist priorities from the European, North American, Caucasus and the Central Asian regions.
Beijing+25 Regional Review Meeting (29-30 Oct, Geneva) – The UN Member States meet to review progress by governments on their Beijing commitments. Each UN region had their own meeting, and the official meeting for European, North American, Caucasus and the Central Asian regions was held on 29-30 October 2019 in the Palais des Nations, Geneva. It was jointly organised by UNECE and the UN Women Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia. You can read all the interventions delivered by civil society at the official meeting here.
Commission on the Status of Women (CSW64) (March 2019, suspended due to COVID-19) – The main focus of CSW meeting was to review of the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and the outcomes of the 23rd special session of the General Assembly. The review was intended to include an assessment of current challenges that affect the implementation of the Platform for Action and the full realisation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Sub-regional virtual consultations (June – December 2020) – Together with UN Women Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia, we hosted a series of online consultations on Beijing+25 and Generation Equality, starting June and running to December 2020. Together with local feminists and human rights activists, we explored what still needs to happen to achieve gender equality in the Balkans, Caucasus, Central Asia, Eastern and Central European regions. Around 400 feminists took part in the sessions, of which almost half was youth. Find out more about the demands from Central Asia and Eastern Europe, Caucasus & Russia in the policy briefs. Illustrator Leyla Aliyeva made the demands into beautiful illustrations. They are free to download for all here. We invite you to use them and share your own feminist demands for system change!
Commission on the Status of Women (CSW65) – 15 – 26 March 2021
This year’s CSW theme was “Women’s full and effective participation and decision-making in public life, as well as the elimination of violence, for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls”. The session this year was mostly virtual due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Generation Equality Forums – are civil society-centred, global gatherings for gender equality, convened by UN Women and co-hosted by the governments of Mexico and France. UN Women has announced several “Action Coalitions” were civil society will come together with decision-makers and other stakeholder to set concrete, ambitious and transformative actions to achieve immediate and irreversible progress towards gender equality. These will be drafted, based on consultations, and finalised at the forums to finally be presented to Heads of States at the United Nations General Assembly. Once finalised, there will be 5 years to achieve these ambitions actions. The first Mexico Forum will take place virtually from March 29th until March 31st. The second Paris Forum will take place virtually from June 30th until July 2nd.
Civil society forum
More than 400 feminists and activists from 45 different countries came together for the regional review of the Beijing Platform for Action in Geneva 28-30 October 2019. Together we wanted to map out and build feminist principles for the future we want.
Sub-regional
Together with UN Women Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia, we will be hosting a series of online consultations on Beijing+25, starting June and running to December 2020. Together with local feminists and human rights activists, we will be exploring what still needs to happen to achieve gender equality in the Balkans, Caucasus, Central Asia, Eastern and Central European regions? These online consultations will engage decision-makers and give guidance to the Action Coalition leaders about the demands from the region.
| Western Balkans & Turkey | Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, North-Macedonia, Serbia, Turkey, Kosovo |
| Eastern Europe | Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine, Russia |
| Central Asia | Kyrgyzstan, Kazakstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan |
Compilation report
Compilation report
This report is a compilation of the perspectives of feminist and civil society organisations from more than 45 countries in the region that participated in the preparations and during the civil society forum itself, on the 28th of October 2019 in Geneva.
Shadow reports
Shadow reports
UN Women has collected civil society’s shadow reports regarding the Beijing+25 process on their website called”views and voices from civil society”. While there is no formal process for shadow reports, they have been inviting civil society to submit reports voluntarily.
