An outcome document adopted at the end of the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995, known as the Beijing Platform for Action, "continues to guide our action today" in the global efforts for the full realization of women's rights, a senior UN official said on Monday.

"The Beijing Platform for Action continues to guide our action today," Sha Zukang, UN under-secretary-general for economic and social affairs, said at the opening of the 54th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW).

"The Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing in 1995 was a global gathering of far-reaching significance," Sha said. "It brought about a new international commitment to the goals of equality, development and peace for all women, everywhere."

"The Platform for Action contains a key strategy to achieve goals," he said. "It is characterized by its two-fold approach: targeted action for women combined with the integration of gender equality perspectives in all sectoral policies and programs, often seen in now the ubiquitous action word 'mainstreaming.'"

"We have gained extensive experience and knowledge of what works and how to achieve results," Sha said. "These good practices must be scaled up, and applied consistently by member states, the United Nations system and other relevant stakeholders -- particularly for the benefit of women and girls."

The CSW opened the session on Monday morning at the UN Headquarters in New York to undertake a 15-year review of the Beijing Platform on March 1-12.

"The 15-year review is therefore an opportune time to take stock of progress, identify gaps and challenges and reflect on lessons learned," Sha said. "The review also provides the critical opportunity to reorient and focus global, national and local actions towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals and sustainable development."

"Such a re-orientation is crucial at a time when we continue to tackle the multiple crises of food insecurity, climate change and the fall-out of the global financial and economic crisis," he said. "Conditions for sustained growth remain fragile, and employment prospects remain bleak. All of these challenges have impacted on women and girls."

The CSW is a functional commission of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), dedicated exclusively to gender equality and advancement of women. It is the principal global policy-making body. Every year, representatives of member states gather at the United Nations Headquarters in New York to evaluate progress on gender equality, identify challenges, set global standards and formulate concrete policies to promote gender equality and advancement of women worldwide.

The Commission was established by the ECOSOC in June 1946 with the aim to prepare recommendations and reports to the Council on promoting women's rights in political, economic, civil, social and educational fields. The Commission also makes recommendations to the Council on urgent problems requiring immediate attention in the field of women's rights.

(Xinhua News Agency March 2, 2010)