Uncertainty surrounds the holding of a 5th United Nations World Conference on Women (WCW) or Beijing +10 in 2005. With barely two years before 2005, it is still not known if a high level world conference on women will be held or not. The UN is not yet committed to having a 2005 WCW, whilst others are questioning the relevance of such a conference.

There are many facets to this debate that is gaining momentum. Gender activists, generally from the north, insist that the 5th WCW in 2005 is crucially important for keeping up the global momentum and continuation of the process for empowerment of women, and feel that the failure to hold such a conference will be a strong contradiction to a commitment made at the June 2000 United Nations General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) on Beijing +5.

Governments unanimously agreed ". . . to regularly assess further implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action with the view to bringing together all parties involved in 2005 to assess progress and consider new initiatives, as appropriate, 10 years after the adoption of the Beijing PFA and 20 years after the adoption of the Nairobi Forward-Looking Strategies" at the UNGASS on Beijing +5.

Proponents for a 2005 WCW insist that failure to hold such a meeting will be a determinant benchmark in the march towards equality and equity between the two halves of the world's population. It is argued that a global momentum for empowerment of women has been achieved in the 25 years since the First World Conference on Women in 1975 and that the momentum should be kept live as the process is vital for further advancement of the status of women.

Those questioning the relevance of a Beijing +10 are arguing that it is a time-consuming and an expensive exercise. They maintain that time and resources to be spent at such a forum should be dedicated to implementation of the Beijing declaration and Platform for Action (BPFA).

There are also fears surrounding the "re-opening" of the BPFA. The fear of a backlash and the risk of loosing what was gained at earlier UN women’s conferences seems greater, to others, than the chance of influencing global players with a gender agenda.

Most gender activists however, are questioning why reservations against big summits and world meetings seem to be restricted to meetings dedicated to women’s and gender issues, given the fact that the Social Summit in 2000 in Geneva (Copenhagen+5) was a fairly big event which also contained a big NGO Forum and that the World Summit on Sustainable Development (Rio+10) was a huge affair with the biggest NGO representation ever.

“A new meeting with the flair of former women’s conferences is required to combat the backlash, and to make governments aware of their obligation to turn words into action”, stated the NGO Women's Caucus meeting during the ECOSOC Substantive Session of 2001 in Geneva, in its appeal for a 2005 WCW.

The central aim of a 2005 WCW would be to serve as an appraisal of the progress made in the implementation of the Beijing PFA and the Outcome Document of the UNGASS on Beijing + 5, as well as work out strategies for the future, in particular for new issues, some of which have become virulent since 1995.

Advocates for a 2005 WCW are also suggesting new ways to ensure the conference’s central aim is achieved. For instance, there are suggestions to integrate some important principles based on the insights and experiences of former conferences. Among such principles is that the review process should be taken care of by a group of international experts or by a government committee, and that the evaluation of achievements and obstacles should not be a matter of negotiations.

Other suggestions are that the conference can:

• focus on the implementation of the PFA;
• be another major meeting on women’s empowerment convened by the UN which does not lose the connection with the historical background, but nevertheless works out a new agenda linked to the requirements of the present and the future; or
• be a high-level, adequately resourced UN- conference, a global summit, a special session of the General Assembly or the assessment could be processed within the regular functions of the UN decision making organs.

While in the women’s movements debates on the pros and cons of having an adequately resourced, high-level 5th WCW are swelling, the possibility of convening regional meetings instead, has also apparently surfaced.

Another perspective that seems to be emerging is that “ Yes, we want to have a conference - but not at this very moment, it should be postponed until better global conditions for women are in place”. This position implies that governments should be urged to affirm and plan for a 5th WCW that should be convened only by the end of the decade.

Proponents for a delayed 5th WCW argue that women's organizations could benefit from the time to outline a clear agenda for assessment and moving forward, such as how to best utilize such an event.

In order to facilitate the ongoing discussion process especially within the Southern African region, the GAD Exchange will dedicate space for views from the SADC region on issues surrounding the 5th UN WCW.