Beijing+30 Regional Review Meeting “Reviewing 30 Years of Beijing Commitments to Accelerate Gender Equality in the UNECE Region”

UNECE and the UN Women Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia are convening an interministerial Beijing+30 Regional Review Meeting. Ministers, senior officials and other stakeholders from across the UNECE region will assess progress and challenges in achieving gender equality, identifying priority actions and innovative solutions to accelerate the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action and the 2030 Agenda. Full details ▼

Event type:

Start date: 21 October 2024 | Start time: 10:00 UTC +00:00

End date: 22 October 2024 | End time: 18:00 UTC +00:00

Location: Room XVII, Building E, Palais des Nations, Geneva, Switzerland

Event description

Date: 21 - 22 October 2024

The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and UN Women Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia (ECARO) are organizing the Beijing+30 Regional Review Meeting, titled “Reviewing 30 years of Beijing Commitments to Accelerate Gender Equality in the UNECE Region,” on October 21-22, 2024, in Geneva, Switzerland.

The interministerial meeting aims to reinvigorate political commitment to advance gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls in the UNECE region and build regional consensus on priority actions to accelerate the implementation of commitments made in the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. It will bring together ministers, senior officials and representatives from relevant ministries, UN Nations entities, regional institutions and organizations, civil society organizations, youth organizations, academia, independent experts and other relevant stakeholders from across the UNECE region.

The objectives of the conference are to:

Assess progress in implementing the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action in the ECE region over the past five years.
Review current and emerging challenges, good practices, lessons learned, and priority actions required to achieve gender equality and the empowerment of women, contributing towards the full realization of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including SDG 5 on gender equality and all other SDGs.
Provide a platform for Member States and stakeholders to explore policy options and strategies, including innovative approaches and good practices, toward realizing gender equality and the empowerment of women.
Build regional consensus on priority actions to accelerate the implementation of commitments made in the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.
Consolidate regional inputs for the 69^th session of the Commission on the Status of Women, which will focus on the review and appraisal of the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and the outcomes of the 23rd special session of the General Assembly.

High-level roundtables will deliberate on priorities that concern gender equality and the empowerment of women in the UNECE region, including: (i) Key trends in gender equality dynamics; (ii) Accelerating women’s economic empowerment: the path to peaceful, just and inclusive societies; (iii) Women in leadership and their full and equal participation in decision-making; (iv)Ending violence against women and girls; (v) Leveraging financing for gender equality; (vi) Closing the gender gap: effective policies to deliver on SDGs in the ECE region. See the ‘Beijing+30 in Europe and Central Asia’ In Focus page for more information.

Agenda

Room XVII, Building E, Palais des Nations

Day 1: Monday, 21 October
9:00 – 10:00	SIDE EVENT Advancing economic empowerment of rural women through government digital transformation Organizers: Permanent Mission of Azerbaijan. Room XXIV, Palais des Nations
9:30 - 10:00	Welcome coffee and networking
10:00 – 10:45	Item 1: Opening of the meeting Ms. Tatiana Molcean, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Secretary of UNECE Ms. Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda, UN Women Deputy Executive Director for Normative Support, UN System Coordination and Programme Results Mr. Martin Chungong, Secretary General of the Inter-Parliamentary Union and Chair of the International Gender Champions Global Board Item 2: Adoption of the agenda and organization of work Item 3: Election of chairpersons Co-chair nominee: Ms. Lyazzat Kaltayeva, Advisor to the Speaker of the Senate of the Parliament, Republic of Kazakhstan Co-chair nominee: Mr. Marcos Gómez Martínez, Ambassador and Permanent Representative, Spain
	Group photo
10:45 – 12:45	Item 4: Key trends on gender equality across the ECE Region General Segment Statements by Member States on regional progress and challenges towards implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action
12:45 – 13:00	Statements by civil society on regional progress and challenges towards implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action
13:00 – 14:00	LUNCH BREAK
14:00 – 15:00	SIDE EVENT Ensuring gender equality in the country during recovery from the armed aggression Organizers: Permanent Mission of Ukraine, in cooperation with the Government of Germany, Government of the United Kingdom and UN Women Ukraine. Room XXIV, Palais des Nations
15:00 – 16:30	Item 5: Accelerating women's economic empowerment: The path to peaceful, just, and inclusive societies Moderator: Ms. Beate Andrees, ILO Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia Panellists: Ms. Ekin Deligöz, Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth, Germany Ms. Gulnora Rakhimova, Deputy Minister of Economy and Finance, Republic of Uzbekistan Ms. Roya Garayeva, Chair of the Women's Committee of the Pan European Regional Council of the ITUC Ms. Asel Kubanychbekova, Founder and Member of the Board of the Women's Entrepreneurship Development Foundation, Kyrgyz Republic Open discussion with Member States and other participants
16:30 - 18:00	Item 6: Women in leadership and their full and equal participation in decision-making in the ECE region Moderator: Dr. Nicole Ameline, Vice-Chair, United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) Panellists: Ms. Aina Calvo Sastre, State Secretary for Equality and for the Eradication of Violence against Women, Spain Ms. Isabelle Rome, Ambassador at Large for Human Rights, France Dr. Tea Jaliashvili, ODIHR Director's Alternate/First Deputy Director Ms. Mary Collins, Secretary General European Women's Lobby Ms. Sarah Childs, Personal Chair of Politics and Gender, University of Edinburgh Ms. Nabeelah Shabbir, Freelance journalist, and Deputy Director of Research International Center for Journalists Open discussion with Member States and other participants
18:15 - 20:00	Reception offered by the Permanent Mission of Switzerland at the United Nations Office in Geneva

Day 2: Tuesday, 22 October
9:00 – 10:00	SIDE EVENT Women's Leadership: Shaping Justice Systems Organizers: IDLO in cooperation with Governments of Portugal, Spain, United States, Kingdom of the Netherlands, GQUAL Campaign, Generation Equality Action Coalition on Feminist Movements and Leadership, Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and OHCHR. Room XXIV, Palais des Nations
9:30 - 10:00	Welcome coffee and networking
10:00 – 11:30	Item 7: Ending violence against women and girls in the ECE region Moderator: Ms. Pille Tsopp-Pagan, Member of GREVIO, Council of Europe Panellists: Ms. Katarzyna Kotula, Minister for Equality, Republic of Poland Ms. Ana Racu, Deputy Head of the Parliamentary Commission on National Security, Defense, and Public Order, Republic of Moldova Ms. Colette Fry, Director of the Geneva Office for the Promotion of Equality and the Prevention of Violence, Switzerland Dr. Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe Ms. Branislava Arađan, Project and Youth Ambassador Coordinator, WAVE Network Ms. Xeniya Udod, Executive Director, FemAgora Central Asian Feminist Organization, Communications and Advocacy Lead, and Member of the UN Women ECA Beijing+30 Civil Society Steering Committee Open discussion with Member States and other participants
11:30 – 13:00	Item 8: Leveraging financing for gender equality in the ECE region Moderator: Ms. Anna Collins-Falk, International Coordinator and Senior Advisor at the Swedish Gender Equality Agency Panellists: Dr. Iryna Postolovska, Deputy Minister of Social Policy, Ukraine Mr. Arthur Erken, IOM Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia Ms. Diane Elson, Emeritus Professor, University of Essex, and Former Member of the UN Committee for Development Policy Ms. Selma Prodanovic, Vice President and Chair of the Gender Committee of European Business Angel Network (EBAN) Ms. Marija Savovska, Executive Director at Association for Advancement of Gender Equality Akcija Zdruzenska, Republic of North Macedonia Open discussion with Member States and other participants
13:00 – 14:00	LUNCH BREAK
13:00 – 14:00	SIDE EVENT 2+2=5: the propulsion potential of transnational peer networks in reversing gender backsliding Organizers: OSCE/ODIHR. Room XXIV, Palais des Nations
14:00 – 15:00	Advancing women’s rights at the workplace in a changing world of work Organizers: Permanent Mission of Belgium in cooperation with the Permanent Missions of Canada and Montenegro and ILO. *Room XXIV, Palais des Nations*
15:00 - 16:30	Item 9: Closing the gender gap: Effective policies to deliver on SDGs in the ECE region Moderator: Ms. Ruth Zugman Do Coutto, Head, Climate Mitigation Branch, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Panellists: Ms. Ulla Saar, Deputy Secretary-General of Labour, Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications, Estonia Ms. Katri Viinikka, Ambassador for Gender Equality, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Finland Ms. Stéphanie Lachat, Co-Director of the Federal Bureau for Equality between Women and Men, Switzerland Ms. Leyla Hasanova, COP29 Presidency Youth Climate Champion Chairperson, NAM Youth Organization, Azerbaijan Mr. Nabil Gangi, FAO Deputy Regional Representative for Europe and Central Asia Ms. Caitlin Kraft-Buchman, CEO and Founder of Women at the Table, Switzerland Open discussion with Member States and other participants
16:30 - 18:00	Item 10: Pathways to accelerate progress in implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and its contribution towards gender equality halfway to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Moderator: Ms. Belén Sanz Luque, UN Women Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia Panellists: Dr. Geeta Rao Gupta, Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues, U.S. Department of State Ms. Sidsel Bleken, Ambassador for Women’s Rights and Gender Equality, Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Dr. Kire Ilioski, Ambassador and Director for Multilateral Relations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of the Republic of North Macedonia Ms. Florence Bauer, UNFPA Regional Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia Mr. Mark Cassayre, IDLO Permanent Observer to the United Nations in Geneva Ms. Carola Gunnarson, Special Envoy for Freedom, Solidarity, and the Fight Against Violence Targeting Local Political Leaders. United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) Documentary film premiere: "Her Stories" Co-Chairs' summary and closure of the meeting

Relevant information:

Item 1

Biographies of speakers

Item 3

Biographies of chairpersons

Item 5

Concept note: Accelerating women’s economic empowerment: The path to peaceful, just and inclusive societies

Biographies of moderator and panellists

Item 6

Concept note: Women in leadership and their full and equal participation in decision-making in the UNECE region

Biographies of moderator and panellists

Item 7

Concept note: Ending violence against women and girls in the UNECE region

Biographies of moderator and panellists

Item 8

Concept note: Leveraging financing for gender equality in the UNECE region

Biographies of moderator and panellists

Item 9

Concept note: Closing the gender gap: Effective policies to deliver on SDGs in the UNECE region

Biographies of moderator and panellists

Item 10

Biographies of moderator and panellists

Online Side Events

	Financial literacy for women and girls	Monday 21 October 8:45 – 9:45
	Empowering women in education: Leadership & innovation	Monday, 21 October 8:45 – 9:45
	Quality education begins with the heart of an educator	Monday, 21 October 8:45 – 9:45
	Holding the line: Feminist action for freedom and rights	Monday, 21 October 8:45 – 9:45
	Villages of tomorrow (VoT) embraces gender equality through digital transformation	Monday, 21 October 13.30 -14.45
	Voices of resilience: Afghan girls' journey through struggle and survival	Monday, 21 October 13.30 -14.45
	Addressing work and descent-based discrimination against women: A prerequisite to accelerate the implementation of the Beijing Declaration	Monday, 21 October 13.30 -14.45
	Fostering Resilience: Tackling Gender-Based Violence in the Digital Realm	Tuesday, 22 October 9.00 - 10.00
	Future leaders: Empowering the next generation	Tuesday, 22 October 13.30 -14.45
	Women networks. The power of disrupting the statu quo	Tuesday, 22 October 13.30 -14.45
	Empowering women in Russia: Closing the gender gap for SDGs	Tuesday, 22 October 13.30 -14.45
	Investing in equality: Closing the funding gap for older women	Tuesday, 22 October 13.30 -14.45
	Promising practices in gender mainstreaming in agriculture	Tuesday, 22 October 13.30 -14.45