25 years in review of the Beijing Platform for Action: Contributions of the Platform of independent expert mechanisms on the elimination of discrimination and violence against women (EDVAW Platform) towards its implementation

Since the Fourth World Conference on Women, in 1995, States, civil society, international organisations and other stakeholders have made significant efforts in the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. Independent expert mechanisms, at the UN and regional levels, have played an important part in that, providing guidance to States and relevant actors and monitoring the situation of women's rights worldwide. The newly released publication of the EDVAW Platform aims to shed light to their contribution, as well as provide a unified response to the many challenges that remain for the full enjoyment of women's right to a life free from discrimination and violence.

Since the Beijing Conference, the implementation of the Platform for Action has been assessed by the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) each year and through a review process carried out every five years, reaffirming States' commitment to its full implementation. In 2020, Member States will undertake the 25-year assessment of the BPA; to contribute to that effort, the mechanisms of the EDVAW Platform have also undertaken a review of this period, making visible the important role of international and regional mechanisms in the results achieved.

There are seven UN and regional independent women's human rights expert mechanisms mandated to address discrimination and gender based violence against women and girls. All of these mechanisms are entrusted with monitoring and supporting the implementation of States' commitments under the global and regional women's human rights frameworks, including the Beijing Platform of Action, the 2030 Agenda, and UN and regional instruments on women's rights.

The expert mechanisms support and complement each other in these efforts for implementation through a dynamic and complex relationship, under the Platform of independent expert mechanisms on discrimination and violence against women - EDVAW Platform. The Platform gathers the following UN and regional mechanisms: UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women (SRVAW), UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), UN Working Group on discrimination against women and girls (WGDAW), Committee of Experts of the Follow-up Mechanism to the Belém do Pará Convention (MESECVI), African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Women in Africa (A-SRWHR), Inter-American Commission on Human Rights Rapporteur on the Rights of Women (IA-RWHR).

Read the publication.

Prepared by:
 Dubravka Šimonović
UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences (UN SRVAW)
Hilary Gbedemah
Chair of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW)
Meskerem Geset Techane
Chair of the UN Working Group on Discrimination Against Women and Girls (UN WGDAW)
Tatiana Rein
Chair of the Committee of Experts of the Follow-up Mechanism to the Belém do Pará Convention (MESECVI)
Marceline Naudi
Chair of the Council of Europe Group of Experts on Action against Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (GREVIO)
Lucy Asuagbor
African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights' Special Rapporteur on the rights of women in Africa (A-SRWHR)
Margarette May Macaulay
Rapporteur on the Rights of Women of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IA-RWH