International Women's Day Theme...

"Gender Equality Beyond 2005:Building a More Secure Future"

The year 2005 is critical for energizing efforts to put gender equality at the top of the international peace and development agenda. It is a time for reviewing the progress that has been made during the last ten years in putting into practice the Beijing Platform for Action, a groundbreaking framework for achieving equality between women and men. It is also the year when the General Assembly holds a critical summit to evaluate headway in reaching the goals and commitments of major conferences in the 1990s and of the Millennium Declaration.

In recognition of this pivotal year, the theme for International Women's Day 8 March 2005 is Gender Equality Beyond 2005: Building a More Secure Future. The theme recognizes the close relationship between gender equality, security and development and stresses reducing poverty, protecting human rights and investing in sustainable development as keys to empowering women. The theme emphasizes that pursuing the goal of gender equality is integral to building a more secure and sustainable future.

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