Programme concerted international action for the advancement of women

UN General Assembly, Programme concerted international action for the advancement of women, A/RES/2716, UN General Assembly, 15 December 1970, https://www.refworld.org/legal/resolution/unga/1970/13217 [accessed 27 June 2026]
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XXV. RESOLUTIONS ADOPTED ON THE REPORTS OF THE THIRD COMMITTEE
2716. Programme concerted international action for the advancement of women

The General Assembly, Recalling its resolution 1777 (XVII) of 7 December 1962 initiating the study of a unified, long-term United Nations programme for the advancement of women, Recalling also the Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, adopted on 7 November 1967, and the Declaration on Social Progress and Development, adopted on 11 December 1969, Noting resolution IX of the International Conference on Human Rights held at Teheran in 1968,[1]1on measures to promote women's rights in the modem world, including a unified, long-term United Nations programme for the advancement of women, which established guidelines for such a programme, Noting also that, in accordance with General Assembly resolution 2571 (XXIV) of 13 December 1969 and with paragraph 79 of Assembly resolution 2626 (XXV) of 24 October 1970, concerning the International Development Strategy for the Second United Nations Development Decade, arrangements should be made to keep under systematic scrutiny the progress towards achieving the goals and objectives of the Decade, to identify shortfalls in their achievement and the policies that are not consistent with the attainment of those objectives and to recommend positive measures, including new goals and policies as needed, Expressing the hope that general and complete disarmament under effective international control will allow for the use of the resources released progressively for purposes of economic and social progress of all peoples, including the elaboration of programmes designed to advance the status of women, Believing that a programme of concerted international action, planned on a long-term basis, will advance the status of women and increase their effective participation in all sectors, Considering that the success of such a programme will require intensified action on the part of Member States, at the national and regional levels, as well as maximum use of the methods and techniques available through the United Nations system of organizations, Believing that an important step in the further development of such a programme would be the establishment of concrete objectives and minimum targets,

1. Recommends that the objectives and targets set forth in the annex to the present resolution should be achieved as widely as possible during the Second United Nations Development Decade;

2. Invites States Members of the United Nations or members of specialized agencies and all organs and agencies within the United Nations system to cooperate in achieving these objectives and targets, and hopes that adequate staff and resources will be made available for this purpose;

3. Recommends that concerted efforts should be made to increase the resources available for technical cooperation projects which advance the status of women and that consideration be given to allocating a specific percentage of the available funds for this purpose;

4. Requests the Secretary-General to make available to the Commission on the Status of Women if possible at its twenty-fourth session, information ‘on the extent to which women are participating in, and benefiting from, technical cooperation projects;

5. Recommends that conferences, seminars and similar meetings at the regional and international levels should be organized with the participation, wherever possible, of ministers, high government officials and specialists concerned with problems of development, and of representatives of non-governmental organizations concerned with this problem, to consider ways and means of promoting the status of women within the framework of overall development;

6. Draws attention to the important role that may also be played in this respect by the regional training and research centres for social development to be established pursuant to Economic and Social Council resolution 1406 (XLVI) of 5 June 1969;

7. Suggests that the continuous education of adults be encouraged with a view to changing in particular their attitude of mind towards the roles to be played by men and women in order to help them to assume their responsibilities in society;

8. Notes, notwithstanding the provisions of all the preceding paragraphs, that the family, as the cornerstone of society, must be protected.

1930th plenary meeting,
15 December 1970.

ANNEX

I. GENERAL OBJECTIVES

1. The ratification of, or accession to, the relevant international conventions relating to the status of women.

2. The enactment of legislation to bring national laws into conformity with international instruments relating to the status of women, including in particular the Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women.

3. The taking of effective legal and other measures to ensure the full implementation of these instruments.

4. The development of effective large-scale educational and informational programmes using all mass media and other available means to make all sectors of the population in rural as well as urban areas fully aware of the norms established by the United Nations and the specialized agencies in the conventions, recommendations, declarations and resolutions adopted under their auspices, and to educate public opinion and enlist its support for all measures aimed at achieving the realization of the standards set forth.

5. The assessment and evaluation of the contribution of women to the various economic and social sectors in relation to the country's overall development plans and programmes, with a view to establishing specific objectives and minimum targets which might realistically be achieved by 1980 to increase the effective contribution of women to the various sectors.

6. The study of the positive and negative effects of scientific and technological change on the status of women with a view to ensuring continuous progress, especially as regards the education and training as well as the living conditions and employment of women.

7. The elaboration of short-term and long-term programmes to achieve these specific objectives and minimum targets, where possible within the framework of overall national development plans or programmes, and the provision of adequate funds for programmes which advance the status of women.

8. The establishment of machinery and procedures to make possible the continuous review and evaluation of women's integration into all sectors of economic and social life and their contribution to development.

9. The full utilization of the desire and readiness of women to devote their energies, talents and abilities to the benefit of society.

II. MINIMUM TARGETS TO BE ACHIEVED DURING THE SECOND UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT DECADE

A. Education

1. The progressive elimination of illiteracy, ensuring equality in literacy between the sexes, especially among the younger generation.

2. Equal access of boys and girls to education at the primary and secondary levels and at educational institutions of all types, including universities and vocational, technical and professional schools.

3. Decisive progress in achieving free and compulsory education at the primary level and in achieving free education at all levels.

4. The establishment of the same choice of curricula for boys and girls, the same examinations, equally qualified teaching staff, and the same quality of school premises and equipment, whether the institutions are coeducational or not, and equal opportunities to receive scholarships and grants.

5. The achievement of equality in the percentage of boys and girls receiving primary education and of a substantial increase in the number of girls at all educational levels, in particular in the field of technical and professional education.

6. The establishment of educational policies that take account of employment needs and opportunities and of scientific and technological change.

B. Training and employment

1. Provision of the same vocational advice and guidance to members of both sexes.

2. Equal access of girls and women to vocational training and retraining at all levels, with a view to achieving their full participation in the economic and social life of their countries.

3. Universal acceptance of the principle of equal pay for equal work and the adoption of effective measures to implement it.

4, Full acceptance of the policy of nondiscrimination in relation to the employment and treatment of women, and measures to give effect to that policy on a progressive basis.

5. A substantial increase in the numbers of qualified women employed in skilled and technical work, and at all higher levels of economic life and in posts of responsibility.

6. A substantial increase in the opportunities for involvement of women in all facets of agricultural development and agricultural services.

C. Health and maternity protection

1. The progressive extension of measures to ensure maternity protection, with a view to ensuring paid maternity leave with the guarantee of returning to former or equivalent employment.

2. The development and extension of adequate child care and other facilities to assist parents with family responsibilities.

3. The adoption of measures for the creation and development of a wide network of special medical establishments for the protection of the health of the mother and child.

4. Making available to all persons who so desire the necessary information and advice to enable them to decide freely and responsibly on the number and spacing of their children and to prepare them for responsible parenthood, including information on the ways in which women can benefit from family planning. Such information and advice should be based on valid and proven scientific expertise, with due regard to the risks that may be involved.

D. Administration and public life

1. A substantial increase in the number of women participating in public and government life at the local, national and international levels. Special attention might be paid to training women for such participation, especially in middle-level and higher posts.

2. A substantial increase in the number of qualified women holding responsible posts at the executive and policymaking levels, including those related to overall development planning.


[1] Final Act of the International Conference on Human Rights (United Nations publication, Sales No.: E.68.XIV.2), P. 10.
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