Bishkek, 6 June 2024 - The Ministry of Labour, Social Security and Migration of the Kyrgyz Republic with the support of the United Nations Development Programme, UN Women, and the United Nations Children's Fund held consultations for the preparation of the Comprehensive Review and Assessment of Progress Made in the Implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action in the Kyrgyz Republic, as well as the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325.

As Gulmira Okoyeva, Head of the Department for Preparation of Decisions on Gender Policy and Protection from Family Violence of the Ministry of Labour, Social Security and Migration of the Kyrgyz Republic, noted: ‘Today we held national consultations on the preparation of a comprehensive review and assessment of the progress made in the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action by the Kyrgyz Republic with the mandatory participation of government bodies, representatives of civil society and development partners. We discussed our experience in improving the status of women and girls over the past 5 years and are prioritizing the next five years to support women's participation in politics, economy, and social development in our country."

The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, adopted in 1995 at the Fourth World Conference on Women, remain the founding documents for achieving gender equality and women's empowerment. Thirty years later, these consultations provide a unique opportunity to assess progress and identify remaining challenges and problems.

UN Security Council Resolution 1325, adopted in 2000, emphasizes the importance of women's participation in conflict prevention and resolution, as well as in peacebuilding and reconstruction. The consultations will examine how the Kyrgyz Republic is incorporating the provisions of this resolution into national strategies and programs.

At the UN gender equality is a fundamental human right and essential for a peaceful, prosperous, and sustainable world. By facilitating these dialogues, we ensure that the voices of women and girls are heard and prioritized in national policies. UNDP is committed to promoting inclusive development and enhancing women's participation in all areas of life. Supporting the Kyrgyz Government's implementation of the national strategy on gender equality by 2030, we strive for a future where gender equality benefits everyone in Kyrgyzstan.

The results of the consultation will provide a meaningful contribution to the Beijing+30 country review report, and will give impetus to strengthen actions to advance gender equality and implementation of the 2030 Agenda and other global commitments, such as those under Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) and subsequent resolutions on women, peace and security; the Addis Ababa Action Agenda of the Third International Conference on Financing for Development (2015); and the Paris Agreement on Change.

The consultations included discussions on topics in three areas: 

• inclusive development, shared prosperity and decent work, poverty eradication, social protection, and social services 
• freedom from violence, prejudice, and stereotypes.  Participation, ownership, and gender-sensitive institutions 
• peaceful and inclusive communities. Protecting, defending, and restoring the environment

Under the Inclusive Development pillar, achievements that have impacted the status of women have been identified, including increases in state benefits, maternity benefits, development of social services for vulnerable groups, children, and families in difficult situations, support for women's entrepreneurship, access to markets and business development activities, and others. At the same time, difficulties and problems in this area included outdated approaches to business development among low-income families with children and discrimination against low-income families with children. The need to focus on developing social protection programs for women and girls, considering poor women's access to decent work through active labour market policies and supporting women's entrepreneurship, market access, and business development activities was noted.

Anara Niyazova, an expert on promoting gender equality said: "Today we looked at the impact of women's status and gender equality in the context of climate change. We noted the disproportionate burden of women's unpaid care and domestic labor, women farmers will lack time to acquire and apply climate-resilient agricultural knowledge, information, and skills. The consultations will enable partners to develop mechanisms to reduce structural inequalities in the sector, and strengthen capacity building of women in green technologies, sustainable environmental management, and water resources management".

Natalia Nikitenko noted: ‘This year a country review is being prepared, which includes broad consultations with all partners to provide objective achievements, assess challenges and risks. The country review should be as realistic as possible. This review will be an important analysis for us and a guide to further improvement in action." 

The consultation on the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 analyzed the action plans and the necessary actions to implement the action plan at national and local levels.  

The event included group work aimed at discussing achievements and challenges, public policies for gender equality, as well as analyzing information and data on the topic of gender equality. At the end of the event, an analysis of the implementation of the Action Plan for the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 will be conducted, which will form the basis for further actions and strategies to strengthen gender equality and the implementation of international commitments of the Kyrgyz Republic.