Four documents, agreed to by UN member states, are central guides for UNIFEM efforts:
• The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the women’s bill of rights, is a cornerstone of all UNIFEM programmes. One hundred seventy three countries are parties to the Convention.
• The Beijing Platform for Action (PFA), adopted by governments at the 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women, was reaffirmed and strengthened in 2000 during the global five-year review of progress organized by the UN.
• UN Security Council resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security recognized that war impacts women differently, and reaffirmed the need to increase their role in decision making with regard to conflict prevention and resolution.
• Millennium Declaration and Millennium Development Goal(MDGs) outline a set of time-bound and measurable goals and targets to promote gender equality and to combat poverty, hunger, disease, illiteracy and environmental degradation by 2015.