United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development, and Peace (Beijing, China: September 1995)

This note explores the background to the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (PFA), discussing prior UN documents and conventions relating to women's rights. The author argues that the same weakness exists for these latest conventions as did past ones: the focus of international law is States while human rights is concerned with individuals. The Fourth World Conference did not change this, therefore the Beijing Declaration and the Platform will never meet the standard which would elevate them to customary international law.