26 July 1991

31st plenary meeting

1991/64. Summit on the Economic Advancement of Rural Women

The Economic and Social Council,

Recalling its resolution 1989/106 of 27 July 1989 on the effective mobilization and integration of women in development,

Recalling also General Assembly resolution 45/129 of 14 December 1990 on the Implementation of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women, in which the Assembly reaffirmed, inter alia,its determination to encourage the full participation of women in economic, social, cultural, civil and political affairs,

Recalling further General Assembly resolution 43/101 of 8 December 1988, in which, inter alia, the Assembly endorsed the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women and recalling, in particular, the importance given therein to giving women greater access to investment finance by removing legal and institutional restrictions, promoting women's savings and providing training in and assistance with financial management, savings and investment in order to increase their income,

Recognizing that, to eradicate poverty and eliminate hunger, it is essential to mobilize the potential of all population groups in the developing countries, in particular the large number of the rural poor,

Convinced that rural women's critical roles in food production, income generation, household maintenance and family welfare could be strengthened if institutions, States and communities took adequate measures to reduce the legal, financial and other constraints impeding women's effective access to productive and labour-saving resources and to support and enhance women's productive capacities and economic activities,

Bearing in mind the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, in particular article 14 thereof, in which it is stipulated, inter alia, that States Parties shall take into account the particular problems faced by rural women and the significant roles which rural women play in the economic survival of their families,

Welcoming the initiative taken by a group of First Ladies to convene a Summit on the Economic Advancement of Rural Women in Brussels on 25 February 1992 under the patronage of Her Majesty Queen Fabiola of Belgium,

Noting with interest the technical support being provided for the Summit process by the Regional Consultations in Asia, Africa, the Near East and Latin America organized by the International Fund for Agricultural Development,

1. Requests the International Fund for Agricultural Development to continue to provide all necessary input and other support for the Summit on the Economic Advancement of Rural Women in cooperation and coordination with other appropriate United Nations organizations;

2. Urges all States, appropriate organs, organizations and bodies of the United Nations system and relevant non-governmental organizations to participate in and support the Summit and to support its objective of developing a strategy for the economic advancement of rural women in the 1990s;

3. Expresses the hope that the Summit will give an impetus to the implementation of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women and thus help rural women to assume their role in the development process and share fully in its benefits, thereby providing an important input to the Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Peace and Development, to be held in 1995.