The conference marked the first time that lesbian rights were introduced in a UN official meeting and the turning-point for violence against women to emerge from being a hidden topic into one which needed to be addressed.
The General Assembly adopted a World Plan of Action with recommended targets for governments to integrate women's equality, development and participation in peace initiatives.
The mid-point meeting was held in Copenhagen,[1] adding sections to the revised Programme of Action devoted to ensuring women equal access to education, employment opportunities, and adequate health care.
[3][4] The geopolitical backdrop entering into the third conference was still contentious with a worldwide debt crisis soaring in Africa and Latin America, protectionist policies under Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan causing widespread uncertainty, stagnation of the USSR, the arms race build up, and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
[9] After opening remarks by Javier Pérez de Cuéllar, Secretary-General of the United Nations,[16] Kenyan President Daniel arap Moi welcomed participants, expressing his hope that the conference would prove successful and that the objectives for women would not be obscured by distractions.
Inadequate education and health facilities, combined with high birth rates and customs or laws that allowed women to control their own fertility were continuing issues.
Programs directed at agriculture, economics, children, development, housing, health, technology and many others were examined and overall, improvement had been made in the inclusion of women's access.
[24] It was noted that for the first time, lesbian rights were introduced at an official UN conference by the Dutch delegate, Annelien Kappeyne van de Coppello.
[25][26] The first committee, under the chair Cecilia López of Colombia, with vice-chairs, Kulsum Saifullah of Pakistan, Olimpia Solomonescu of Romania, and Laetitia van den Assum of the Netherlands, with Rapporteur Diaroumeye Gany of Niger,[9] discussed the first three chapters of the draft Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women.
[27] The second committee, under the chair Rosario Manalo of the Philippines, with vice-chairs, Dame Billie Miller of Barbados, Konjit SineGiorgis of Ethiopia, and Eva Szilagyi of Hungary, with Rapporteur Helen Ware of Australia,[9] discussed the remaining chapters of the Strategies.
[33] Among prominent attendees were: Charlotte Bunch, a US lesbian activist ;[33] Betty Friedan, founder of the National Organization for Women (NOW);[35] Eddah Gachukia head of the Kenyan NGO committee;[36] and others.
Sheila Dikshit, Member of the Parliament, India; Ms. Soepardjo Roestam, wife of the Prime Minister of Indonesia and leader of the Family Welfare Service; Ms. Veronica Villavicencio, of the Philippines; H.R.H Khunying (Lady) A. Meesook, Thailand; Lt. Col. Christine Deborah, Minister of Natural Resources, Ghana (a graduate of Sandhurst, UK); Ms. Eva Szilagyi, Hungary; Fiona McConnell, British Foreign Ministry; Aira Kalela, Environment/Foreign Affairs Ministry, Finland; the notable Madame Simone Weil, France; the Hon.
[7] The document endorsed new strategies moving to the year 2000 and replaced the words Apartheid and Zionism with the more general term racism, to maintain the focus on women rather than polarizing issues.