The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action’s Continuing Guidance for the Protection of Girls Before, During and After Armed Conflict

Abstract

In 2025, the global community celebrated the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. The document has been called "the world's most comprehensive, visionary plan ever created to achieve the equal rights of ALL women and girls." It was adopted by the consensus of 189 governments in 1005. The Declaration contains 36 basic points, and the Platform for Action focuses on 12 critical areas of concern. Five of these crtical areas are discussed here - education and training; violence; armed conflict; human rights; and the girl child. After a brief discussion of the current situation of children in armed conflict, those five concerns are discussed in relation to the work of the Universities Network for the Protection of Children in Armed Conflict, an academic Non-Governmental Organization that was formed in Italy in 2020. The final section discusses whether, after more than 30 years, important guidance is still provided by the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.