Amman Principles

Background and Rationale

In 1995, the fourth United Nations Conference was held and one of its critical outcomes was the adoption of the Beijing Platform for Action for Equality, Development, and Peace. The Platform emphasized 12 key areas where immediate action was needed to move ahead with a systematic gender equality agenda. It also paved the way for countries that signed the Beijing Declaration to ensure fundamental change is real for all women and girls around the world. As a result of the Beijing Platform for Action, national mechanisms for women came to bridge the gap between governmental policies and civil societies for women’s rights. However, these national mechanisms, also known as National Women’s Machineries, face a number of challenges and obstacles due to complexities and instabilities in their national contexts as well as poor states’ commitment to gender equality.

An initiative was thus created by Solidarity is Global Institute – Jordan (SIGI) in collaboration with Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung’s Political Feminism Programme in the MENA region to advance national mechanisms for gender equality and empowerment of women and girls. A research and consultation process resulted in the co-creation of the Amman Principles, a set of 9 fundamental principles, and an accreditation framework that seek to enhance the effectiveness of national mechanisms for gender equality around the world and equip them with the necessary powers and means to achieve their goals. The Amman Principles fully integrate themes of the Commission for Status of Women (CSW) into national mechanisms to ensure optimal gender equality advocacy within challenging contexts including those of crises such as climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Target groups

Academic personnel, organizations interested in furthering the principles, feminist organizations.

Timeframe

The Amman Principles are an ongoing series of webinars with more events coming soon. Project is likely to continue until March 2023.