But Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged member states not to send delegations to New York, and to cancel debates and other events surrounding the meeting - the UN's second-largest each year after the General Assembly. "Centuries of discrimination, deep-rooted patriarchy and misogyny have created a yawning gender power gap in our economies, our political systems and our corporations," said Guterres as the meeting began. "This simply has to change." he said. The adopted text follows the main lines of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action of 1995, which sought to promote women's emancipation and advancement around the world.

France plans to host a follow-up conference in July to be titled "Beijing+25" aimed at helping protect and ensure the gains women have made over the past quarter-century.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2020