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Gender Equality - Chronology, Selected Key Dates

1976	CIDA adopts its first policy guidelines on Women in Development (WID).
1981	Canada ratifies the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDA W).
1982	The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is adopted; the Charter includes key equality provisions that prohibit iscrimination based on sex.
1984	CIDA establishes a Women in Development Directorate as well as a Policy on Women in Development (WID).
1986	CIDA launches a five-year WID Plan of Action.
1993	Canada participates in the World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna, Austria, and endorses the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, which recognizes that "women's rights are human rights." Evaluation of CIDA's 1984 WID Policy and activities is completed.
1994	WID and Gender Equity Division established in CIDA's Policy Branch.
1995	Canada participates in the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, China, and joins consensus in adopting Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. CIDA updates its 1984 WID Policy, and expands it to include the concept of gender equity (1995 Policy on Women in Development and Gender Equity).
1999	CIDA launches its Policy on Gender Equality, supporting the achievement of equality between women and men to ensure sustainable development in the 21st century.
2000	The United Nations Millennium Declaration establishes gender equality and women's empowerment as the third of eight Millennium Development Goals. Canada's Federal Plan for Gender Equality (2000-2005) is developed as a strategy to accelerate implementation of gender equality objectives.
2002	Canada ratifies the UN Optional Protocol to CEDA W, recognizing that the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women may receive and consider complaints from individuals or groups under CEDA W.
2005	CIDA launches its Framework for Assessing Gender Equality Results-the first tool in any OECD country to assess results for a crosscutting theme.
2008	Evaluation of CIDA's Implementation of its 1999 Policy on Gender Equality and a management response to its recommendations are completed. United Nations General Assembly holds a special session on the Millennium Development Goals (MDG s). An MDG 3 Campaign is organized to highlight the need for progress on MDG 3. Canada appeared before the UN Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDA W) to discuss its implementation of its human rights obligations under CEDA W, based on Canada's combined sixth and seventh periodic reports.
2010	In response to the Evaluation of CIDA's Implementation of its 1999 Policy on Gender Equality, CIDA launches its Gender equality Action Plan (2010-2013)

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