In 1995, the Third UN World Conference on Women was held in Beijing bringing together thousands of government and NGO representatives to examine issues of greatest relevance to the world's women.

Ultimately, The Beijing Platform for Action, signed by more than 180 governments, furthered the progress made at ICPD. It specified that: "The human rights of women include their right to have control over, and decide freely and responsibly on matters related to their sexuality, including sexual and reproductive health, free of coercion, discrimination and violence".

Delegates strengthened the ICPD language on abortion, recognising that unsafe abortions threaten the lives of a large number of women, especially the poorest and youngest. Safe and effective reproductive health measures were acknowledged to reduce death and injury from unsafe abortion.

Beijing+5
The UN General Assembly held a review of progress made since then called Beijing+5 in June 2000 in New York and gains were made there in terms of reaffirming and extending governments' responsibility to implement the Platform for Action.

The conference identified a need for more male involvement in reproductive health and strong statements were made in the areas of marital rape, forced marriages, sexual exploitation and trafficking of women. However, conservative forces ensured little progress was made in the areas of sexual and reproductive health including abortion and sexual orientation.