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    This excerpt has been made available in electronic format 
            by the International Co-operative Alliance
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                FOURTH WORLD CONFERENCE ON WOMEN
                     PLATFORM FOR ACTION
                  REFERENCES TO CO-OPERATIVES
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          This information is an excerpt from the

   Report of the Fourth World Conference on Women A/CONF.177/20 
                Annex II- Platform for Action

   (The Report has been posted online by the United Nations
    Department for Policy Coordination and Sustainable
    Development (DPCSD). The full text is available on the
    Internet through gopher.undp.org).

  References to co-operatives have been noted in capital letters.

                     -------------------
                     PLATFORM FOR ACTION
                     -------------------

         Chapter IV - STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES AND ACTIONS

Strategic objective A.1.  Review, adopt and maintain macro-
------------------------  economicpolicies and development
                          strategies that address the needs and
                          efforts of women in poverty
Actions to be taken

58.  By Governments:
...
     (n) Formulate and implement policies and programmes that
     enhance the access of women agricultural and fisheries
     producers (including subsistence farmers and producers,
     especially in rural areas) to financial, technical,
     extension and marketing services; provide access to and
     control of land, appropriate infrastructure and technology
     in order to increase women's incomes and promote household
     food security, especially in rural areas and, where
     appropriate, encourage the development of producer-owned,
     market-based COOPERATIVES;
...


Strategic objective F.2.  Facilitate women's equal access to
------------------------  resources, employment, markets and
                          trade
Actions to be taken

166. By Governments:
...
     (d) Promote and strengthen micro-enterprises, new small
     businesses, COOPERATIVE ENTERPRISES, expanded markets and
     other employment opportunities and, where appropriate,
     facilitate the transition from the informal to the formal
     sector, especially in rural areas;
...
     (f) Establish appropriate mechanisms and encourage
     intersectoral institutions that enable WOMEN'S COOPERATIVES
     to optimize access to necessary services;
...


Strategic objective F.4.  Strengthen women's economic capacity
------------------------  and commercial networks
Actions to be taken

175. By Governments:

     (a) Adopt policies that support business organizations,
     non-governmental organizations, COOPERATIVES, revolving
     loan funds, CREDIT UNIONS, grass-roots organizations,
     women's self-help groups and other groups in order to
     provide services to women entrepreneurs in rural and urban
     areas;
...
     (c) Adopt policies that create an enabling environment for
     women's self-help groups, workers' organizations and
     COOPERATIVES through  non-conventional forms of support and
     by recognizing the right to freedom of association and the
     right to organize;

176. By financial intermediaries, national training institutes,
CREDIT UNIONS, non-governmental organizations, women's
associations, professional organizations and the private sector,
as appropriate:
...
     (d) Strengthen the participation of women, including
     marginalized women, in production and marketing
     COOPERATIVES by providing marketing and financial support,
     especially in rural and remote areas;

     (e) Promote and strengthen women's micro-enterprises, new
     small businesses, COOPERATIVE ENTERPRISES, expanded markets
     and other employment opportunities and, where appropriate,
     facilitate the transition from the informal to the formal
     sector, in rural and urban areas;
...
     (j) Encourage community organizations and public
     authorities to establish loan pools for women
     entrepreneurs, drawing on successful small-scale
     COOPERATIVE models.
...