Formerly, the Council of Ministers had approved a National Plan of Action to Ensure Gender Equality for 2001-2005 by the Decision No. 670 of 8 May 2001. This marked the government’s second national initiative to implement the Beijing Platform for Action. According to the International Labor Organization, the focus of the second plan is on the examination of gender-specific legislation and legislative drafts, prioritizing the following areas: 1) Women and Human Rights; 2) Women and Economy: Societal Protection of Women; 3) Women and Education; 4) Women in Health Care; 5) Participation of Women in the Process of Decision-Making at the Political, Legislative, and Executive Levels; 6) Women and Violence; 7) Women and Mass Media; 8) Development of an Institutional Mechanism for the Advancement of Women.
In its 2004 Report on Belarus, Amnesty International recognized the second plan as a means to implement recommendations made by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women in 2000. Such recommendations included the establishment of crisis and advice centers for victims of domestic violence and awareness campaigns.
The second plan follows the National Plan of Action for the Improvement of the Status of Women, adopted by Decree of the Cabinet of Minister of the Republic of Belarus of June 6, 1996, No. 373. The primary objective of this initial plan was to compile and distribute statistics and related information to address the issue of advocacy. Other areas of focus included: poverty, wages, conditions of violence, media stereotyping, and reproductive behavior. The plan also listed eight areas of concern involving the identified focus areas. 1) legislation, 2) statistics, 3) health, 4) education, 5) gender balance, 6) media, 7) human rights, and 8) economics. A summary of the first national plan is available at Womenwatch.