The World Women’s Congress for a Healthy Planet was held in Miami, Florida, November 8-12, 1991, organized by the Women’s International Policy Action Committee (IPAC), a committee established by the Women’s Environment and Development Organization (WEDO).
The congress had three basic objectives. First, to produce a Women’s Action Agenda for the decade to be presented to those involved in the June 1992 Earth Summit. Second, to ensure that all governmental and non-governmental delegations to the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) were gender balanced, so that no delegation had more than sixty percent of either sex. Third, to build an international network of women acting in solidarity to ensure a strong women’s voice on all issues pertaining to environment and development.
The Miami Conference was an important event in the history of women organizing internationally. It resulted in a strong international network and the Women’s Action Agenda 21 policy document, which were used to catalyze a strong lobbying effort at the UNCED preparatory meetings and the Earth Summit itself.
