The Geneva NGO Committee on the Status of Women was founded in 1973 after the decision of the United Nations General Assembly to designate 1975 International Women's Year. The Committee later became one of the important coalitions of non-governmental organizations (NGO's) to prepare for the World Conference on Women in Beijing, China, in 1995. The UN NGO Committee on the Status of Women-Geneva, works closely with its counterpart Committees in New York and Vienna. The principle aim of the UN NGO Committee on the Status of Women--Geneva, is to reach gender equality in all spheres of life by working in partnership with the United Nations and its specialized agencies, to ensure that governments respect the commitments they have made at world conferences and through international conventions and principles on non-discrimination, and to attain a global momentum in mainstreaming gender equality.