The documents agreed and signed by governments at UN Conferences, such as the Platform For Action signed at the UN Conference on Women at Beijing, are Declarations and so not legally binding. Conventions are legally binding, but not all countries have signed all Conventions.
Conventions also allow governments to indicate reservations on certain clauses.
They provide benchmarks, and in some cases, legally binding documents and structures for implementation. The Convention on Civil and Political Rights states that all citizens have a right to justice and retribution for crimes committed against them. The Convention on the Rights of the Child contains a specific clause on the right of children to live free of violence, and other clauses such as the right to a family and to an education, which help protect girl children. The Convention against Trafficking declares prostitution incompatible with human dignity and worth, and declares that brothels should be illegal. The Convention against Torture includes some violence against women fits, especially rape, and sexual violence.