United States: Senate foreign relations committee approved CEDAW

Off Our Backs, Nov/Dec 2002

North America

On July 30, the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved U.S. ratification of CEDAW, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, the United Nations treaty that sets a global standard for women's rights, in a 12-7 bipartisan vote. The next step, which might not happen this year, would be for the full Senate to debate U.S. ratification of CEDAW for the first time since it was drafted in 1979. "I am optimistic that when CEDAW reaches the Senate floor before the elections, it will be ratified," said Ellie Smeal, head of the Feminist Majority Foundation.

The United States is the only industrialized nation that has yet to ratify CEDAW. So far, 170 countries-or two-thirds of the United Nations membership-have ratified the treaty, pledging to give women equal rights in all aspects of their lives, including political, health, educational, social and legal spheres. As one of the 21 countries that have yet to ratify CEDAW, the United States is aligned with the Taliban's Afghanistan, Iran and Sudan. For years, anti-women's rights Sen. Jesse Helms (R-NC), former chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, blocked CEDAW from being debated in the U.S. Senate. The Feminist Majority Foundation is urging women to contact their local senators to urge their support if the bill reaches the full Senate.

-info from the Feminist Majority Foundation and Aviva.org