THE CONVENTION

• The United Nations Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly


  1979
• CEDAW

  The 'international bill of rights for women' that sets out a comprehensive set of rights for women in civil, political, economic, social and cultural fields
• As of 2020, there are 99 state signatories and 189 state parties to CEDAW
• All members of the UN Security Council (P5) except for the United States is a state party and has ratified CEDAW
• Optional Protocol(ratified by 114 states): The Optional Protocol to CEDAW allows women to bring a complaint about a breach of the rights under CEDAW to the CEDAW Committee.
• CEDAW Expert Panel

  • Treaty monitoring body known as the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
  • Its purpose is to monitor how the obligations of CEDAW and its optional protocol are being respected, protected and fulfilled by state parties
  • Made up of 23 independent experts in the field of women's rights
• CEDAW Monitoring, Scrutiny, Advice & Recommendations

  1. CEDAW state parties are obliged to submit regular reports to the CEDAW Committee for review

  2. The committee questions representatives of state parties regarding matters of implementation and compliance with the treaty

  3. The committee provides recommendations
• The absence of the US is very notable - by the US not ratifying the convention (arguably), it reflects that the US is on a different legitimacy and moral authority to CEDAW
• The absence of the 'leading state of the free world' makes the Committee implicitly miss out on American expertise and resources
• CEDAW is one of the most highly 'reserved treaties', meaning that states are not fully willing to ratify the treaty
• AIMS OF CEDAW

  • Article 2

  ‘State Parties condemn discrimination against women in all its forms, agree to pursue…a policy of eliminating discrimination against women’

  • Article 3

  ‘State Parties shall take in all fields, in particular the political, social, economic and cultural fields, all appropriate measures…to ensure the full development and advancement of women…guaranteeing them the exercise and enjoyment of human rights’
• PURPOSE OF CEDAW


  To prevent any discrimination globally against women, and guarantee that all women are able to enjoy the universality of their human rights.
• Three Fundamental Pillars of CEDAW

  • non-discrimination
  • state obligation
  • substantive equality