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Convention on Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women: full text
Convention focusing on rights of women within the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the ICCPR
Authors:
; United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Publisher:
United Nations [UN] Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women , 1979
The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) was adopted by the UN's General Assembly in 1979 and entered into force in 1981. CEDAW amplifies some of the existing provisions of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, but with a specific focus on women. Its provisions include obligations for states to:
- "pursue by all appropriate means and without delay a policy of eliminating discrimination against women" (Article 2);
- legislate against traffic in women and the exploitation of women through prostitution (Article 6);
- ensure that women have the right to to vote and to participate in government and non-government activities (Article 7);
- grant women equal rights with respect to nationality and the nationality of their children (Article 9);
- ensure that women have the same access as men to educational and job opportunities (Articles 10 and 11);
- ensure that women have the same status as men in terms of access to health care and equality before the law (Articles 14 and 15).
As of December 2002 CEDAW had 170 ratifications. The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women is the UN body responsible for overseeing implementation of the Convention's provisions. Ratifying states are required to submit periodic reports to the Committee. Of all the major human rights treaties, CEDAW has had the most reservations entered by ratifying states.
