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The CEDAW Task Force of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is leading a coalition effort to engage in outreach and education about the U.S. ratification of CEDAW. http://www.cedaw2010.org/index.php/about-us. Contact: CEDAW Education Project Director - June Zeitlin - zeitlin@civilrights.org

http://www.cedaw2010.org/index.php/whats-in-it-for-us

The United States & CEDAW

The Obama administration strongly supports ratification and has included CEDAW as one of five multilateral treaties it has identified as a priority. The U.S. played an important role in drafting CEDAW, which the United Nations adopted in 1979. The Carter administration signed the treaty on July 17, 1980, and submitted it to the Senate in November 1980.

The CEDAW Treaty has been voted favorably out of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee twice, with certain conditions to ratification known as reservations, understanding and declarations (RUDs), in 1994, with a bi-partisan vote of 13-5; and in 2002, with a bi-partisan vote of 12-7. It has never been brought to the Senate floor for a vote. Ratification of CEDAW has no financial cost.

Ratification of CEDAW requires 67 Senators to stand together for women and girls. Ratifying the CEDAW treaty would continue America's proud bipartisan tradition of promoting and protecting human rights, including women's human rights.

Support CEDAW for Women and Girls

U.S. Ratification of CEDAW Creates an Opportunity for a National Dialogue on the Status of Women and Girls in the United States.

American women enjoy opportunities and status not available to most of the world's women. But few would dispute that more progress is needed. While ratifying CEDAW does not result in any automatic changes to U.S. law, it creates an opportunity for a national dialogue on how to address persistent gaps in women's equality in areas such as:

• Domestic violence: the landmark Violence Against Women Act, has done much to prevent domestic violence and meet the needs of victims, yet two million women a year report injuries from current or former partners in the United States.
• Maternal health: the United States ranks 41st among a ranking of 184 countries on maternal deaths during pregnancy and childbirth, below all other industrialized nations and a number of developing countries.
• Economic security: U.S. women continue to lag behind men in income, earning on average only 77 cents for every dollar that a man makes.
• Human trafficking: the Trafficking Victims Protection Act has played a pivotal role in combating human trafficking. However, estimates suggest that there may be 20,000 women, men and children trafficked into the U.S. each year.

Ratification of CEDAW would provide an effective catalyst for the U.S. to examine areas of persistent discrimination against women, highlighting where more attention is needed and helping to develop strategies to move forward.

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