USA SENATE HEARING WOMEN'S LEADERSHIP GIVES MOMENTUM TO CEDAW& VAW

WASHINGTON DC – On Tuesday, June 24, 2014, a Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee chaired by Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) held a hearing featuring an unprecedented number of women Senators that called for actions to stem the tide of violence against women and girls across the globe.

A dozen senators and Obama Administration leaders highlighted the need for the U.S. Senate to ratify CEDAW, the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women. This global treaty for women's equality was recognized as a critical tool for the U.S. to speak out against violence and discrimination against women and girls.

Senator Boxer, a long-time champion of CEDAW said, “It’s ridiculous, it’s embarrassing, it’s inexplicable” that the United States has not yet joined 187 other countries in ratifying CEDAW. Boxer is the chair of the Subcommittee on International Operations and Organizations, Human Rights, Democracy, and Global Women’s Issues.

Hauwa Ibrahim, a Nigerian attorney who is engaged in efforts to return the kidnapped girls and defends women sentenced under Sharia law for abuses such as death by stoning, testified that U.S. ratification “would be a huge partnership with our own work and make our work much easier….a collective interest beyond north versus south or Christian versus Muslim.” Defending women’s rights, she said, is “a responsibility of our common humanity,” and the United States “is our beacon of hope.”

"The United States ratification of the CEDAW treaty would not only enhance its status, but also make it a more effective tool in combating violence against women," said Feminist Majority President Eleanor Smeal. "The women of the world are looking to the US for leadership on this issue. We can no longer remain silent."

“I’m very encouraged that we could see action on this critically important measure very soon,” said June Zeitlin, Director of the CEDAW Education Project of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. “The Senate now needs to put its votes where its rhetoric is.”

A joint statement was issued by 75 NGOs calling for CEDAW ratification which included groups such as AAUW, Amnesty International USA, Feminist Majority, Global Solutions.org, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, MomsRising, National Council of Jewish Women, National Education Association, NOW, National Women’s Law Center, YWCA USA and others. A two-thirds majority of the Senate is required for treaty ratification.

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Members who were present at the hearing included Chairman Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Richard Durbin (D-IL), Edward Markey (D-MA), Rand Paul (R-KY), James Risch (D-ID), as well as those who testified including Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND), Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Patty Murray (D-WA), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA).

The line of people to enter the hearing wrapped around several Senate hallways and the room was filled to capacity with hundreds of women of all ages and diverse backgrounds there to show support for CEDAW.

For more information, go to CEDAW2014.org, which includes updated facts, how violence against women and girls connects to CEDAW, and a sign-up page to receive CEDAW news and alerts.