WUNRN
http://cedawsouthasia.org/2980/womens-right-to-equality-the-promise-of-cedaw
Women’s Right to Equality: The Promise of CEDAW
Direct Link to Full 40-Page 2014 Publication:
http://cedawsouthasia.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/The-Promise-of-CEDAW-final-pdf.pdf
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Written by Shanthi
Dairiam, a Malaysian human rights and women’s rights advocate, this paper
enshrines the concept of equality through CEDAW to provide a resource for the
ASEAN Intergovernmental Human Rights Commission (AICHR) in its engagement
with the ASEAN governments using international standards in promoting and
protecting the human rights of women and girl children.
With the exception
of Brunei, Malaysia and Singapore who have no reservation to the substantive
articles of CEDAW, most of the ASEAN countries have ratified CEDAW and
have undertaken binding obligations to promote and protect the human
rights of women according CEDAW standards. AICHR remains to be the main
mechanism for the promotion and protection of the human rights of all people,
with women included
in ASEAN.
The author traces
back into the awakening history and the universal recognition of basic rights,
without any distinction between the needs and experiences of women
comparing to men. It further elaborates on the concept of equality and
non-discrimination as enshrined in CEDAW, the application of
CEDAW standards and looking at the conflict of rights, particularly in
South East Asian countries. While treaty law may be recognized as part of
domestic law in Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia, Philippines and Viet Nam, there
is no clear guidance in the Constitutions of these countries as to what will
prevail if domestic law is in conflict with international treaty law. Nor
is it clear whether treaty law is self-executing. This paper identifies
the gaps and its evidence in the legal framework.