Originally published on the CGS blog on June 12, 2014.
Considered The Bill of Rights for women, the Women’s Rights Treaty (CEDAW) is the most comprehensive international agreement on the basic human rights of women. Adopted by the UN in 1979 and signed by President Carter in 1980, the Women’s Rights Treaty has yet to be ratified by the United States Senate, making the US one of only eight countries to not ratify the treaty to date.
Who are those other member countries? Iran, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, and the Pacific island states of Niue, Palau, and Tonga. We stand next to these countries, some of which have a history of gross human rights violations. Why has the United States failed even to entertain a vote on, let alone ratify, such a landmark treaty?
Various answers to this question have been offered, but at the center is the idea of the treaty attacking traditional family values. On the surface this argument might seem absurd. However, take into consideration the contention surrounding a woman’s right to an abortion and you start to see the hurdles this important piece of international legislation faces.
Let’s identify the core objectives within the Women’s Rights Treaty:
- Reduce sex trafficking and domestic violence
- Provide access to education and vocational training
- Ensure the right to vote
- End forced marriage and child marriage
- Help mothers and families by providing access to maternal health care
- Ensure the right to work and own a business without discrimination
In 2010, The US Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues, Melanne Verveer, testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee, stating “Some governments use the fact that the US has not ratified the treaty as a pretext for not living up to their own obligations under it.”
After her testimony, the Subcommittee on Human Rights and the Law failed to bring the treaty to the Senate floor for a vote. This marked the fifth time (after 1988, 1990, 1994, 2000, and 2010). While some will point to the difficulty of passage as a barrier facing the treaty, it cannot explain why the United States can pass some human rights legislation and not others. In October 1994, the Senate easily passed the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.
Though the United States has long stood as a pillar and moral leader for human rights, it has failed to ratify additional cornerstone human rights treaties such as the Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights; the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the Disability Treaty.
Ratifying the Women’s Rights Treaty will send a powerful message about the United States’ commitment to human rights and the rights of women around the world. Ratification would continue our proud bipartisan tradition of protecting and advocating for human rights. 35 years is too long to wait.
