REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
Adopt a Resolution in Support of the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) [Council Pillar: Enhance Community Engagement and Transparency ]
Report
BACKGROUND
On December 3, 1979, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly. On September 3, 1981, CEDAW was entered into force as an international treaty.
CEDAW is an international human rights treaty that provides a universal definition of discrimination against women, brings attention to a whole range of issues concerning women's human rights, and affirms principles of fundamental human rights and equality for women around the world. Through its 30 articles, CEDAW defines what constitutes discrimination against women, calls for data collection and analysis, assessment, and monitoring on key issues that create gender inequality, and sets up an agenda for national action to end such discrimination. Countries that have ratified the treaty are legally obliged to work towards the modification of social and cultural patterns to eliminate all forms of discrimination against women in all areas of life and ensuring women's full development and advancement so they can exercise their human rights and fundamental freedoms in the same way as men. They are also required to report to the CEDAW Committee by submitting a national report with the measures adopted to implement the provisions of the treaty. The United States is one of six countries in the world that have not ratified CEDAW.
In 2013, Women's Intercultural Network (WIN), a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) with Consultative Status to the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), and the San Francisco Department of the Status of Women (DOSW), jointly launched a Cities for CEDAW Campaign. The Cities for CEDAW campaign is a grassroots effort that provides tools and leadership to empower local women'...
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