| Introduction
On 18 December 1979, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms
of Discrimination against Women was adopted by the United Nations
General Assembly. It entered into force as an international treaty
on 3 September 1981 after the twentieth country had ratified it.
By the tenth anniversary of the Convention in 1989, almost one hundred
nations have agreed to be bound by its provisions.
The Convention was the culmination of more than thirty years of
work by the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, a
body established in 1946 to monitor the situation of women and to
promote women's rights. The Commission's work has been instrumental
in bringing to light all the areas in which women are denied equality
with men. These efforts for the advancement of women have resulted
in several declarations and conventions, of which the Convention
on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
is the central and most comprehensive document.
Among the international human rights treaties, the Convention takes
an important place in bringing the female half of humanity into
the focus of human rights concerns.
The spirit of the Convention is rooted in the goals of the United
Nations: to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity,v
and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women.
The present document spells out the meaning of equality and how
it can be achieved. In so doing, the Convention establishes not
only an international bill of rights for women, but also an agenda
for action by countries to guarantee the enjoyment of those rights.
* from the homepage of the CEDAW Committee
In its preamble, the Convention explicitly acknowledges that "extensive
discrimination against women continues to exist", and emphasizes
that such discrimination "violates the principles of equality
of rights and respect for human dignity". As defined in article
1, discrimination is understood as "any distinction, exclusion
or restriction made o.1 the basis of sex...in the political, economic,
social, cultural, civil or any other field". The Convention
gives positive affirmation to the principle of equality by requiring
States parties to take "all appropriate measures, including
legislation, to ensure the full development and advancement of women,
for the purpose of guaranteeing them the exercise and enjoyment
of human rights and fundamental freedoms on a basis of equality
with men"(article 3).
The agenda for equality is specified in fourteen subsequent articles.
In its approach, the Convention covers three dimensions of the situation
of women. Civil rights and the legal status of women are dealt with
in great detail. In addition, and unlike other human rights treaties,
the Convention is also concerned with the dimension of human reproduction
as well as with the impact of cultural factors on gender relations.
The legal status of women receives the broadest attention. Concern
over the basic rights of political participation has not diminished
since the adoption of the Convention on the Political Rights of
Women in 1952. Its provisions, therefore, are restated in article
7 of the present document, whereby women are guaranteed the rights
to vote, to hold public office and to exercise public functions.
This includes equal rights for women to represent their countries
at the international level (article 8). The Convention on the Nationality
of Married Women - adopted in 1957 - is integrated under article
9 providing for the statehood of women, irrespective of their marital
status. The Convention, thereby, draws attention to the fact that
often women's legal status has been linked to marriage, making them
dependent on their husband's nationality rather than individuals
in their own right. Articles 10, 11 and 13, respectively, affirm
women's rights to non-discrimination in education, employment and
economic and social activities. These demands are given special
emphasis with regard to the situation of rural women, whose particular
struggles and vital economic contributions, as noted in article
14, warrant more attention in policy planning. Article 15 asserts
the full equality of women in civil and business matters, demanding
that all instruments directed at restricting women's legal capacity
''shall be deemed null and void". Finally, in article 16, the
Convention returns to the issue of marriage and family relations,
asserting the equal rights and obligations of women and men with
regard to choice of spouse, parenthood, personal rights and command
over property.
Aside from civil rights issues, the Convention also devotes major
attention to a most vital concern of women, namely their reproductive
rights. The preamble sets the tone by stating that "the role
of women in procreation should not be a basis for discrimination".
The link between discrimination and women's reproductive role is
a matter of recurrent concern in the Convention. For example, it
advocates, in article 5, ''a proper understanding of maternity as
a social function", demanding fully shared responsibility for
child-rearing by both sexes. Accordingly, provisions for maternity
protection and child-care are proclaimed as essential rights and
are incorporated into all areas of the Convention, whether dealing
with employment, family law, health core or education. Society's
obligation extends to offering social services, especially child-care
facilities, that allow individuals to combine family responsibilities
with work and participation in public life. Special measures for
maternity protection are recommended and "shall not be considered
discriminatory". (article 4). "The Convention also affirms
women's right to reproductive choice.
Notably, it is the only human rights treaty to mention family planning.
States parties are obliged to include advice on family planning
in the education process (article lO.h) and to develop family codes
that guarantee women's rights "to decide freely and responsibly
on the number and spacing of their children and to hove access to
the information, education and means to enable them to exercise
these rights" (article 16.e).
The third general thrust of the Convention aims at enlarging our
understanding of the concept of human rights, as it gives formal
recognition to the influence of culture and tradition on restricting
women's enjoyment of their fundamental rights. These forces take
shape in stereotypes, customs and norms which give rise to the multitude
of legal, political and economic constraints on the advancement
of women. Noting this interrelationship, the preamble of the Convention
stresses "that a change in the traditional role of men as well
as the role of women in society and in the family is needed to achieve
full equality of men and women". States parties are therefore
obliged to work towards the modification of social and cultural
patterns of individual conduct in order to eliminate "prejudices
and customary and all other practices which are based on the idea
of the inferiority or the superiority of either of the sexes or
on stereotyped roles for men and women" (article 5). And Article
1O.c. mandates the revision of textbooks, school programmes and
teaching methods with a view to eliminating stereotyped concepts
in the field of education.
Finally, cultural patterns which define the public realm as a man's
world and the domestic sphere as women's domain are strongly targeted
in all of the Convention's provisions that affirm the equal responsibilities
of both sexes in family life and their equal rights with regard
to education and employment. Altogether, the Convention provides
a comprehensive framework for challenging the various forces that
have created and sustained discrimination based upon sex.
The implementation of the Convention is monitored by the Committee
on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). The
Committee's mandate and the administration of the treaty are defined
in the Articles 17 to 30 of the Convention. The Committee is composed
of 23 experts nominated by their Governments and elected by the
States parties as individuals "of high moral standing and competence
in the field covered by the Convention".
At least every four years, the States parties are expected to submit
a national report to the Committee, indicating the measures they
have adopted to give effect to the provisions of the Convention.
During its annual session, the Committee members discuss these reports
with the Government representatives and explore with them areas
for further action by the specific country. The Committee also makes
general recommendations to the States parties on matters concerning
the elimination of discrimination against women.
Article 1
For the purposes of the present Convention, the term "discrimination
against women" shall mean any distinction, exclusion or restriction
made on the basis of sex which has the effect or purpose of impairing
or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment or exercise by women, irrespective
of their marital status, on a basis of equality of men and women,
of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic,
social, cultural, civil or any other field.
Article 2
States Parties condemn discrimination against women in all its
forms, agree to pursue by all appropriate means and without delay
a policy of eliminating discrimination against women and, to this
end, undertake
(a) To embody the principle of the equality of men and women in
their national constitutions or other appropriate legislation if
not yet incorporated therein and to ensure, through low and other
appropriate means, the practical realization of this principle;
(b) To adopt appropriate legislative and other measures, including
sanctions where appropriate, prohibiting all discrimination against
women;
(c) To establish legal protection of the rights of women on an
equal basis with men and to ensure through competent national tribunals
and other public institutions the effective protection of women
against any act of discrimination;
(d) To refrain from engaging in any act or practice of discrimination
against women and to ensure that public authorities and institutions
shall act in conformity with this obligation;
(e) To take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination
against women by any person, organization or enterprise;
(f) To take all appropriate measures, including legislation, to
modify or abolish existing laws, regulations, customs and practices
which constitute discrimination against women;
(g) To repeal all notional penal provisions which constitute discrimination
against women .
Article 3
States Parties shall take in all fields, in particular in the political,
social, economic and cultural fields, all appropriate measures,
including legislation to ensure the full devel opment and advancement
of women, for the purpose of guaranteeing them the exer- cise and
enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms on a basis of
equality with men.
Article 4
1. Adoption by States Parties of temporary special measures aimed
at accelerating de facto equality between men and women shall not
be considered discrimination as defined in the present Convention,
but shall in no way entail as a consequence the maintenance of unequal
or separate standards; these measures shall be discontinued when
the objectives of equality of opportunity and treatment have been
achieved.
2. Adoption by States Parties of special measures, including those
measures con- tainted in the present Convention, aimed at protecting
maternity shall not be consid- ered discriminatory.
Article 5
States Parties shall take all appropriate measures
(a) To modify the social and cultural patterns of conduct of men
and women, with a view to achieving the elimination of prejudices
and customary and all other practices which are based on the idea
of the inferiority or the superiority of either of the sexes or
on stereotyped roles for men and women;
(b) To ensure that family education includes a proper understanding
of mater- nity as a social function and the recognition of the common
responsibility of men and women in the upbringing and development
of their children, it being understood that the interest of the
children is the primordial consideration in all cases.
Article 6
States Parties shall take all appropriate measures, including legislation,
to suppress all forms of traffic in women and exploitation of prostitution
of women.
Article 7
States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to eliminate
discrimination against women in the political and public life of
the country and, in particular, shall ensure to women, on equal
terms with men, the right
(a) To vote in all elections and public referenda and to be eligible
for election to all publicly elected bodies;
(b) To participate in the formulation of government policy and
the implementa- tion thereof and to hold public office and perform
all public functions at all levels of government
(c) To participate in non-governmental Organizations and associations
concerned with the public and political life of the country.
Article 8
States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to ensure to
women, on equal terms with men and without any discrimination, the
opportunity to represent their Governments at the international
level and to participate in the work of international organizations.
Article 9
1. States Parties shall grant women equal rights with men to acquire,
change or re- tain their nationality. They shall ensure in particular
that neither marriage to an alien nor change of nationality by the
husband during marriage shall automatically change the nationality
of the wife, render her stateless or force upon her the nationality
of the husband.
2. States Parties shall grant women equal rights with men with
respect to the na- tionality of their children.
Article 10
States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to eliminate
discrimination against women in order to ensure to them equal rights
with men in the field of education and in particular to ensure,
on a basis of equality of men and women:
(a) The same conditions for career and vocational guidance, for
access to studies and for the achievement of diplomas in educational
establishments of all categories in rural as well as in urban areas;
this equality shall be ensured in preschool, general, technical,
professional and higher technical education, as well as in all types
of vocational training;
(b) Access to the same curricula, the same examinations, teaching
staff with qualifications of the same standard and school premises
and equipment of the same quality;
(c) The elimination of any stereotyped concept of the roles of
men and women at all levels and in all forms of education by encouraging
coeducation and other types of education which will help to achieve
this aim and, in particular, by the revision of textbooks and school
programmes and the adaptation of teaching methods;
(d) The same opportunities to benefit from scholarships and other
study grants;
(e) The same opportunities for access to programmes of continuing
education including adult and functional literacy programmes, particularly
those aimed at reducing, at the earliest possible time, any gap
in education existing between men and women;
(f) The reduction of female student drop-out rates and the organization
of programmes for girls and women who have left school prematurely;
(g) The same opportunities to participate actively in sports and
physical education;
(h) Access to specific educational information to help to ensure
the health and well-being of families, including information and
advice on family planning.
Article 11
1. States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to eliminate
discrimination against women in the field of employment in order
to ensure, on a basis of equality of men and women, the same rights,
in particular:
(a) The right to work as an inalienable right of all human beings;
(b) The right to the same employment opportunities, including the
application of the same criteria for selection in matters of employment;
(c) The right to free choice of profession and employment, the
right to promotion, job security and all benefits and conditions
of service and the right to receive vocational training and retraining,
including apprenticeships, advanced vocational training and recurrent
training;
(d) The right to equal remuneration, including benefits, and to
equal treatment in respect of work of equal value, as well as equality
of treatment in the evaluation of the quality of work;
(e) The right to social security, particularly in cases of retirement,
unemployment, sickness, invalidity and old age and other incapacity
to work, as well as the right to paid leave;
(f) The right to protection of health and to safety in working
conditions, including the safeguarding of the function of reproduction.
2. In order to prevent discrimination against women on the grounds
of marriage or maternity and to ensure their effective right to
work, States Parties shall take appropriate measures:
(a) To prohibit, subject to the imposition of sanctions, dismissal
on the grounds of pregnancy or of maternity leave and discrimination
in dismissals on the basis of marital status;
(b) To introduce maternity leave with pay or with comparable social
benefits without loss of former employment, seniority or social
allowances;
(c) To encourage the provision of the necessary supporting social
services to enable parents to combine family obligations with work
responsibilities and participation in public life, in particular
through promoting the establishment and development of a network
of child-care facilities;
(d) To provide special protection to women during pregnancy in
types of work proved to be harmful to them.
3. Protective legislation relating to matters covered in this article
shall be reviewed periodically in the light of scientific and technological
knowledge and shall be revised, repealed or extended as necessary.
Article 12
1. States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to eliminate
discrimination against women in the field of health care in order
to ensure, on a basis of equality of men and women, access to health
care services, including those related to family planning.
2. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 1 of this article,
States Parties shall ensure to women appropriate services in connexion
with pregnancy, confinement and the post-natal period, granting
free services where necessary, as well as adequate nutrition during
pregnancy and lactation.
Article 13
States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to eliminate
discrimination against women in other areas of economic and social
life in order to ensure, on a basis of equality of men and women,
the same rights, in particular:
(a) The right to family benefits;
(b) The right to bank loans, mortgages and other forms of financial
credit;
(c) The right to participate in recreational activities, sports
and all aspects of cultural life.
Article 14.
1. States Parties shall take into account the particular problems
faced by rural women and the significant roles which rural women
play in the economic survival of their families, including their
work in the non-monetized sectors of the economy, and shall take
all appropriate measures to ensure the application of the provisions
of this Convention to women in rural areas.
2. States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to eliminate
discrimination against women in rural areas in order to ensure,
on a basis of equality of men and women, that they participate in
and benefit from rural development and, in particular, shall ensure
to such women the right:
(a) To participate in the elaboration and implementation of development
planning at all levels;
(b) To have access to adequate health care facilities, including
information, counselling and services in family planning;
(c) To benefit directly from social security programmes;
(d) To obtain all types of training and education, formal and non-formal,
including that relating to functional literacy, as well as, inter
alia, the benefit of all community and extension services, in order
to increase their technical proficiency;
(e) To organize self-help groups and co-operatives in order to
obtain equal access to economic opportunities through employment
or self-employment;
(f) To participate in all community activities;
(g) To have access to agricultural credit and loans, marketing
facilities, appropriate technology and equal treatment in land and
agrarian reform as well as in land resettlement schemes;
(h) To enjoy adequate living conditions, particularly in relation
to housing, sanitation, electricity and water supply, transport
and communications.
Article 15
1. States Parties shall accord to women equality with men before
the low.
2. States Parties shall accord to women, in civil matters, a legal
capacity identical to that of men and the same opportunities to
exercise that capacity. [n particular, they shall give women equal
rights to conclude contracts and to administer property and shall
treat them equally in all stages of procedure in courts and tribunals.
3. States Parties agree that all contracts and all other private
instruments of any kind with a legal effect which is directed at
restricting the legal capacity of women shall be deemed null and
void.
4. States Parties shall accord to men and women the some rights
with regard to the law relating to the movement of persons and the
freedom to choose their residence and domicile.
Article 16
1. States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to eliminate
discrimination against women in all matters relating to marriage
and family relations and in particular shall ensure, on a basis
of equality of men and women:
(a) The same right to enter into marriage;
(b) The same right freely to choose a spouse and to enter into
marriage only with their free and full consent;
(c) The same rights and responsibilities during marriage and at
its dissolution;
(d) The some rights and responsibilities as parents, irrespective
of their marital status, in matters relating to their children;
in all cases the interests of the children shall be paramount;
(e) The same rights to decide freely and responsibly on the number
and spacing of their children and to have access to the information,
education and means to enable them to exercise these rights;
(f) The same rights and responsibilities with regard to guardianship,
wardship, trusteeship and adoption of children, or similar institutions
where these concepts exist in national legislation; in all cases
the interests of the children shall be paramount;
(g) The same personal rights as husband and wife, including the
right to choose a family name, a profession and an occupation;
(h) The same rights for both spouses in respect of the ownership,
acquisition, management, administration, enjoyment and disposition
of property, whether free of charge or for a valuable consideration.
2. The betrothal and the marriage of a child shall have no legal
effect, and all necessary action, including legislation, shall be
taken to specify a minimum age for marriage and to make the registration
of marriages in an official registry compulsory.
Article 17
For the purpose of considering the progress made in the implementation
of the present Convention, there shall be established a Committee
on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (hereinafter
referred to as the Committee) consisting, at the time of entry into
force of the Convention, of eighteen and, after ratification of
or accession to the Convention by the thirty-fifth State Party,
of twenty-three experts of high moral standing and competence in
the field covered by the Convention. The experts shall be elected
by States Parties from among their nationals and shall serve in
their personal capacity, consideration being given to equitable
geographical distribution and to the representation of the different
forms of civilization as well as the principal legal systems.
2. The members of the Committee shall be elected by secret ballot
from a list of persons nominated by States Parties. Each State Party
may nominate one person from among its own nationals.
3. The initial election shall be held six months after the date
of the entry into force of the present Convention. At least three
months before the date of each election the Secretary-General of
the United Nations shall address a letter to the States Parties
inviting them to submit their nominations within two months. The
Secretary-General shall prepare a list in alphabetical order of
all persons thus nominated, indicating the States Parties which
have nominated them, and shall submit it to the States Parties.
4. Elections of the members of the Committee shall be held at a
meeting of States Parties convened by the Secretary-General at United
Nations Headquarters. At that meeting, for which two thirds of the
States Parties shall constitute a quorum, the persons elected to
the Committee shall be those nominees who obtain the largest number
of votes and an absolute majority of the votes of the representatives
of States Parties present and voting.
5. The members of the Committee shall be elected for a term of
four years. However, the terms of nine of the members elected at
the first election shall expire at the end of two years; immediately
after the first election the names of these nine members shall be
chosen by lot by the Chairman of the Committee.
6. The election of the five additional members of the Committee
shall be held in accordance with the provisions of paragraphs 2,
3 and 4 of this article, following the thirty-fifth ratification
or accession. The terms of two of the additional members elected
on this occasion shall expire at the end of two years, the names
of these two members having been chosen by lot by the Chairman of
the Committee.
7. For the filling of casual vacancies, the State Party whose expert
has ceased to function as a member of the Committee shall appoint
another expert from among its nationals, subject to the approval
of the Committee.
8. The members of the Committee shall, with the approval of the
General Assembly, receive emoluments from United Nations resources
on such terms and conditions as the Assembly may decide, having
regard to the importance of the Committee's responsibilities.
9. The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall provide the
necessary staff and facilities for the effective performance of
the functions of the Committee under the present Convention.
Article 18
1. States Parties undertake to submit to the Secretary-General
of the United Nations, for consideration by the Committee, a report
on the legislative, judicial, administrative or other measures which
they have adopted to give effect to he provisions of the present
Convention and on the progress made in this respect:
(a) Within one year after the entry into force for the State concerned;
and
(b) Thereafter at least every four years and further whenever the
Committee so requests.
2. Reports may indicate factors and difficulties affecting the
degree of fulfilment of obligations under the present Convention.
Article 19.
1. The Committee shall adopt its own rules of procedure.
2. The Committee shall elect its officers for a term of two years.
Article 20.
1. The Committee shall normally meet for a period of not more than
two weeks annually in order to consider the reports submitted in
accordance with article 18 of the present Convention.
2. The meetings of the Committee shall normally be held at United
Nations Headquarters or at any other convenient place as determined
by the Committee.
Article 21.
1. The Committee shall, through the Economic and Social Council,
report annually to the General Assembly of the United Nations on
its activities and may make suggestions and general recommendations
based on the examination of reports and information received from
the States Parties. Such suggestions and general recommendations
shall be included in the report of the Committee together with comments,
if any, from States Parties.
2. The Secretary-General shall transmit the reports of the Committee
to the Commission on the Status of Women for its information.
Article 22.
The specialized agencies shall be entitled to be represented at
the consideration of the implementation of such provisions of the
present Convention as fall within the scope of their activities.
The Committee may invite the specialized agencies to submit reports
on the implementation of the Convention in areas falling within
the scope of their activities.
Article 23
Nothing in this Convention shall affect any provisions that are
more conducive to the achievement of equality between men and women
which may be contained:
(a) In the legislation of a State Party; or
(b) In any other international convention, treaty or agreement
in force for that State.
Article 24.
States Parties undertake to adopt all necessary measures at the
national level aimed at achieving the full realization of the rights
recognized in the present Convention.
Article 25.
1. The present Convention shall be open for signature by all States.
2. The Secretary-General of the United Nations is designated as
the depositary of the present Convention.
3. The present Convention is subject to ratification. Instruments
of ratification shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of
the United Nations.
4. The present Convention shall be open to accession by all States.
Accession shall be effected by the deposit of an instrument of accession
with the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
Article 26.
1. A request for the revision of the present Convention may be
made at any time by any State Party by means of a notification in
writing addressed to the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
2. The General Assembly of the United Nations shall decide upon
the steps, if any, to be taken in respect of such a request.
Article 27.
1. The present Convention shall enter into force on the thirtieth
day after the date of deposit with the Secretary-General of the
United Nations of the twentieth instrument of ratification or accession.
2. For each State ratifying the present Convention or acceding
to it after the deposit of the twentieth instrument of ratification
or accession, the Convention shall enter into force on the thirtieth
day after the date of the deposit of its own instrument of ratification
or accession.
Article 28.
1. The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall receive and
circulate to all States the text of reservations made by States
at the time of ratification or accession.
2. A reservation incompatible with the object and purpose of the
present Convention shall not be permitted.
3. Reservations may be withdrawn at any time by notification to
this effect addressed to the Secretary-General of the United Nations,
who shall then inform all States thereof. Such notification shall
take effect on the date on which it is received.
Article 29.
1. Any dispute between two or more States Parties concerning the
interpretation or application of the present Convention which is
not settled by negotiation shall, at the request of one of them,
be submitted to arbitration. If within six months from the date
of the request for arbitration the parties are unable to agree on
the organization of the arbitration, any one of those parties may
refer the dispute to the International Court of Justice by request
in conformity with the Statute of the Court.
2. Each State Party may at the time of signature or ratification
of this Convention or accession thereto declare that it does not
consider itself bound by paragraph 1 of this article. The other
States Parties shall not be bound by that paragraph with respect
to any State Party which has made such a reservation.
3. Any State Party which has made a reservation in accordance with
paragraph 2 of this article may at any time withdraw that reservation
by notification to the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
Article 30.
The present Convention, the Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian
and Spanish texts of which are equally authentic, shall be deposited
with the Secretary-General of the United Nations
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