Louisville CEDAW

The Treaty for Women’s Equality

CEDAW

On December

18th,1979, CEDAW

was adopted by the

United Nations

General Assembly. It

entered into force as

an international

treaty on September

3rd, 1981 after the

20th country had

ratified it.

“

”

CEDAW was the culmination of more

than 30 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.

CEDAW 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.

How CEDAW Works

187 countries have ratified CEDAW

7 have not

2 small Pacific Islands( Palau and Tonga)

IranSudan

Somalia

and The United States

South

Sudan

CEDAW will strengthen the

United States as a global leader in

standing up for equality for women

and girls.

The U.S. Should Ratify CEDAW Now

CEDAW has improved women’s

lives on the ground

• In ratifying countries, women

have partnered with their

governments to change their

laws and policies, creating

greater safety and opportunity

for women and their families

“CEDAW has improved women’s literacy levels, labor

force participation rates, and parliamentary

representation – and in some cases has reduced absolute

gender inequalities.”

-World Bank Report, 2012

CEDAW PROMOTES THE

ADVANCEMENT OF

WOMEN’S RIGHTS IN THE

U.S.

While American women enjoy opportunities and status not available to most around the world, few would dispute that much more progress is needed.

CEDAW WOULD PROVIDE AN

EFFECTIVE CATALYST FOR

CHANGE IN THE U.S.

CEDAW would provide an opportunity for

national dialogue on persistent inequalities

in the U.S.

Each country determines how to bring its

policies in line to eliminate discrimination

against women and girls.

U.S. HUMAN RIGHTS RECORD

RATIFIED BY THE U.S. International Covenant on Civil

and Political Rights (ICCPR)

Convention on the Elimination

of all forms of Racial

Discrimination (CERD)

Convention Against Torture

(CAT)

Convention Against Genocide

(CAG)

NOT RATIFIED BY THE U.S.• International Covenant on

Economic, Social, and Cultural

Rights (ESCR)

• Convention on the Rights of the

Child (CRC)

• Convention on the Rights of

Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)

• Convention on Elimination of

Discrimination Against Women

(CEDAW)

1980:

President

Jimmy

Carter

signed

CEDAW

1994:

Voted out of

the Senate

Foreign

Relations

Committee

with

bipartisan

support

2002:

Again voted out

of the Senate

Foreign

Relations

Committee with

bipartisan

support

2010:

Senator

Durbin held a

hearing on

CEDAW in a

Senate

Judiciary

Sub-

committee

(image)

2011:

Senators

Boxer and

Casey, held a

hearing on

Women and

the Arab

Spring, which

highlighted

CEDAW

CEDAW’S History in the U.S.

CEDAW IS CURRENTLY PENDING IN THE SENATE

• The full Senate has never held a vote on the

treaty

• Ratification requires 2/3 vote, or 67 votes

• Ratification does not require any action by

the House of Representatives.

On Tuesday, June 24th, 2014 a Senate Foreign Relations

Subcommittee chaired by Senator Barbara Boxer held a

hearing, featuring testimony by an unprecedented number of

women senators, who called for action on CEDAW to stem the

tide of violence against women and girls across the globe.

Senate Hearing Reignites Hope For CEDAW and I-VAWA

SUPPORTING CEDAW

LOCALLY

Cities, counties, and states across the

country have taken steps to support, adopt

and/or implement CEDAW locally.

Local adoption of CEDAW:

o allows for the development of pro-active

legislation to protect women and girls in

your community

o sends a strong message to your senators

that U.S. ratification is important to their

constituents.

Cities for CEDAW Campaign

was launched at the

United Nations

Commission on the Status of Women

in March 2014.

Soon Young Yoon is Korean-American.

She first envisioned a grassroots movement for CEDAW implementation on the local level.

She is the chair of the NGO Committee on the Status of Women, NY

Beginning in 1995, women’s rights advocates

in the US passed resolutions endorsing

CEDAW ratification in over 40 municipalities, 20

counties and 15 states.

Inspired by the UN 4th World Conference on Women in Beijing, San Francisco became the 1st

municipality in the world to adopt a local ordinance reflecting the principles of CEDAW and they established the Department on the Status of Women.

WHY CITIES?o As of 2008, 82% of Americans live in

cities.

o By 2050, nearly 80% of the world’s

women and girls will live in urban areas.

oCEDAW provides a framework for

women’s human rights that impacts

women at the grassroots level.

LOUISVILLE CEDAW RESOLUTION PASSED

BY METRO COUNCIL & SIGNED BY MAYOR

LOUISVILLE

CEDAW

COALITION

FOUNDED APRIL 7, 2014

The Louisville CEDAW

Resolution “precedes an

Ordinance that eliminates

discrimination against women

and girls in the city of

Louisville and sends a

statement that we will not

tolerate violence against

women, unequal pay and

uneven academic and

economic opportunities.”

A. Holland Houston

Attorney Member

Louisville CEDAW

Authors of The Louisville CEDAW Resolution:

Tina Ward-Pugh, Dolores Delahanty, Victoria Markell

• “The Metro Council chambers were packed with

supporters, including members of the Louisville

Coalition for CEDAW, students, teachers and

community leaders. After a lengthy and spirited

debate by the Metro Councilmembers, the

resolution was approved by a 20-3-3 vote.”

Nima KulkarniAttorney Member of

Louisville CEDAW

COALITION PUBLICITY & EVENTS

Yvonne Hileman Sariena Sampson

Presbyterian Women PCUSA JCPS Educator

LOUISVILLE CEDAW COALITION

EVENTS~PROMOTION~MEDIA

FROM LEFT:MAGONFAYE YATES,OHINIBAOHIN,ANJAARSENOVIC

TogetHER.BRAZEN

COALITION CO-CHAIR:

REV. MARY SUE BARNETT

COALITION CO-CHAIR:

RETIRED

COUNCILWOMAN, TINA

WARD-PUGH

Mary Sue will represent Louisville CEDAW at the 59th UN

Commission on the Status of Women in NYC March 2015. The

title for the NGO parallel event is “How to Join the Cities for

CEDAW Campaign: Practical Strategies from San Francisco,

Louisville, Salt Lake City, North Carolina + a Social Media

Maven!”

SLIDE SHOW ASSEMBLED BY:

ANJA ARSENOVIC

Join us! Go to:

www.LouisvilleCEDAW.org