Posted on 06/21/2002 6:09:11 AM PDT by Stand Watch Listen
The State Department has classified the United Nations treaty known as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) as a Category 3 (acceptable, ready for ratification, but a low priority). Ironically, this treaty discriminates against women - in particular, mothers, homemakers, poor women, or generally, women who do not buy into radical gender feminism.
Though former president Carter signed CEDAW in 1980, it has not been ratified by the Senate -- for good reason. The treaty itself is highly objectionable, defining "discrimination" as "any distinction ... on the basis of sex," in "the political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field." It requires governments to "modify the social and cultural patterns of conduct of men and women with a view to achieving the elimination of...all...practices which are based on ...stereotyped roles for men and women."
This puts the government in the position of interfering in not only employment and military issues, but also education and the most personal of relationships - family, marriage, and religious.
Proponents of CEDAW claim that ratifying the treaty will not require the U.S. to enact any new laws. Yet Article 2 of the treaty states that signatory nations must "embody the principle of the equality of men and women in their national constitution or other appropriate legislation ..." [emphasis added].
This provision requires the United States to pass a constitutional amendment enshrining the principles of this treaty. Yet CEDAW is more intrusive and expansive than the failed Equal Rights Amendment. CEDAW is the Equal Rights Amendment on steroids.
The United States already has sufficient protection for women against unfair discrimination based on sex. Federal civil rights codes, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, state civil rights codes and state employment commissions ensure fair treatment of women in employment and education.
Ratifying this treaty would put the U.S. in the same company as countries with the worst records on human rights abuses, such as China, which forcibly aborts women; Iraq, which kills women and children with chemical weapons; Saudi Arabia, whose religious police let 14 girls die in a fire rather than let males rescue them; and North Korea, which starves and persecutes its own people. Even Afghanistan signed CEDAW in 1980. Twelve countries identified by the State Department as among the worst offenders of sexual trafficking have signed CEDAW.
The application of CEDAW is even more controversial than its language. Here are some examples of reports from the United Nations committee that oversees the implementation of CEDAW in signatory countries:
* February 3, 1999, the CEDAW Committee said that it was "concerned that prostitution...is illegal in China" and it "recommends the decriminalization
of prostitution in China."
* January 31, 2000, the CEDAW Committee criticized Belarus for "the continuing reintroduction of such symbols as a Mothers' Day..."
* May 15, 1998, the CEDAW Committee criticized Mexico for "the lack of access for women ... to easy and swift abortion."
* August 12, 1997, the CEDAW Committee criticized Slovenia because "less than 30 percent of children under three years of age...were in formal day care."
* January 25, 2001, the CEDAW Committee "expressed concern that women's motherhood role was taking precedence over their professional and individual
development" in Uzbekistan.
* January 21, 2000, complained to Luxembourg about its "stereotypical attitudes that tend to portray men as heads of households and breadwinners, and women primarily as mothers and homemakers."
* July 1, 1999 the CEDAW Committee criticized Ireland for its constitution for "promoting a stereotypical view of the role of women in the home and as mothers."
* July 1, 1999 the CEDAW Committee criticized Ireland for "the influence of the Church ...in attitudes and stereotypes but also in official state policy."
* April 12, 1994 the CEDAW Committee told Libya "the interpretation of the Koran had to be reviewed in the light of the provisions of the Convention..."
And the list goes on. The CEDAW Committee takes its role seriously of intervening in personal issues, even going beyond what the treaty states.
While the committee has no enforcement power, governments and non-government organizations are encouraged to use the treaty in every way possible (including lawsuits and changing public policy). Some contend that CEDAW could be considered "international customary law" and therefore must be recognized by legislatures and courts. Developing countries are particularly vulnerable to pressure when nations and international organizations condition funding or loans on whether they are in compliance with UN treaties. Ratifying CEDAW would lend U.S. power and prestige to this faulty
document and rogue committee.
It has been argued that the U.S. could help influence the debate over women's rights by having a representative on the CEDAW Committee. That would only be one person out of twenty-three. The members are chosen for their expertise on gender feminism and there is no guarantee the U.S. will win a seat. Two of the twelve worst offenders of sexual trafficking who have signed CEDAW are also members on the CEDAW Committee (Indonesia and Turkey).
Senators should not be fooled by the name. The evidence is overwhelming - CEDAW is a dangerous treaty that will be used by gender feminists to impose their will on America's law and culture.
(Wendy Wright is Senior Policy Director for the Concerned Women of America, the nation's largest public policy women's organization.)
Free Congress Foundation
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