louisville cedaw
TRANSCRIPT
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.
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
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
• “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
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!”