SAMPLE TEMPLATE LETTER TO CONGRESSIONAL LEADER(S) URGING RATFICATION OF CEDAW

Date ______________ , 2012

The Honorable __________________ United States Senate Office ______________ Senate Office Bldg. Washington, D.C., 20510

Dear Senator _____________: I urge you to support ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). CEDAW is a landmark international agreement that affirms principles of fundamental human rights and equality for women around the world. Ratifying CEDAW would continue America’s proud bipartisan tradition of promoting and protecting human rights and it does not require any additional costs or appropriations.

Ratification of CEDAW would strengthen the United States’ position as a global leader on behalf of Human Rights. This international agreement provides a practical blueprint for each country to achieve progress for women and girls. Around the world, it has been used to reduce sex trafficking and domestic violence; provide access to education and vocational training; increase the political participation of women by securing the right to vote and to hold public office; bring an end to forced marriages and ensure the right to inherit property; help mothers and families by providing access to maternal health care; and promote economic participation such as the ability to work and own a business without discrimination.

President Carter signed CEDAW on 17 July 1980 and submitted it to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, but the bill did not pass under his administration. Under the leadership of Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, the United States ratified similar human rights treaties designed to eliminate genocide, torture and race discrimination. Our government’s refusal to ratify CEDAW sends a disturbing message to the world: e.g. that women and girls do NOT deserve the same protection of their human rights that we have guaranteed to others.

Equally disturbing, CEDAW has now been ratified by 187 out of 193 countries, 90% of the UN membership. The United States is one of only seven countries that have not ratified CEDAW. These include Iran, Somalia, Sudan and three small Pacific Island nations (Palau, Nauru and Tonga). It is truly embarrassing for the United States to be listed among some of the nations that are renowned for the violence and discrimination that their female subjects experience on a daily basis.

Given the horrific statistics of violence against women and girls around the globe, their lack of access to decent health care, education, and opportunities to earn a living, and the unbelievable difficulties they have experienced in war-torn countries and nations that have

suffered natural disasters such as Haiti, it is clearly time for our country, which was a proud champion and signatory of CEDAW to ratify the treaty!

By continuing to ignore the treaty, the United States in essence has said to the world that it does NOT believe that women are entitled to the same Human Rights that men take for granted. As a result, other nations that have ratified CEDAW are invited to ignore recommendations of the Commission on the Status of Women when it suggests reforms to meet the goals of the treaty. Indeed, women leaders in other countries have urged American citizens to get our government to ratify CEDAW so their leaders won’t use US non-ratification as an excuse to ignore needed and recommended changes in their laws or practices. I urge you to support the ratification of CEDAW, and thereby to restore our standing as a consistent champion of Human Rights for ALL people! Thank you,

Sincerely,

___________________________________ __________________Signature Date[Your contact info]

Disclaimer note: The template above is courtesy of Zonta International, which provides 5 additional templates on their site. The template can be copied and used verbatim or you may choose to use it as a guide to create your own, more personal correspondence.

Additional information about how to reach or send correspondence to your elected congressional leaders (e.g., mail, email, direct online contact form, etc.) can be found on the U.S. House of Representative or U.S. Senate website.