FAWCO is a United Nations accredited non-governmental organization (NGO) with special consultative status with the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). FAWCO's representatives in New York, Geneva, Vienna, Athens, Bonn and other cities attend UN meetings on behalf of FAWCO, focusing on issues related to women and children in FAWCO's priority areas: education, environment, health and human rights.
by Peter W. Pruyn
From March 11–14, 2024 I attended my first Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68) at the UN in New York City. I attended 14 session in total, which I have listed below. Som...
by Carol Harbers, AWC Hamburg
The 68th annual session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) was a first for me – and most certainly not my last. As a college student, I was greatly impacted ...
CEDAW is the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. It was adopted in 1979 by the UN General Assembly and entered into force in 1981.
What does CEDAW do? Reduce sex trafficking and domestic violence
Provide access to education and vocational training
Ensure the right to vote
End forced marriage and child marriage and ensure inheritance rights
Help mothers and families by providing access to maternal health care
Ensure the right to work and own a business without discrimination
Why has the USA NOT ratified CEDAW? Almost all countries have ratified CEDAW - 189 out of 195 countries. Only six have not ratified including Sudan, Somalia, Iran, two small Pacific Island nations (Palau and Tonga) and THE UNITED STATES!
FAWCO supports CEDAW and continues to work towards it ratification.
The CEDAW Committee recently adopted a new General Recommendation No. 35, a milestone and a tool for accelerated implementation of regional and international obligations to eliminate gender-based violence. FAWCO was pleased to note language in the Recommendation explicitly acknowledging the important role of civil society in advancing gender-based violence as a priority on the global agenda.
"The Committee acknowledges that civil society groups,
Cities for CEDAW is a grassroots campaign launched at the UN Commission on the Status of Women in 2014 to gain support for the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) from US Mayors and secure 100 municipal CEDAW ordinances by January 2016.
On June 24, the Senator Barbara Boxer (D- CA) and Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) ranking members of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on International Operations and Organizations, Human Rights, Democracy and Global Women’s Issues convened a hearing entitled “Combating Violence and Discrimination Against Women: A Global Call to Action.” This was the first hearing on these vital...
The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women
Purpose - The treaty, often called the “Bill of Rights for Women”, provides an international standard for protecting and promoting women’s human rights and is the only international instrument that comprehensively addresses these rights; affirming that women have equal human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political,
FAWCO joins a coalition of NGOs and other women's groups' effort to launch a vitalCEDAW ratification campaign on January 3rd, the first day of the 113th Congress. It’s time to get this done! CEDAW is a landmark international agreement that affirms principles of fundamental human rights and equality for women around the world. It’s a discredit to our country...
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