Women's Rights (CEDAW)
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.
Key Links
UN Women CEDAW Text
UN High Commissioner for recent developments, links to treaty, reports www.ohchr.org/en/hrbodies/cedaw/pages/cedawindex.aspx
Amnesty International Fact Sheet on CEDAW www.amnestyusa.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/cedaw_fact_sheet.pdf
Organization working for US Senate Ratification
http://www.cedaw2015.org/
Fact Sheet on Human Trafficking and Prostitution
The Scope of the Problem
- It is estimated that 700,000 to 2 million people are trafficked annually.
- According to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, “trafficking of human beings has reached epidemic proportions. No country is immune.”
- “Traffickers face few risks and earn huge profits.”
- A recent CIA report estimated that 45,000...
Prize for Women’s Creativity in Rural Life 2007 Innovative Techniques in Peace Building
Paula Daeppen FAWCO UN Liaison
It is with great pleasure that FAWCO has nominated Mercy Kiyapyap of West Pokot, Kenya for the 2007 Prize for Women’s Creativity in Rural Life. This is a prize sponsored by the Women’s World Summit Foundation to...
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice March 8,
2007
US State Department
2201 C Street NW
Washington,
DC 205020
Dear Madame Secretary,
To mark the 2007 International Women’s Day, we the
undersigned as members of
FAWCO, the Federation of American Women’s Clubs Overseas,
the oldest and largest organization
representing private sector Americans
Senator Joseph Biden
Senate Committee on Foreign Relations March 8, 2007
Dirksen
Senate Office
Building
Washington,
DC 20510
6225
Dear Senator Biden,
On March 8, International Women’s Day, we the undersigned are members of the FAWCO(Federation
of American Women’s Clubs Overseas), the oldest and largest organization representing
private sector Americans living abroad urge you endorse full...
An update on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and background information
History and Background
On December 18, 1979, the United Nations adopted the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). The call for a Treaty for the Rights of Women emerged from the First World Conference on...