Thursday, November 18, 2010

The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW)

The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) is a landmark international agreement that affirms principles of fundamental human rights and equality for women around the world. CEDAW is a practical blueprint for each country to achieve progress for women and girls.

To date, 186 out of 193 countries have ratified the treaty. The United States is one of only seven countries—including Iran, Sudan, Somalia, and three small Pacific Island nations (Nauru, Palau and Tonga)—that have not yet ratified CEDAW. [1]

On Thursday, November 18, 2010, the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Human Rights and the Law will hold a hearing on the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). This is an international treaty that was drafted by the United Nations.

This is an international treaty that was drafted by the United Nations in 1979 and was signed by the Carter administration. It has never been ratified by the U.S. Senate. This could change this week.

If CEDAW is ratified, the rights of homeschoolers are in danger, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) treaty will be next in line for ratification. These treaties override our constitution and give the UN the right to make laws regarding our children. We will no longer have any right or say about how our children are educated.

The laws of our land, the laws that protect us under the constitution will be “trumped” by these International treaties. Pro-homosexual education curriculum will be mandatory.  [2]

CEDAW prohibits making distinctions between the roles of mother and father, and teaching a traditional understanding of the family. Children are to be taught that they can get along just as well with two mothers or two fathers, and any attempt to show otherwise could be considered discrimination against women. [3]

In the United States, ratification of international treaties requires two-thirds of the Senate (67 of 100 Senators) to vote in favor of the treaty, providing the Senate's advice and consent for ratification. But before an international treaty reaches the Senate floor, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee typically reviews international treaties and votes to send it forward for a consideration by the full Senate. Then the president signs the treaty and ratification is complete. [4]

The groups who are supporting the ratification are many. The groups include a broad range of religious, civic, and community organizations, such as the American Bar Association, Amnesty International USA, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, NAACP, the National Council of La Raza, National Council of Churches Women’s Ministries, National Education Association, The United Methodist Church, Sisters of Mercy, and the YWCA. [5]