Zonta Club of Tallahassee

What is CEDAW and Why Should We Care?

CEDAW is a UN Convention (treaty) on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. CEDAW was adopted by General Assembly of the UN in 1979. The US helped draft the Treaty, and President Carter was among the leaders who signed the convention in 1980.

186 nations have ratified the Convention. Only Iran, Somalia, Sudan, the UNITED STATES and 3 island nations Nauru, Palau and Tonga have NOT. The US is the ONLY Zonta country that has NOT ratified. US ratification by DECEMBER, 2009 is a MAJOR priority of Zonta International.

What can we do to get the U.S. Senate to ratify this important treaty?

We must begin by becoming informed. Step 1: read the documents; 2. Ask questions and seek answers from our committee; 3. vote for the CEDAW Resolution in the fall, 4. then participate in our ratification effort.

Zonta Club of Tallahassee, CEDAW Resolution, 2009

1) Zonta of Tallahassee letter to our Florida Senators- already addressed to Senator Le Mieux and Senator Nelson.

2) Zonta of Tallahassee letter to Senators on Foreign Relations Committee-please personalize and send to the Senators on the committee and those on the sub-committee.

3) Zonta of Tallahassee letter to all Senators -please personalize and send to all Senators.

Zonta Advocacy for U.S. Ratification, 2007

U.S. State Department Report to Congress on CEDAW

Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/cedaw/

This site has excellent information, including the full text of the Convention (Treaty), and information about the Committee that oversees nations who have ratified CEDAW and suggests changes that nations can make to fully comply.

Zonta International’s Commitment to CEDAW, March 2003

Zonta International Resolution on Optional Protocol, 2000

Jackie Shapiro’s Remarks, 25^th Anniversary of Committee on Elimination of Discrimination against women

U. S. CEDAW Reservations

5 CEDAW Myths

Additional Source of Information: www.womenstreaty.org

This site was created in 2004 by a large group of organizations that support CEDAW and work to fulfill its goals. It has very a useful resource for those interested in ratification:CEDAW Whole Book. The table of contents enables one to quickly get to chapters of interest. It is easy to download to explore when you have time.