Senate Hearing Set On UN Women's Discrimination Treaty

www.CNSNews.com - (CNSNews.com) - A Senate committee hearing on a United Nations
treaty to address gender discrimination is set for later this month,
Capitol Hill sources tell CNSNews.com. The treaty, titled the "Convention on the Elimination
of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women," has drawn criticism
from conservative groups.

Sources say the hearing will be
a FULL Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing
that will be chaired by Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.)
on JUNE 13 at 9:30 am.

A spokesman for Boxer would only say that a hearing is being talked about for around that time but would not comment further.

Other sources tell CNSNews.com that Bush administration officials are trying to avoid testifying before the committee on the issue, because the administration was initially in favor of the treaty and now appears to be backing off.

Sources also say the administration is trying to get Boxer to call off the hearing but it does not appear that she is agreeing.

The White House did not return phone calls seeking comment.

The treaty known as "CEDAW" was adopted in 1979 by the full United Nations General Assembly. President Jimmy Carter signed it in 1980. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee passed it on September 29, 1994, but the full Senate has not ratified it.

It is often described as an "international bill of rights for women" and consists of a preamble and 30 articles and defines what constitutes discrimination against women and sets up an agenda to end such discrimination.

165 countries have signed the treaty thus far and that legally binds them to implement its provisions.

The Convention defines discrimination against women as "any distinction, exclusion or restriction made on the basis of sex which has the effect or purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment or exercise by women, irrespective of their marital status," in any field of endeavor.

When countries signed the treaty they agreed to make women and men equal in their legal system, abolish all discriminatory laws and adopt appropriate ones prohibiting discrimination against women.

The United Nations in a statement said the treaty is "the only human rights treaty which affirms the reproductive rights of women and targets culture and tradition as influential forces shaping gender roles and family relations."

"It affirms women's right to acquire, change or retain their nationality and the nationality of their children," the UN said on its website.

Countries that have ratified or acceded to the Convention must submit national reports, at least every four years to the UN, on measures they have taken to comply with their treaty obligations.

The Concerned Women for America, a conservative women's group, is against Senate ratification of the treaty.

"Women in the United States have the right to vote. They are fully participating members of society, protected by the federal Civil Rights Code and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) as well as state civil rights codes and state employment commissions," the CWA said in a statement on its website.

"The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women is flawed.
The US Senate must not ratify it.
At its best, CEDAW is unnecessary.
At its worst, CEDAW unravels America's families
and forces women to model themselves after global feminists' ideal image," the group concluded.

But Amnesty International (AI), a liberal human rights group, thinks the Senate should quickly ratify the treaty.

"The United States has already ratified other human rights treaties, including one banning discrimination on the basis of race. The United States should show leadership in the battle against discrimination against women as well, and (treaty) ratification is one way to do it," according to Amnesty International.

"Women in other countries also need the United States to speak loudly and clearly in support of the treaty, so that it can be used more effectively in their struggles. Without US support and ratification, other governments can easily ignore the Convention's mandate and their obligations under it," AI concluded.

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