Senate Committee Votes for UN 'Women's Rights' Treaty

CNSNEWS.com ^ | 7/30/02 | Jeff Johnson

[kattracks]

Capitol Hill (CNSNews.com) - The Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted Tuesday for ratification of a controversial United Nations treaty opposed by a number of conservative women's groups.

The committee recommended ratification of the U.N. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) by a vote of 12 to seven. Republicans Gordon Smith (Ore.) and Lincoln Chafee (R.I.) crossed party lines to join all 10 committee Democrats in voting for the agreement.

Sen. Joseph Biden (D-Del.), chairman of the committee, said CEDAW "can be viewed as an international bill of rights."

"It sets out basic standards for women's rights, from the right to education to the right to equal employment opportunity to the right to equality under the law in marriage," Biden wrote with committee member Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) in an op-ed piece published around the country Tuesday.

"Nearly 170 nations have joined the treaty, but the United States stands with the likes of Afghanistan, Iran, Sudan, Syria and Somalia in failing to ratify it," he wrote.

But Sen. Jesse Helms (R-N.C.), the ranking minority member of the committee, says the treaty is a wolf in sheep's clothing.

"Unfortunately, some are confusing the very clear moral imperative to secure basic freedoms and liberties for women with pretense that a need exists to ratify the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW)," Helms wrote in a letter to Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) Monday.

"The documented radical agenda of the committee established by CEDAW is undisputed. (Among other things, that committee has directed China to legalize prostitution and has criticized Belarus for establishing Mother's Day.)," Helms added.

"Moreover, there can be no doubt that CEDAW supporters are attempting to use this treaty to advance a radical abortion agenda. This is evident in [CEDAW] committee reports directing Ireland to legalize abortion, and criticizing Ireland for the Church's influence in public policy," he concluded.

Biden and Boxer dismissed Helm's claim.

"Opponents warn that the treaty's call for universal access to family planning is really a disguised call for a right to abortion services. That is a charge with no basis in fact," the pair wrote in their op-ed.

"In 1994, the State Department certified that the treaty is abortion-neutral; that same year, the Committee on Foreign Relations agreed to a proposal, sponsored by Sen. Jesse Helms, making clear that nothing in the treaty shall be construed as creating any right to an abortion," they added.

But Helms chastised the two for invoking his name inaccurately.

"I strongly disagree," he said, referring to the claim that CEDAW is "abortion neutral" because of his amendment. "The negotiated provision of my proposal was so watered-down, that the amendment would not result in CEDAW's radical abortion agenda being eliminated."

Helms noted that, despite the inclusion of a weakened version of his amendment, he voted against ratification of CEDAW in 1994 because of the pro-abortion nature of the treaty.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) had written Biden, asking him to delay a vote on CEDAW while the department completes its review of "reservation, understandings, and declarations" the executive branch has with the language of the agreement, as well as its practical application by the U.N. implementation committee.

DOJ pointed to the same two examples Helms mentioned, expressing its reservations about the implementation committee.

"These are but two examples of the instances in which this committee has exploited CEDAW's vague text to advance positions contrary to American law and sensibilities," wrote Assistant Attorney General Daniel Bryant in a letter to Biden Friday.

Having passed the committee, the treaty can now be brought before the full Senate for ratification. A two-thirds majority, or 67 votes, would be required to ratify the treaty. No action is required in the House of Representatives.

Republican observers expect CEDAW to be brought up for a vote prior to the November mid-term elections, in an attempt to embarrass the Bush administration for its reservations about the vague language and implementation of the treaty.

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[Timesink]

Okay, I did a little digging, and it is true: As long as Bush "unsigns" the treaty before the full Senate votes on it, it's ZESTfully dead, and any action the Senate takes is irrelevant. For plenty of proof, just go to Google and plug in "Bush CEDAW treaty unsign".

And again, I fully believe there's no way 2/3 of the Senate would vote to ratify anyway. You'd need every single RAT plus 16 truly left-wing Republicans, of which there are only two or three IMHO. (There are a lot of RINOs, but RINOs aren't nearly as bad as true leftists.)

Of course, it's also completely unconstitutional. The treaty would require the US to violate states' rights, destroy the First Amendment, force the US to report to the UN on how well we were implenting the treaty's demands (total violation os US soverignty), etc. If it did pass, some group would get a judge to issue an injunction, and it would spend a few years bouncing around the federal courts until the SCOTUS completely slam-dunked it 9-0.

Oh, one more thing: No matter what treaties, UN or otherwise, we may or may not ratify, the simple reality is that if the president wants to withdraw from one or simply ignore it, he can do so and nobody can stop him. This is just what Bush did with the START II treaty. He simply said "we're withdrawing," and that was the end of it.

[justshe]

Thanks! Appreciate your research!

(checking one 'worry' off my list)

[rdf]

No, the treaty will not go to the President, and there is no opportunity for a veto. It was signed by a previous President, and will go into effect if it is ratified by a 2/3 vote of the Senate.

Thanks for the correction. But see the posts below. There is still room for the Executive to act here.

I am not so sure about the Senate. I hope either the Senate shows nerve, or, if it seems likely not to, the President steps up to the plate.

Best to you,

Richard F.

[rdf]

I am quitting FR.

Ask the management if you want to know why.

Farewell,

Richard F.

[rdf]

Here is one last thing, for America and the common good.

Dear Colleague,

On Monday we will have an urgent action alert related to today's Friday
Fax. There is concern in the US Senate that CEDAW may be approaching
ratification. Pro-CEDAW forces are very organized.

I want to point out that the Friday Fax is written not by me but by
Douglas A. Sylva who is C-FAM's Director of Research. He has been writing
it for over a year and I do not know what we would do without him. Doug is
in the current issue of National Review Online with an article on AIDS.

Spread the word.

Yours sincerely,

Austin Ruse
President

Goodbye!

Richard F.