Women NC will connect to the women around the globe to learn from by exchanging ideas in improvement of life in North Carolina.
Currently one of the most important concerns of the Women’s movement in the United States is the ratification of the Women’s International treaty called CEDAW (Convention for Elimination of All forms of Discrimination Against Women). In order to ratify CEDAW in the United States, a grass root movement in necessary to be launched everywhere including North Carolina. Although this is a national legislation, the ratification of CEDAW will facilitate the future legislations in favor of women in national and local level. The Treaty for the Rights of Women is the world’s most complete international agreement on basic human rights for women.The treaty was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1979. As of December 2010, 186 countries have ratified the Treaty for the Rights of Women. Only seven countries have not ratified it yet: Sudan, Somalia, Iran, the United States, Nauru, Palau, and Tonga. Nations that ratify the Treaty commit themselves to take constructive actions to improve the status of women and end discrimination against them. The ratifying nations commit themselves to:
- Take measures to ensure that women can enjoy the same basic human rights and fundamental freedoms as men.
- Have in place legal and judicial procedures to protect the rights of women.
- Take measures to eliminate discrimination against women by individuals, organizations or enterprises.
- Submit national reports every four years to a United Nations advisory group of international experts, the CEDAW Committee, to ensure transparency on what measures the country has taken to implement the provisions of the treaty.
Senate consent will require a two-thirds majority – that is, 67 “yes” votes by the full United States Senate. (The House of Representatives has no role in the ratification process.) The Treaty will first be introduced by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Millions of women, men, girls and boys across this country support the Treaty. There are many religious, civic, and community organizations that anticipate US ratification of CEDAW.
