Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women

The United Nations General Assembly adopted the 4,462-word Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women on December 18, 1979. It came into force on September 3, 1981, and was the result of more than 30 years of work by the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, established in 1946.The Convention has been ratified by 189 countries – including India – and has 99 signatories. Countries that have ratified the Convention are legally bound to its provisions. It states that discrimination against women continues to exist, despite such instruments as the Charter of the United Nations, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenants of Human Rights – each of which stipulate equal rights for men and women.The ‘States Parties’ to the Convention agree to its 30 articles, “Convinced that the full and complete development of a country, the welfare of the world and the cause of peace require the maximum participation of women on equal terms with men in all fields” and “Bearing in mind the great contribution of women to the welfare of the family and to the development of society, so far not fully recognized, the social significance of maternity and the role of both parents in the family and in the upbringing of children, and aware that the role of women in procreation should not be a basis for discrimination but that the upbringing of children requires a sharing of responsibility between men and women and society as a whole.”The Convention contains 30 Articles arranged in six Parts. Articles 1-16 (in Parts I, II, III and IV) cover recommendations to State Parties about ending discrimination against women. Articles 17 to 22 (Part V) propose establishing a Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. Articles 22 to 30 (in Part VI) discuss the effect of the Convention on other transnational treaties and details the commitments required of State Parties. (In UN documents, a ‘State Party’ to a treaty is a country that has ratified or acceded to that particular treaty, and is therefore legally bound by the provisions in the instrument).The Convention beings with a necessary definition in Article 1 – it says that discrimination against women is “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, on a basis of equality of men and women, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field.”Article 2 clarifies that “State Parties condemn discrimination against women in all its forms”  and that they agree to pursue by all appropriate means a policy of eliminating such discrimination...