Progressive women have been trying for 30 years to get our federal government to ratify CEDAW, which is an international human rights treaty focusing specifically on women. CEDAW stands for Convention for the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women. The U.S. is one of only seven countries who, so far, have refused to ratify the treaty. Iran, Somalia, and the Sudan also have not ratified CEDAW. One hundred and eighty six other countries have ratified it.
In his capacity as chair of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Human Rights and the Law, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) held a Senate hearing on this matter this afternoon. The next step is to get Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) to hold a vote on ratifying CEDAW in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. To learn more and take action, go here.
Photo of Dick Durbin by United States Senate.
