The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (Women's Convention) is an international treaty adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1979. There are nearly two hundred parties to the convention. The Convention is intended to broadly address all forms of discrimination against women, which it defines to include “any distinction, exclusion or restriction made on the basis of sex . . . in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field.” (Article 1) Among other topics, the Convention addresses gender-based violence, reproductive rights, economic inequalities between men and women, the right to education, sex trafficking, the right to vote, and rights to equal remuneration for equal work.
Implementation of the Convention is monitored by a body of independent experts termed the “CEDAW Committee” (“Committee”). Parties to the Convention must submit regular reports to the Committee regarding implementation of the rights of the Convention. The Committee then considers these reports and provides recommendations to the party.
The Committee also formulates general recommendations. The Committee has issued a number of general recommendations, addressing topics such as measures to protect women from HIV infection, collection of data regarding violence against women, female circumcision, collection of data regarding unpaid work by women, measurement and quantification of women’s unpaid work in relation to calculation of gross national products, and strategies to reduce violence against women.
An Optional Protocol to the Convention also allows the Committee to receive communications from individuals or groups in the form of claims regarding violation of rights that are protected under the Convention. The Committee can initiate inquiries into grave or systematic violations of women’s rights, and issue decisions regarding these inquiries. These steps are taken only in regard to parties to the Optional Protocol. As of 27 November 2007, there are 90 state parties to the Optional Protocol.