Why the United States Should Ratify the Convention for the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW)

Abstract

More than half a century after Eleanor Roosevelt pioneered the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, her country still has not ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW or Women's Rights Treaty). Sadly, more than two decades after that treaty entered into force, most Americans-including most lawyers-cannot articulate why United States' ratification of that treaty is long overdue.