FAWCO UN Rep Erica Higbie (FAUSA) led a team of over 50 academics, researchers, civil society leaders and UN experts in the development of The Women's Human Rights Teaching, Learning and Advocacy Resource (WHR TLAR), a user-friendly compendium of lesson plans for educators and activists. Developed collaboratively, this resource is organized into six modules dealing with the most pressing challenges to women's...
FAWCO's mission is to empower women and girls worldwide. Through our global programs, we raise awareness, promote action, advocate for policies, and support projects that contribute to achieving gender equality. FAWCO UN Reps are active in the NGO Committees on the Status of Women in New York, Geneva and Vienna, and we send delegations to the Commission on the Status...
CEDAW is the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. It was adopted in 1979 by the UN General Assembly and entered into force in 1981.
What does CEDAW do?
Reduce sex trafficking and domestic violence
Provide access to education and vocational training
Ensure the right to vote
End forced marriage and child marriage and ensure inheritance rights
Help mothers and families by providing access to maternal health careEnsure the right to work and own a business without discrimination
Why has the USA NOT ratified CEDAW?
Almost all countries have ratified CEDAW - 189 out of 195 countries. Only six have not ratified including Sudan, Somalia, Iran, two small Pacific Island nations (Palau and Tonga) and THE UNITED STATES!
FAWCO supports CEDAW and continues to work towards it ratification.
Key Links
UN Women CEDAW Text
UN High Commissioner for recent developments, links to treaty, reports www.ohchr.org/en/hrbodies/cedaw/pages/cedawindex.aspx
Amnesty International Fact Sheet on CEDAW www.amnestyusa.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/cedaw_fact_sheet.pdf
Organization working for US Senate Ratification
http://www.cedaw2015.org/
The UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), part of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), promotes gender equality and the advancement of women. Its charge is to measure progress towards equality and highlight challenges, set standards and formulate concrete policies to promote equality and women’s empowerment, and encourage mainstreaming of the gender perspective in all UN activities worldwide.
FAWCO is a member of the NGO Committees on the Status of Women (NGO CSWs) in NY, Geneva and Vienna. FAWCO members and UN Representatives regularly attend the annual CSW in New York. You can read blogs by members of FAWCO's delegations to CSW.
FAWCO signs on to Written and Oral Statements submitted to UN Women for consideration by CSW, joining our partner women's NGOs with consultative status to ECOSOC. You can read these statements on the Advocacy page.
| Key Links | |
| UN CSW | http://www.unwomen.org/en/csw |
| NGO CSW New York | www.ngocsw.org |
| NGO CSW Geneva | www.ngocsw-geneva.ch/ |
| NGO CSW Vienna | https://ngocswvienna.org/ |
“The trade in and exploitation of human beings through trafficking is one of the gravest violations of human dignity that exist. The purposes of trafficking in persons range from forced and bonded labour to various forms of sexual exploitation, forced marriages, removal of organs and other contemporary practices similar to slavery."
Navi Pillay
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights