The United States Congress is set to vote on a United Nations bill called CEDAW in an upcoming session - possibly even this week - to get this extreme form of legislation pushed through before newly elected legislators take office. Three former U.S. presidents might have approved CEDAW, but couldn't raise enough congressional or citizen support. Why?
WHAT IS CEDAW?
The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) was adopted by the U.N. General Assembly in 1979. But it didn't gain notoriety until being introduced to a panel of American and foreign women by Hillary Clinton at the Fourth United Nations World Conference on Women in Beijing, 1995.
Sounds good:
CEDAW vows to eliminate any form of differentiation between the sexes in order to avoid discrimination against women. (see the U.N. introduction here and the full text here).
On the basis of this elegant surface language, CEDAW is lauded and pushed forward by Amnesty International and high-profile feminists as the greatest document to come along for the rights of women. Many countries, including democracies, have accepted CEDAW.
Sounds bad:
Some of these countries now realize that "any form of differentiation between men and women" isn't such a good thing. However, they're stuck with it.
The document's broad wording is ironically a tool against women in tyrannical and empirical countries, and in bullying small countries with little to no power, to accomplish things like this:
-Belarus' government was told to abolish Mother's Day because mothers typified by Mother's Day are stay-at-home moms. CEDAW dictates the working business woman as the ideal mother.
-China was told to decriminalize prostitution. Observe this wording: "The Committee is concerned that prostitution, which is often a result of poverty and economic deprivation, is illegal in China. The Committee recommends decriminalization of prostitution" (U.N. 25th Session). I.e. CEDAW advises that poor women become legal prostitutes. Since there are so many more Chinese men than women, rape and human trafficking have risen. If prostitution is legal, human trafficking will no longer be a crime.
-The U.N. began a campaign in Mexico to force easier access to state-funded abortion, while Mexico was a predominantly Catholic country.
-Slovenia was ordered to limit - not expand - women's choices of academic fields (i.e. no home economics, women must study things like technology and business).
-Italy was ordered to revise schoolbooks to stop showing mothers as role models.
-CEDAW recommends that 50 percent employment and elected positions be given to women, whether or not women qualify or even want the jobs.
CEDAW violates U.N. Charter, U.S. domestic policy, society and sovereignty:
The U.N. Charter states: "Nothing contained in the present Charter shall authorize the United Nations to intervene in matters which are essentially within domestic jurisdiction"(Chapter 1, Article 51 in U.N. Charter).
Yet, Article 2 of CEDAW requires nations to embody the principle of the equality of men and women in their national constitutions or other legislation (bolding mine).
Article 5 of CEDAW says that nations shall take appropriate measures to modify social and cultural patterns of conduct of men and women, with a view to achieving the elimination of prejudices ... based on stereotyped roles for men and women.
This may be advantageous for women in countries employing extreme Islamic tactics against them, but those countries have only given lip service to the document. Things haven't improved.
U.S. citizens with an opinion on CEDAW should contact their congressional representatives immediately.
Sources:
U.N. Introduction to CEDAWThe Official U.N. Charter, Chapter 1
"US Pro-Life/Pro-Family NGOs Flood White House Switchboard Against CEDAW," Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute, 6/7/02.
Save Mother's Day.com, a Campaign to Education America about the Dangers of CEDAW.
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