BILL NUMBER: AJR 32	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MARCH 15, 2010

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Monning

                        FEBRUARY 16, 2010

   Relative to gender discrimination.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AJR 32, as amended, Monning. Gender discrimination.
   This measure would memorialize the United States Senate to ratify,
and the President to sign, the United Nations Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, and would
memorialize the Congress of the United States and the President to
enact appropriate legislation that addresses the concerns expressed
in this measure.
   Fiscal committee: no.



   WHEREAS, On December 18, 1979, the Convention on the Elimination
of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women was adopted by the
United Nations General Assembly, and after the 20th nation ratified
the convention on September 3, 1981, it became an international
treaty; and
   WHEREAS,  Bringing   The treaty brings 
the female half of humanity into the focus of human rights concerns
 , the treaty   and  establishes not only
an international bill of rights for women, but also an agenda for
action by countries to guarantee those rights; and
   WHEREAS, Ratifying governments are committed to creating
conditions within which women can exercise and enjoy basic rights and
freedoms; and
   WHEREAS, Ratifying governments are committed to affirmative action
for women until parity with men is reached; and
   WHEREAS, Ratifying governments are committed to abolishing all
forms of slavery and prostitution of women; and
   WHEREAS, Ratifying governments are committed to securing women's
right to vote, to stand for election, and to hold public office; and
   WHEREAS, Ratifying governments are committed to providing equal
opportunity for women to represent their countries internationally;
and
   WHEREAS, Ratifying governments are committed to allowing women the
right to change or retain their nationality and that of their
children, regardless of marital status; and
   WHEREAS, Ratifying governments are committed to ensuring girls'
and women's equal access to quality education in all subjects and at
all levels, including continuing and vocational programs for women;
and
   WHEREAS, Ratifying governments are committed to ensuring equal
employment, vocational, and promotion opportunities, job security,
and equal pay for work of equal value; and
   WHEREAS, Ratifying governments are committed to ensuring that
women who are married, pregnant, or have children have the right to
work and the right to maternity leave and other appropriate benefits;
and
   WHEREAS, Ratifying governments are committed to ensuring that
child care is available, and that pregnant women are protected from
work that may be hazardous to their health or the health of their
 unborn child   future children  ; and
   WHEREAS, Ratifying governments are committed to providing adequate
health services to women, including family planning where necessary,
and prenatal care, including nutrition for pregnant and lactating
mothers; and
   WHEREAS, Ratifying governments are committed to ensuring access to
financial credit for women; and
   WHEREAS, Ratifying governments are committed to ensuring the right
of women to participate in recreational, cultural, and athletic
activities; and
   WHEREAS, Ratifying governments are committed to giving special
attention to all the provisions of the treaty to women who reside in
rural areas; and
   WHEREAS, Ratifying governments are committed to ensuring women
equal rights in choosing a spouse, name, or occupation; to marry and
divorce; to own, buy, sell, and administer property; to share
parenting  roles  , regardless of marital status; and to
choose the number and spacing of their children, including adoption
or guardianship; and
   WHEREAS, Ratifying governments are committed to establishing a
minimum age for marriage and to ensuring that all marriages are
entered into freely, by mutual consent; and
   WHEREAS, In 1979, after the United Nations General Assembly
adopted the treaty, President Carter sent it to the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee for ratification, where it has remained ever
since; and
   WHEREAS, Over six million women are beaten by their husbands or
boyfriends each year in the United States, and 1,500 of them die from
their injuries; and
   WHEREAS, One hundred eighty-five countries have ratified the
treaty; and
   WHEREAS, The United States of America is considered by many
nations to be the leader of the democratic societies of the world and
the leading proponent of human rights, yet the United States of
America is the only industrialized nation in the world that has not
ratified the treaty; and
   WHEREAS, President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton should be strongly urged to place the treaty in the highest
category of priority to accelerate its passage through the Senate
Foreign Relations Committee; and
   WHEREAS, The Legislature should exhort the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee to pass the treaty favorably out of committee as
soon as possible; now, therefore, be it
   Resolved by the Assembly and the Senate of the State of
California, jointly, That the Legislature of the State of California
requests that the United States Congress ratify, and President Obama
sign, the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms
of Discrimination Against Women; and be it further
   Resolved, That the Legislature of the State of California
respectfully requests the Congress and the President to enact
appropriate legislation that would address the concerns set forth in
this measure; and be it further
   Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of
this resolution to the President and Vice President of the United
States, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Majority
Leader of the Senate, the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, the
House Committee on Foreign Affairs, and to each Senator and
Representative from California in the Congress of the United States.