BILL ANALYSIS
AJR 32
Page 1
Date of Hearing: March 23, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY
Mike Feuer, Chair
AJR 32 (Monning) - As Amended: March 15, 2010
As Proposed to Be Amended
SUBJECT : GENDER DISCRIMINATION: THE CONVENTION ON THE
ELIMINATION OF ALL FORMS OF DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN
KEY ISSUE : SHOULD THE UNITED STATES JOIN THE OTHER 185
COUNTRIES THAT HAVE RATIFIED THE CONVENTION ON THE ELIMINATION
OF ALL FORMS OF DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN WITH THE GOAL OF
ENDING GENDER DISCRIMINATION AND INEQUITY ISSUES AROUND THE
WORLD?
FISCAL EFFECT : As currently in print this measure is keyed
non-fiscal.
SYNOPSIS
This non-controversial resolution seeks to 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. It further asks Congress and the
President to enact appropriate legislation that addresses the
concerns expressed in this measure. In support of the measure,
the author notes that despite the fact that the United States is
considered to be a major proponent of human rights, as well as a
leader of the democratic societies of the world, it remains the
only industrialized nation in the world that has yet to ratify
this treaty. Ironically, the United States is now one of only
eight countries that have yet to ratify the treaty, alongside
Sudan, Somalia, Qatar, Iran, Nauru, Palau and Tonga. As is well
reported internationally, women around the world are often
denied basic human rights such as the right to work and access
to adequate healthcare. The intent of this bill is to
accelerate the passage of the Convention on the Elimination of
All Forms of Discrimination Against Women through the United
States Senate Foreign Relations Committee so that the United
States can join other signatory countries and fight against
gender discrimination and inequities. According to the author's
office, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly adopted the
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
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Against Women in 1979. The United Nations found that women
throughout the world are often denied basic human rights, such
as the right to vote and the right to hold office, and are often
the victims of human trafficking. The UN treaty seeks to
rectify this inequity, and this resolution urges the United
States to finally ratify this important international treaty.
SUMMARY : Respectfully 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.
Specifically, this measure , among other things, makes the
following findings:
1)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;
2)The treaty brings the female half of humanity into the focus
of human rights concerns, and establishes not only an
international bill of rights for women, but also an agenda for
action by countries to guarantee those rights;
3)Ratifying governments are committed to creating conditions
within which women can exercise and enjoy basic rights and
freedoms;
4)Ratifying governments are committed to affirmative action for
women until parity with men is reached;
5)Ratifying governments are committed to abolishing all forms of
slavery and prostitution of women;
6)Ratifying governments are committed to securing women's right
to vote, to stand for election, and to hold public office;
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7)Ratifying governments are committed to providing equal
opportunity for women to represent their countries
internationally;
8)Ratifying governments are committed to allowing women the
right to change or retain their nationality and that of their
children, regardless of marital status;
9)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;
10)Ratifying governments are committed to ensuring equal
employment, vocational, and promotion opportunities, job
security, and equal pay for work of equal value;
11)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;
12)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 future children;
13)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;
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14)Ratifying governments are committed to ensuring access to
financial credit for women;
15)Ratifying governments are committed to ensuring the right of
women to participate in recreational, cultural, and athletic
activities;
16)Ratifying governments are committed to giving special
attention to all the provisions of the treaty to women who
reside in rural areas;
17)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;
18)Ratifying governments are committed to establishing a minimum
age for marriage and to ensuring that all marriages are
entered into freely, by mutual consent;
19)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;
20)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;
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21)One hundred eighty-five countries have ratified the treaty;
22)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;
23)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
24)The Legislature should exhort the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee to pass the treaty favorably out of committee as
soon as possible.
EXISTING LAW provides, pursuant to the Unruh Civil Rights Act
(UCRA), that all persons within the jurisdiction of this state
are free and equal, and no matter what their sex, race, color,
religion, ancestry, national origin, disability, medical
condition, marital status, or sexual orientation are entitled to
the full and equal accommodations, advantages, facilities,
privileges, or services in all business establishments of every
kind whatsoever. (Civil Code section 51.)
COMMENTS : This non-controversial resolution seeks to
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. It
further asks Congress and the President to enact appropriate
legislation that addresses the concerns expressed in this
measure. In support of the measure, the author states:
Despite the fact that the United States of America is
considered to be a major proponent of human rights, as well
as a leader of the democratic societies of the world, it is
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the only industrialized nation in the world that has yet to
ratify this treaty. Women around the world are often
denied basic human rights such as the right to work and
access to adequate healthcare. The intent of this bill is
to accelerate the passage of the Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women
through the United States Senate Foreign Relations
Committee so that the United States can join other
signatory countries and fight against gender discrimination
and inequities.
According to the author's office, the United Nations (UN)
General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Elimination of
All Forms of Discrimination Against Women in 1979. The
Convention's primary focus is to address gender discrimination
and inequity issues around the world. It was found that women
throughout the world are often denied basic human rights, such
as the right to vote and the right to hold office, and are often
the victims of human trafficking. The UN treaty seeks to
rectify this inequity.
Upon UN adoption, President Carter signed the treaty on behalf
of the United States and sent it to the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee for ratification. Unfortunately, the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee has not taken action on this treaty in the
past 30 years while, since the passage of the treaty, 185
countries have ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Discrimination Against Women.
As the author notes, ratification of a treaty merely commits
governments to take steps to ensure that women in the country
will have the right to work, access to child care, adequate
healthcare and equal access to quality education. He further
points out that despite the fact that the United States is
considered to be a major proponent of human rights as well as a
leader of the democratic societies of the world, it is the only
industrialized nation in the world that has yet to ratify the
treaty.
Countless studies have underscored the tragic affects of
discrimination against women across the world. As Ambassador
Melanne Verveer, the U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's
Issues, recently stated at the Fifty-fourth session of the
Commission on the Status of Women, at the United Nations
Headquarters:
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To improve the health of women and girls, we also need
to address the myriad economic, cultural, social, and
legal barriers that impede their access to needed
health care. The unacceptably high rate of maternal
mortality is directly linked to persistent gender
inequalities, including gender-based violence, harmful
traditional practices ? lack of education, lack of
economic opportunity, and unequal access to adequate
health services and facilities. (Melanne Verveer,
Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's Issues, New
York, NY, March 3, 2010.)
AJR 32 declares that the California State Legislature believes
it is important to address gender equity issues and requests
Congress to ratify the UN Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Discrimination Against Women in order for the U.S. to
join the nearly 200 other signatory countries in the fight
against gender discrimination.
Technical Author's Amendments : In order to make a technical
clarification of the procedural history of the treaty in the
Congress, the author is making the following minor amendments to
the resolution:
On page 3, line 15, delete "has remained ever" and on line 16
delete "since" and insert on line 15:
was subsequently approved by the Committee with bi-partisan
support but never scheduled for a vote on the Senate Floor
because such treaties require a 2/3 vote of support
On page 3, line 32, after "Relations Committee to" insert "once
again"
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Senior Legislature
Opposition
None on file
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Analysis Prepared by : Drew Liebert / JUD. / (916) 319-2334