BILL ANALYSIS
AJR 32
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AJR 32 (Monning)
As Amended April 6, 2010
Majority vote
JUDICIARY 7-1
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|Ayes:|Feuer, Brownley, Evans, | | |
| |Jones, Lieu, Monning, | | |
| |Nava | | |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Knight | | |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Respectfully requests that the United States Congress
ratify, and President Obama sign, the United Nations (UN)
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
Against Women. Specifically, this resolution , 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 UN
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 ensuring girls' and
women's equal access to quality education in all subjects and
at all levels, including continuing and vocational programs
for women.
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5)Ratifying governments are committed to ensuring equal
employment, vocational, and promotion opportunities, job
security, and equal pay for work of equal value.
6)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.
7)In 1979, after the UN General Assembly adopted the treaty,
President Carter sent it to the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee for ratification, where it 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.
8)One hundred eighty-five countries have ratified the treaty.
9)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.
10)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.
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FISCAL EFFECT : None
COMMENTS : This non-controversial resolution seeks to
memorialize the United States Senate to ratify, and the
President to sign, the UN 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 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 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
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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.
Analysis Prepared by : Drew Liebert / JUD. / (916) 319-2334
FN: 0003841