BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE
Senator Ellen M. Corbett, Chair
2009-2010 Regular Session
AJR 32 (Monning)
As Amended May 10, 2010
Hearing Date: June 10, 2010
Fiscal: No
Urgency: No
KB:jd
SUBJECT
Gender Discrimination
DESCRIPTION
This measure, sponsored by the California Senior Legislature,
would request that the United States Congress ratify, and the
President sign, the United Nations Convention on the Elimination
of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. This measure
would also respectfully request that the Congress of the United
States and the President enact appropriate legislation that
addresses the concerns expressed in this measure.
BACKGROUND
The United Nations (UN) General Assembly adopted the Convention
on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women
in 1979 (Convention). The Convention's primary focus is to
address gender discrimination and inequity issues around the
world. The Convention defines what constitutes discrimination
against women and sets up an agenda for national action to end
such discrimination.
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. However, the United States has yet
to ratify this treaty. Since the passage of the treaty, 186
countries have ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Discrimination Against Women.
CHANGES TO EXISTING LAW
(more)
AJR 32 (Monning)
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This resolution states that 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.
This resolution states that 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.
This resolution states that ratifying governments are committed
to creating conditions within which women can exercise and enjoy
basic rights and freedoms.
This resolution states that 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.
This resolution states that ratifying governments are committed
to ensuring equal employment, vocational, and promotion
opportunities, job security, and equal pay for work of equal
value.
This resolution states that 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.
This resolution states that 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.
This resolution states that one hundred eighty-six countries
have ratified the treaty.
This resolution states that 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
AJR 32 (Monning)
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rights, yet the United States of America is the only
industrialized nation in the world that has not ratified the
treaty.
This resolution states that 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.
This resolution would request that the United States Congress
ratify, and the President sign, the United Nations Convention on
the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.
This measure would also respectfully request that the Congress
of the United States and the President enact appropriate
legislation that addresses the concerns expressed in this
measure.
COMMENT
1. Stated need for the bill
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.
2. Implications of ratifying 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.)
By accepting the Convention, countries commit to undertake a
series of measures to end discrimination against women in all
forms, including: (1) incorporating the principle of equality of
men and women in their legal system; (2) abolishing all
discriminatory laws and adopting appropriate ones prohibiting
discrimination against women; (3) establishing tribunals to
ensure the effective protection of women against discrimination;
and (4) to ensure elimination of all acts of discrimination
against women by persons, organizations, or enterprises.
Countries that ratify the treaty also agree to take appropriate
measures against all forms of traffic in women and exploitation
of women. The Convention is the only human rights treaty which
affirms the reproductive rights of women, and targets culture
and tradition as influential forces shaping gender roles and
family relations.
As noted by the author, the United States is the only
industrialized nation in the world that has yet to ratify this
treaty. AJR 32 would urge the United States Congress to ratify,
and the President to sign, the Convention so that the United
States joins the 185 countries that have already committed to
addressing gender equity issues by ratifying the Convention.
Support : American Civil Liberties Union; California Teachers
Association
Opposition : None Known
HISTORY
Source : The California Senior Legislature
Related Pending Legislation : None Known
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Prior Legislation : None Known
Prior Vote :
Assembly Judiciary Committee (Ayes 7, Noes 1)
Assembly Floor (Ayes 54, Noes 5)
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