CEDAW and its Application to Indigenous Communities

This article is an edited version of a policy guide that was submitted to an international meeting of Indigenous Peoples at the United Nations in New York City during May, 2011. Developed in collaboration with American Indian Law Alliance and Seventh Generation Fund for Indigenous Peoples. Revised, edited, updated, and published here with permission from the author.

Respect for human rights is on of the guiding principles of the United Nations, and the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) is one of many multilateral international agreements that promote gender equity. CEDAW has been referred to an International Bill of Rights for Women because it addresses three broad areas: civil rights, legal status, and human reproduction. Discrimination in these areas are especially pernicious because impediments to prosperity, harm to families, diminished health, and obstacles that prevent women from achieving their full potential and from full participation in society.

Development of CEDAW

CEDAW emerged from post World War II human rights agreements that recognized every person is entitled to the same rights, without distinction. The International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights were two major accomplishments that created a comprehensive human rights framework. Yet, the United Nations found that human rights guarantees were insufficient to provide equal treatment for women. Between 1946 and 1974, the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) addressed issues of gender equity, and in 1974 the CSW began preparing a Convention that would be a “a single, comprehensive, internationally binding instrument to eliminate discrimination against women" (Division for the Advancement of Women). By 1979 the United Nations General Assembly adopted CEDAW in its final form, the following year 64 states signed CEDAW, and on July 17, 1981 CEDAW became binding on the signatory states.

Promoting gender equity

CEDAW recognizes that women’s contributions to society remain largely unrecognized and that the full development of a nation, international welfare, and peace require full recognitions of women’s rights and gender equality. The Convention is based on the principle that certain practices within government make it impossible for women to receive equal treatment, and thus must be eliminated for equality to be achieved. These practices include:

• Apartheid

• All forms of racism

• Racial discrimination

• Colonialism

• Neo-colonialism

• Aggression

• Foreign occupation, domination, and interference in domestic affairs of nations.

Additionally, CEDAW recognizes social condition that promote gender equality as well as international peace:

• Resolving international conflicts

• Cooperation between nations

• Disarmament (nuclear and other types)

• Just, equal and mutually beneficial international agreements

• Self-determination and independence for peoples in colonial and occupied territories

• Respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of nations

Case studies on gender equity

Political party reforms in Bulgaria

Bulgaria is a democracy, but women's political participation is not equal. Studies of the Bulgarian political system have found that it is easier to increase the number of female participants in government through appointments to office rather than elections, which suggests electoral gender bias.

To increase women's political opportunities liberal political parties established women's political chapters to help women build political skills and increase visibility. Party quotas for women in leadership, and political party mandates for female candidate nominees are two other approaches for increasing gender equity in politics.

Non Governmental Organizations (NGO) have been instrumental in providing technical training for minority women in areas such as legislative drafting, gender budgeting, and gender impact assessment. NGO’s also successfully advocated for drafting, adoption, and implementation of key legislation to address domestic violence, human trafficking, and anti-discrimination.

Bulgaria’s participation in the European Union was contingent on adopting legislation that would guarantee gender rights, and the work of NGO’s was instrumental in meeting that contingency.

Electoral quotas in Peru

Peru’s “gender neutral” quota law established a 30% minimum political representation for either gender. This quota law resulted in an increase in the number of women elected to office. Other suggested strategies include better media communications, increased campaign funding, and technical support aimed at increasing the number of qualified female political candidates.

Aboriginal women’s rights in Canada

Canada has ratified CEDA, so it is responsible for reporting status and progress to the CEDAW Committee every four years. The CEDAW Committee provides feedback to these reports, which has spurred positive changes in Canadian women’s rights, and especially the rights of Aboriginal women. Changes have included extension of parental leave from 10 to 35 weeks, federal funding for over 17,500 early learning and childcare spaces; and implementation of numerous programs focused on reproductive health, diabetes, breast cancer, and tobacco control. These improvements benefit not only women, but the entire Aboriginal community.

Initiatives have been enacted to reduce domestic violence, human trafficking and smuggling, sexual exploitation of children, better protections for immigrant and refugee women, and reduction of family violence especially focused on Aboriginal women and the Girl Child. Reporting and consultation between Canada and the CEDAW Committee has resulted in gains for Canadian women in general, and Aboriginal Communities in particular.

CEDAW in the courts

In several nations, CEDAW has been used in court to protect women:

Canadian Supreme Court upheld refugee status of a Chinese woman because she feared forced sterilization if she returned to China. The Court’s opinion was based on the CEDAW right to “decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing, and timing of children,” Chan v. Canada (Minister of Employment and Immigration).

High Court of Pakistan invalidated a coerced marriage and upheld a woman's free will to make a marriage contract, Mst Humaira v. Malik Moazzam Ghayas Khokhar & Ors.

Improving equity across the globe

In addition to the case studies above, there are a variety of ways in which CEDAW has been successfully used to improve equity between women and men.

In Uganda, state funds were used to finance policies and programs to stop violence against women;

• In India, to increase the participation of girls in the education system;

• In Argentina, Mexico, and Australia to establish health care programs for Indigenous and

  migrant women;

• In China to establish equal inheritance and marital property ownership;

• In many countries to improve to maternity leave and child care benefits for working women.

The importance of political will

Citizens and NGOs can work to encourage adherence to CEDAW if their nation is a CEDAW signatory. The CEDAW Committee encourages governments to cooperate with NGOs and consider their input. Citizens can use resources and case studies mentioned above to promote and elevate CEDAW application to economic and social policies at all levels of government.

Where CEDAW has not been ratified, citizens and NGO’s can identify leaders and representatives who may support CEDAW and encourage them to take action for ratification.

Indigenous issues intersect with CEDAW

Indigenous peoples of both genders struggle with issues of social equity. Compared to their non-Indigenous counterparts, Indigenous women experience significantly greater impact from discrimination and social inequity. In most cases, true gender equity for Indigenous women will result in sweeping changes in almost every aspect of their lives.

For equity to be achieved, community-wide changes. must occur. For example, diabetes is at epidemic proportions for Indigenous women and men alike. Compared to the overall population, Indigenous peoples have a far greater incidence of diabetes than non-Indigenous people. Article 12 of the Convention, seeks to eliminate discrimination in health care, and Article 14 is concerned with access to rural health care facilities. Additionally, Article 24 of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (DRIP) acknowledges Indigenous rights to traditional medicines, to maintain health practices, and to access health services.

Adding or upgrading health care facilities in communities results in so much more than improved health care accessibility for Indigenous women; the entire community benefits. When health care equity includes guaranteed access to traditional foods and medicines, then the fundamental expectations of the entire community change, as does the community's relationship with their traditional territories. Using CEDAW and DRIP together offers exciting possibilities for Indigenous women, their families, and their communities.

When viewed together, CEDAW and DRIP offer the promise of provide positive changes for Indigenous peoples. Realizing gender equity for Indigenous women means that all Indigenous peoples receive benefits. Government leaders need encouragement to implement the terms of CEDAW, however, communities can also begin to implement CEDAW principles locally to bring about improvements in the lives of the mothers, sisters, wives, daughters and children that are the Indigenous women of the world.

Learn more

To locate more information on CEDAW, learn more about how CEDAW has been applied to women's issues, find technical assistance for assembling shadow reports, or review the Convention, Optional Protocol, or other documents mentioned in this article, visit the Women's Environment & Development Organization (WEDO) and Global Justice Center websites listed below, or consult the citations and resources that follow.

WEDO: http://www.wedo.org/
Global Justice Center: http://www.globaljusticecenter.net/

Resource List

Collections of Resources:

"Summary of Resources." Stop Violence Against Women, The Advocates for Human Rights. <http://stopvaw.org/Summary_of_Resources.html>

"Resource Documents." CEDAW in Action in Southeast Asia. UN Women East and Southeast Asia Regional Office, Bankok. <http://cedaw-seasia.org/resource_documents.html>

History and Background:

"Technical Cooperation: Background." UN Women, United Nations. <http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/TechnicalCooperation/index.htm>

"About UN Women." UN Women, United Nations. <http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/daw/index.html>

"CEDAW Timeline." Citizens for Global Solutions. <http://globalsolutions.org/files/public/documents/CEDAW_Timeline.pdf>

Social Issues:

"Resources: Stop Violence Against Women." Fact Sheets. Amnesty International USA, New York. <http://www.amnestyusa.org/violence-against- women/resources/page.do?id=1051025>

CEDAW Advances Women's Human Rights." Center for Reproductive Rights. <http://reproductiverights.org/en/document/cedaw-advances-womens-human-rights>

"Section 4: Women's Human Rights In-Depth." United Nations Rule of Law. United Nations Executive Office of the Secretary-General, New York. <http://www.unrol.org/files/CEDAW_HRBA_guide_pt2_eng%5B1%5D.pdf>

Savitri, Goonesekere and Rangita De Silva-De Alwis. "Women's and Children's Rights in a Human Rights Based Approach to Development." Working Paper, Division of Policy and Planning, Unicef. Sep 2005. <http://www.unifem.org/cedaw30/attachments/resources/WomensAndChildrensRightsIn AHumanRightsBasedApproach.pdf>

Schuler, Sidney Ruth; Lisa M. Bates; and Farszana Islam. "Women's Rights, domestic Violence, and Recourse Seeking in Rural Bangladesh." Violence Against Women. Sage Publications14:3, 326-345 <http://vaw.sagepub.com/content/14/3/326.refs.html>

Case Studies:

"The Single Equality Act" The Union for Life, Unite, London. 2008. <http://www.unitetheunion.org/resources/equalities/equalities_resources/the_single_equa lity_act.aspx>

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"Rural Women’s Access to Land and Property in Selected Countries." International Land Coalition, Rome. Palombi & Lanci Jun 2004. <http://www.landcoalition.org/sites/default/files/publication/941/cedawrpt.pdf>

"IPP: Case Studies." International Land Coalition, Rome. <http://www.landcoalition.org/global- initiatives/indigenous-peoples-and-pastoralist/ipp-case-studies>

Practical Tips for Use:

"Knowledge Resource for Southeast Asia" International Women's Rights Action Watch Asia Pacific, Kuala Lumpur. <http://www.cedawsea-iwraw.org/>

"How to use CEDAW as an advocacy tool." International Land Coalition. Rome. 1 Nov 2009. <http://www.peacewomen.org/assets/file/Resources/NGO/WPS_CEDAWAdvocacyTool _ILC_2009.pdf>

Shadow Reports:

"Producing Shadow Reports to the CEDAW Committee: A Procedural Guide, January 2009." International Women's Rights Action Watch. Last accessed: 24 Apr 2011. <http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/iwraw/proceduralguide-08.html>

"CEDAW Shadow Report Preparation." Forum for Women, Law and Development. <http://www.fwld.org/shadow_report.php>

"CEDAW Shadow Reports." International Women's Rights Action Watch Asia Pacific. <http://www.iwraw-ap.org/resources/shadow_reports.htm>

Lobbying & Advocacy:

"How to use CEDAW as an advocacy tool." International Land Coalition. Rome. <http://www.landcoalition.org/publications/how-use-cedaw-advocacy-tool-0>

"Investigation and Documentation of Women's Human Rights Violations." Stop Violence Against Women, The Advocates for Human Rights. <http://stopvaw.org/investigation_and_documentation_of_women_s_human_rights_viola tions.html>

"Taking Action" Stop Violence Against Women, The Advocates for Human Rights. <http://stopvaw.org/taking_action.html>

"Influencing Legislators or Other Policy Matters." Stop Violence Against Women, The Advocates for Human Rights.

<http://stopvaw.org/influencing_legislators_or_other_policy_matters.html>

Ratification & Enforcement:

"CEDAW Hearing." Amnesty International USA, New York. <http://www.amnestyusa.org/violence-against-women/ratify-the-treaty-for-the-rights-of- women-cedaw/cedaw-hearing/page.do?id=1721070>

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"Enforcement Mechanisms In The United Nations" Stop Violence Against Women, The Advocates for Human Rights.

<http://stopvaw.org/Enforcement_Mechanisms_In_The_United_Nations.html>

Political and Legislative Support:

"In Support of CEDAW." Citizens for Global Solutions. <http://globalsolutions.org/human- rights/cedaw>

Verveer, Melanne. “Testimony Before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee on Human Rights and the Law: Washington, DC” U.S. Department of State. Washington DC. 18 Nov 2010. <http://www.state.gov/s/gwi/rls/rem/2010/151153.htm>

"News on the Ratification of CEDAW." CEDAW 2011. <http://www.cedaw2011.org/index.php/press-room/latest-news/archived-news>

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