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The 1979 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 May 2009

Noreen Burrows
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Extract

The 1979 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (hereinafter the 1979 Convention) was adopted unanimously by the United Nations General Assembly on 18 December 1979. It can be seen as the culmination of the work of the UN Commission on the Status of Women in its function of preparing international legal instruments on the status of women. The Convention brings together in a single international instrument the various international conventions already in existence which define the sphere of womens rights and brings into the legislative ambit many of the recommendations which have been adopted over the years by the Commission since its inception in 1946.

Type
Articles
Information
Netherlands International Law Review , Volume 32 , Issue 3 , December 1985 , pp. 419 - 460
Copyright
Copyright © T.M.C. Asser Press 1985

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References

1. The text of the Convention is annexed to United Nations General Assembly Resolution 34/180 of 18 December 1979. The resolution was adopted by a vote of 130 in favour to none against, with 10 abstentions. The Convention was opened for signature on 1 March 1980 and to date has attracted 90 signatures and 54 ratifications, ILM 1980, 33.

2. See UN Docs. E/CN.6/573 and E/CN.6/574 for the views of various States on the legal nature of the Declaration.

3. UN Doc. E/CN.6/591.

4. UN Doc. E/CN.6/589.

5. UN Doc. E/CN.6/591.

6. UN Doc. E/CN.6/591 Add 1.

7. UN GAOR 34th session 1979. UN Docs. A/C.3/34 S.R. 70–73. Compare this with the 43 meetings of the Third Committee held to discuss the draft Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.

8. GA Res. 3010 (XXX) (1972).

9. UN Doc. E/Conf. 66/34.

10. GA Res. 3521 (XXXIII) (1975).

11. UN Docs. A/C.3/34/S.R. 70–73.

12. This is the position of the United Kingdom Government. See UN Doc. A/C..3/34/S.R. 71. See also the statement of the United Kingdom to the General Assembly at the adoption of the Convention in A/23/830.

13. UN Doc. E/5909.

14. UN Doc. A/Conf. 94/20.

15. For a comparative description see Schmidt, Folke, ed., Discrimination in Employment (Stockholm 1978Google Scholar).

16. Obviously this is not the view of a number of Third World States who view human rights as part of the wider move towards development.

17. UN Doc. E/CN.6/608.

18. UN Doc. A/C.3/34 S.R. 72.

19. UN Doc. E/CN.6/591.

20. UN Doc. E/5909.

21. Ibid.

22. Schwelb, Egon, ‘The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination’, 15 ICLQ (1966) at p. 996Google Scholar.

23. Ibid at p. 1015.

24. Much has been written on affirmative action programmes in the United States. See, for example, Goldman, Alan H., Justice and Reverse Discrimination (Princeton, NJ 1979Google Scholar).

25. Baake, v. Regents of the University of California, 533 p.2d. 1152 (1976)Google Scholar.

26. Perhaps the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women may take up the extent to which a State might exercise its margin of appreciation.

27. Slavery Convention (1926), Protocol Amending the Slavery Convention (1953), Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade, and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery (1956), Abolition of Forced Labour Convention (1957), Convention on the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others (1949).

28. For the text see United Nations, Human Rights, A Compilation of International Instruments of the United Nations (1973) p. 90Google Scholar.

29. UN Doc. E/Conf. 66/34.

30. UN Doc. E/CN.6/591.

31. GA Res. 3010 (1972).

32. UN Doc. E/Conf. 66/34.

33. See, for example, UN Doc. E/1997.

34. UN Doc. E/Conf. 66/34 at p. 21 et seq.

35. UN Doc. E/5909 at p. 108 et seq.

36. UN Doc. H/Conf. 94/8.

37. See below the discussion of Article 14 relating to rural women.

38. The European Community has also taken on board the issue of equal opportunity. See, OJ L 45 of 19.2.1975, p. 19, OJ L 39 of 14.2.1976, p. 40.

39. The European Community has also developed provisions relating to equal pay, see Article 119 of the Treaty of Rome and the directive on equal pay referred to above.

40. Article 119 of the Treaty of Rome has been held to cover some benefits such as concessionary travel arrangements and some state provided pension rights where the employer is required by law to make contributions to a pension scheme.

41. The fact that the Convention is to be progressively implemented will make it possible for States to ratify the Convention if they intend to introduce social security schemes when they are in an economically strong position.

42. UN Doc. E/CN.6/591.

43. UN Doc. E/5909.

44. UN Doc. E/CN.6/591.

45. UN Doc. E/Conf. 66/34.

46. Ibid p. 76.

47. Ibid p. 80.

48. Ibid p. 87.

49. UN Doc. E/CN.6/629.

50. UN Doc. A/Conf. 94/20.

51. UN Doc. E/CN.6/L.687. The proposal was put toward jointly by Egypt, India, Indonesia, Iran, Pakistan and the USA.

52. UN Doc. A/Conf. 94/8.

53. See, for example, Sachs, A. and Hoff-Wilson, J., Sexism and the Law (Oxford 1978Google Scholar).

54. UN Doc. E/CN.6/591.

55. UN Doc. E/CN.6/S.R. 650.

56. United Nations, Equal Rights for Women — A Call to Action (1973Google Scholar).

57. UN Doc. A/C 3/34. S.R. 70–73.

58. UN Doc. E/5909.

59. UN Doc. E/CN.6/591.

60. UN Doc. E/CN.6/591/Add 1. The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination was itself modelled on the procedures established by the (then) draft Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Schwelb, , loc.cit., n. 22Google Scholar.

61. UN Doc. E/CN.6/608. For a discussion of the composition of the Committee and its working to date see Galey, M., ‘International Enforcement of Women's Rights’, 6 Human Rights Quarterly (1984) at p. 463CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

62. UN Doc. E/CN.6/608.

63. Schwelb, , loc.cit., n. 22Google Scholar.

64. UN Doc. E/CN.6/NGO.272 and Add 1.

65. The Convention on the Political Rights of Women required only 6 ratifications to enter into force.

66. Schwelb, , loc.cit., n. 22Google Scholar.

67. Ibid.