UN Committee Directs Reinterpretation of Religion Along UN Guidelines

By Austin Ruse | 1999

     (NEW YORK – C-FAM)   A UN committee recently directed the government of Libya to reinterpret the Koran along lines more compatible with UN guidelines.This same committee also ordered the government of China to legalizeprostitution, and told the government of Kyrgyzstan to legalize lesbianism.

     The UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women sits in judgement of those countries that have ratified the Convention of the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) which was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1979 and passed into effect in 1981. As of December last year, 163 countries have ratified theConvention, although the United States has not.

     CEDAW makes broad claims to oversee and encourage the raising of thestatus of women throughout the world. The Convention "requires governments to eliminate discrimination against women in the enjoyment of all civil, political, economic, and social rights."  According to the UN Division for the Advancement of Women, "states are obliged not onlyto work for equality in public life but also in private life."  

     States Parties to the Convention are required to report to the 23-member Committee on a regular basis and show how they are actively implementing the treaty. Excerpts from the CEDAW Committee reports showthe ideological scope of the CEDAW Committee.

     Although not mentioned in CEDAW, of paramount importance to the Committee is the question of abortion. The Committee believes thatabortion is a fundamental human right and has directed a number of governments to change their restrictive laws. The Committee complained to Mexico about "the lack of access for women to easy and swift abortion."  The Committee criticized Italy for allowing doctors toclaim"conscientious objection" in performing abortions.

     The Committee voices a continual objection to religion as an inhibit or of women's rights.  The Committee compared religion with extremism and suggested that neither should be allowed to deny the human rights ofwomen." The Committee criticized Croatia for allowing "church-related organizations to adversely influence" women's rights. It told the Dominican Republic that an "intermingling of the secular and religious spheres" is a "serious impediment to implementing the Convention." And the Committee told Libya, which is governed by Muslim religious law, that it had to reinterpret the Koran "in the light of the provisions ofthe Convention."

     The Committee also believes that the role of wife and mother is denigrating to women and urges governments to change laws, socialmores, and traditions to effect a change. The Committee admonished Armenia to "use the educational system and electronic media to combat the traditional stereotype of women 'in the noble role of mother.'" The Czech Republic was criticized for "over-protective measures for pregnancy and motherhood."

Share on Facebook
Share on Twitter