Warning: CEDAW may cause severe Schizoprhenia

By Timothy Herrmann | November 4, 2011

The US delegation to the third committee joined consensus yesterday on a ceremonial resolution meant to reiterate the importance of the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women. The strange thing? The U.S. is joining consensus on a treaty that it has not ratified.

In a confusing statement officially summarized here, the US delegation attempted to lay out its position:

“Speaking in explanation of position after adoption, the representative of the United States said the Obama Administration was a strong supporter of the Convention and was committed to United States ratification. However, by joining consensus on the text, which welcomed the report of the Committee, the United States was not indicating agreement on all parts of that report. At the same time, she reiterated that while her country had concerns about some aspects of that report, it was a strong supporter of the Committee.”

The problem is, every time CEDAW ratification comes up in Congress it gets shut down immediately. Why? For many reasons. The most important reason being the convention’s controversial oversight committee which is known for going beyond its mandate (which is to say, going beyond what is written in the convention). Given that the committee is known to wander beyond the letter of the convention, many in Congress, and rightfully so, are not willing to ratify it.

The question remains, how can an administration “support” a convention even if it is not ratified? Wouldn’t this be illegal? What does support mean?

Share on Facebook
Share on Twitter