On July 30, 2002, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved, by a vote of 12-7, to send the 22 year-old UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) to the Senate floor. Now a date needs to be set for a full Senate vote on the treaty, which states that countries "are required to end all forms of discrimination against women and to ensure equality with men in political and public life with regard to nationality, education, employment, health and economic and social benefits."

Since President Jimmy Carter signed the treaty on July 17, 1980, CEDAW has been considered only once for ratification by Congress. That was in 1994, when, by a vote of 13-5, CEDAW was sent to the Senate floor only to be sent back to the Foreign Relations Committee. Out of the 97 nations that have ratified the treaty, the United States is the only industrialized nation in the world that has not ratified CEDAW. 168 nations have signed the treaty, but as stated earlier, 97 countries have ratified it. Along with the United States, other countries that have not ratified CEDAW are, Iran, Monaco, Somalia, Syria, Sudan and the United Arab Emirates.

The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women is the only UN treaty that deals exclusively with women’s human rights. This session for Congress will be ending soon and there is still no date set for a vote on CEDAW. The Senate will consider ratification of the treaty for a second time and we must make our voices heard to ensure that it is ratified. Please contact your Senators as soon as possible and impress upon them the importance of this treaty for all women. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Joseph R. Biden, Jr. replied to approval of CEDAW by his committee by stating; "The treaty is a means to an end – a tool which strengthens the ability of the United States as well as women’s advocates around the world to press nations to expand rights for women. This vote is a good first step toward improving women’s rights worldwide and a victory for women everywhere."