• The Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) is the only comprehensive international treaty addressing women’s rights. Commonly referred to as an international “Bill of Rights” for women, the treaty establishes standards for the protection of women’s rights in political, economic, social, and legal contexts.

• CEDAW establishes both a universal definition of discrimination against women and an agenda for action to prevent such abuse. Countries that ratify the treaty are obligated to take measures to implement this wide-ranging agenda, including in the areas of education, employment, legal rights, health care, and political participation.

• US ratification of CEDAW will strengthen our country’s efforts to advance the status of women around the world. Failure to ratify CEDAW weakens America’s ability to demand that other governments meet their treaty obligations to protect women’s rights and reduces America’s credibility as a global leader on human rights. In addition, ratification will allow the US to participate as a full member of the committee monitoring compliance with the treaty, providing a platform to promote best practices and spotlight areas where improvement is needed.

• CEDAW has been a tool for strengthening the rule of law and improving the lives of women around the world. The treaty has facilitated the enactment of anti-discrimination laws, and the reversal of inequitable laws, in many countries and serves as a tool with which activists can press their governments to fulfill their commitments under the treaty. The treaty has been used to increase access to primary education for girls, improve protection from sex trafficking and violence, expand health services, and to enable women to secure micro-loans and establish small businesses.

• The United States, Sudan, Iran, Somalia, Nauru, Palau, and Tonga are the only countries that have failed to ratify CEDAW. Although the United States played an important role in helping to draft CEDAW and signed the treaty in 1980, it is not among the 186 countries that have ratified it.

• The Obama administration has stated that it considers CEDAW ratification as an "important priority". The prospects for ratification have never been better. 

• CEDAW does not promote or condone abortion, as many critics allege. The treaty does not take a position on the issue of abortion. Many countries, such as Ireland, where abortion is illegal or severely restricted have ratified the treaty without any abortion-related reservations.

• The treaty does not provide the United Nations, or any other international entity, with enforcement authority. Although CEDAW requires countries that ratify it to take certain steps to prevent violence and discrimination against women, the treaty regime has no enforcement authority. A committee established under UN auspices to monitor compliance with the treaty issues only advisory opinions and recommendations.

• CEDAW does not regulate family life or redefine “traditional” family roles and relationships. The treaty simply calls for “appropriate measures” to eliminate prejudices and practices “based on the idea of the inferiority or the superiority of either of the sexes or on stereotyped roles for men and women” and “discrimination against women in all matters relating to marriage and family relations.” Concerning the role of parents in child-rearing, the treaty calls on States Parties to ensure the “same rights and responsibilities as parents…in matters relating to their children” and states that “in all cases the interests of the children shall be paramount.”

• The treaty does not require the legalization of prostitution. The UN committee that monitors States Parties’ compliance with CEDAW has made specific recommendations that prostitution be decriminalized in countries with widespread prostitution and human trafficking so that women who have HIV/AIDS or are victims of sexual slavery and trafficking will no longer be discouraged from approaching authorities for fear of prosecution.