Mike:
On July 30, 2002, the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee passed the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women, or CEDAW. The treaty began its review before the full Senate in September.
Introduced in 1979, CEDAW is called the "bill of rights for women" by its supporters, and is currently ratified by 169 state parties.
According to UN documents:
This convention is the only human rights treaty which affirms the reproductive rights of women and targets culture and tradition as influential forces shaping gender roles and family relations."
Here's how it works out practically: UN experts sought to "affirm" women in Belarus, a small country north of the Ukraine, by holding that their celebration of Mother's Day violated the treaty. To insure women's reproductive rights, the UN experts lectured Armenia on the need to "combat the traditional stereotype of women in the noble role of mother."
UN review committees reprimanded Croatian doctors who, on the basis of conscience, refused to perform abortions. They even lambasted China for refusing to legalize prostitution.
Clearly, equal and just treatment for women is not the primary goal of the UN I'm Mike Farris.
We'd love to send you a free copy of the Issue Analysis paper on the woman's treaty. One of the important things that HSLDA offers is analysis on these kinds of situations, to help you better understand the issues that can affect your right to home school. To get your free copy, call us toll-free at 866-338-8614. That's 866-338-8614.
