June 12, 2002

Good morning. I would like to like to welcome our witnesses to the Committee, and thank them for coming here to testify on a topic that I believe to be of vital importance, the Convention to Stop All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. This hearing has been a long time coming, and, in my view, serves an important purpose. It is high time that the United States, as the only industrialized democracy that has not ratified CEDAW, make clear its policy toward this treaty and the broader issue of discrimination against women.

The United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, CEDAW, is in essence a "Bill of Rights" for women worldwide. It is the first and only tool available to address women's political, cultural, economic, social, and family rights on a global level. When this treaty was drafted in 1979, it represented the initial step in the development of human rights language for women throughout the world.

Unfortunately, while the rest of the world has built upon the foundation of 1979, the United States lags woefully behind. As of November of 2001, 168 countries have ratified CEDAW, yet the United States is among a small number of countries, including Afghanistan, Iran, and Sudan, that have not yet taken the important step of ratification. Negotiations on this convention were completed under the Carter Administration in 1980, and the treaty was formally transmitted to the Senate on November 12, 1980. Although the Senate has held many hearings on this treaty over the past few years, it has never been brought to the Senate floor for a vote. The United States made ratification of the Women's Convention by the year 2000 one of its public commitments at the U.N. Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995. It is now up to us to honor this commitment.

In my view, the United States must recognize the positive impact that the treaty can have internationally, and act accordingly to ratify this treaty as soon as possible. Already, CEDAW has promoted the development of citizenship rights in Botswana and Japan, inheritance rights in the United Republic of Tanzania, and has fostered political participation in Costa Rica. Domestic violence laws have been developed in countries such as Turkey, Nepal, South Africa and the Republic of Korea as have anti-trafficking laws in the Ukraine and Moldova.

As long as the United States remains a part of the small minority of nations that has not ratified the treaty, the country's credibility as a world leader in human rights is grossly compromised. The United States has and must continue to set an example for other nations to follow. Without U.S. ratification, other nations may feel at liberty to ignore CEDAW's mandate and their responsibilities under it. The United States must continue in its quest for equality and send a message to the rest of the global community that discrimination against women must end.

On a domestic level, CEDAW ratification would promise positive implications for women in our nation. The treaty would encourage women and girls to pursue vocations in math and science through the recruitment of female workers, as well as the expansion of both private and public programs that boost participation in these fields that are currently dominated by men. In regard to sexual harassment, a pressing issue for the United States, the treaty encourages schools to adopt and enforce stronger sexual harassment policies.

Discrimination is an active force in employment even today. CEDAW seeks to eliminate any and all gaps that exist between the employment of men and women in the work force. Through the treaty's ratification, the United States would be forced to take necessary measures to introduce paid maternity leave without the loss of employment seniority, merit, or benefits. Twenty-two of the nations that have ratified the treaty have instituted laws and policies to promote equal opportunities for females in employment; the United States must follow suit, building on the success of the FMLA.

In our country, domestic violence is and has been an issue of nationwide concern. Only 44% of all rural counties have full time prosecutors for violent crimes against women, and women in these areas do not even have sufficient legal representation to combat domestic violence if they choose to seek it. Ratification of the treaty would encourage the United States to provide more sufficient social and legal services.

CEDAW has great domestic and global implications. Rarely does this Committee have the opportunity to consider actions that can affect so many people in all corners of the globe. Especially now, as the US seeks to encourage active participation of women in Afghanistan, we must finally step up to our leadership role in this debate. I thank Senator Boxer for holding this hearing today to encourage the Senate to do just that.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank our witnesses for coming, and especially recognize a distinguished scholar from my state of Connecticut.. The Honorable Harold Hongju Koh, former Assistant Secretary of State for Human Rights and a Professor at Yale Law School, is with us today and I welcome him to the Committee and thank him for his important contributions to our country and this dialogue.

I am hopeful that this hearing will further urge this Committee toward the ratification of a treaty that is sorely needed and necessary for the advancement of our domestic and international community. The time for ratification of the CEDAW treaty is now.

With that, I yield, and anticipate the witnesses testimony.