Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination
against Women
Adopted and opened for signature, ratification and
accession by
General Assembly resolution 34/180 of 18 December 1979
entry into force 3 September 1981, in accordance with article 27(1)
The States
Parties to the present Convention,
Noting that the Charter of the United Nations reaffirms
faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human
person and in the equal rights of men and women,
Noting that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
affirms the principle of the inadmissibility of discrimination and proclaims
that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights and that
everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth therein,
without distinction of any kind, including distinction based on sex,
Noting that the States Parties to the International
Covenants on Human Rights have the obligation to ensure the equal rights of
men and women to enjoy all economic, social, cultural, civil and political
rights,
Considering the international conventions concluded
under the auspices of the United Nations and the specialized agencies
promoting equality of rights of men and women,
Noting also the resolutions, declarations and
recommendations adopted by the United Nations and the specialized agencies
promoting equality of rights of men and women,
Concerned, however, that despite these various
instruments extensive discrimination against women continues to exist,
Recalling that discrimination against women violates the
principles of equality of rights and respect for human dignity, is an
obstacle to the participation of women, on equal terms with men, in the
political, social, economic and cultural life of their countries, hampers the
growth of the prosperity of society and the family and makes more difficult
the full development of the potentialities of women in the service of their
countries and of humanity,
Concerned that in situations of poverty women have the
least access to food, health, education, training and opportunities for
employment and other needs,
Convinced that the establishment of the new
international economic order based on equity and justice will contribute
significantly towards the promotion of equality between men and women,
Emphasizing that the eradication of apartheid, all forms
of racism, racial discrimination, colonialism, neo-colonialism, aggression,
foreign occupation and domination and interference in the internal affairs of
States is essential to the full enjoyment of the rights of men and women,
Affirming that the strengthening of international peace
and security, the relaxation of international tension, mutual co-operation
among all States irrespective of their social and economic systems, general
and complete disarmament, in particular nuclear disarmament under strict and
effective international control, the affirmation of the principles of
justice, equality and mutual benefit in relations among countries and the
realization of the right of peoples under alien and colonial domination and
foreign occupation to self-determination and independence, as well as respect
for national sovereignty and territorial integrity, will promote social
progress and development and as a consequence will contribute to the
attainment of full equality between men and women,
Convinced that the full and complete development of a
country, the welfare of the world and the cause of peace require the maximum
participation of women on equal terms with men in all fields,
Bearing in mind the great contribution of women to the
welfare of the family and to the development of society, so far not fully
recognized, the social significance of maternity and the role of both parents
in the family and in the upbringing of children, and aware that the role of
women in procreation should not be a basis for discrimination but that the
upbringing of children requires a sharing of responsibility between men and
women and society as a whole,
Aware that a change in the traditional role of men as
well as the role of women in society and in the family is needed to achieve
full equality between men and women,
Determined to implement the principles set forth in the
Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women and, for that
purpose, to adopt the measures required for the elimination of such
discrimination in all its forms and manifestations,
Have agreed on the following:
PART I
Article I
For the purposes of the present Convention, the term
"discrimination against women" shall mean any distinction,
exclusion or restriction made on the basis of sex which has the effect or
purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment or exercise by
women, irrespective of their marital status, on a basis of equality of men
and women, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political,
economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field.
Article
2
States Parties condemn discrimination against women in
all its forms, agree to pursue by all appropriate means and without delay a
policy of eliminating discrimination against women and, to this end,
undertake:
(a) To embody the principle of the equality of men and
women in their national constitutions or other appropriate legislation if not
yet incorporated therein and to ensure, through law and other appropriate
means, the practical realization of this principle;
(b) To adopt appropriate legislative and other measures,
including sanctions where appropriate, prohibiting all discrimination against
women;
(c) To establish legal protection of the rights of women
on an equal basis with men and to ensure through competent national tribunals
and other public institutions the effective protection of women against any
act of discrimination;
(d) To refrain from engaging in any act or practice of
discrimination against women and to ensure that public authorities and
institutions shall act in conformity with this obligation;
(e) To take all appropriate measures to eliminate
discrimination against women by any person, organization or enterprise;
(f) To take all appropriate measures, including
legislation, to modify or abolish existing laws, regulations, customs and
practices which constitute discrimination against women;
(g) To repeal all national penal provisions which
constitute discrimination against women.
Article
3
States Parties shall take in all fields, in particular
in the political, social, economic and cultural fields, all appropriate
measures, including legislation, to en sure the full development and
advancement of women , for the purpose of guaranteeing them the exercise and
enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms on a basis of equality
with men.
Article
4
1. Adoption by States Parties of temporary special
measures aimed at accelerating de facto equality between men and women shall
not be considered discrimination as defined in the present Convention, but
shall in no way entail as a consequence the maintenance of unequal or
separate standards; these measures shall be discontinued when the objectives
of equality of opportunity and treatment have been achieved.
2. Adoption by States Parties of special measures,
including those measures contained in the present Convention, aimed at
protecting maternity shall not be considered discriminatory.
Article
5
States Parties shall take all appropriate measures:
(a) To modify the social and cultural patterns of conduct
of men and women, with a view to achieving the elimination of prejudices and
customary and all other practices which are based on the idea of the
inferiority or the superiority of either of the sexes or on stereotyped roles
for men and women;
(b) To ensure that family education includes a proper
understanding of maternity as a social function and the recognition of the
common responsibility of men and women in the upbringing and development of
their children, it being understood that the interest of the children is the
primordial consideration in all cases.
Article
6
States Parties shall take all appropriate measures,
including legislation, to suppress all forms of traffic in women and
exploitation of prostitution of women.
PART II
Article 7
States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to
eliminate discrimination against women in the political and public life of
the country and, in particular, shall ensure to women, on equal terms with
men, the right:
(a) To vote in all elections and public referenda and to
be eligible for election to all publicly elected bodies;
(b) To participate in the formulation of government
policy and the implementation thereof and to hold public office and perform
all public functions at all levels of government;
(c) To participate in non-governmental organizations and
associations concerned with the public and political life of the country.
Article
8
States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to
ensure to women, on equal terms with men and without any discrimination, the
opportunity to represent their Governments at the international level and to
participate in the work of international organizations.
Article
9
1. States Parties shall grant women equal rights with
men to acquire, change or retain their nationality. They shall ensure in
particular that neither marriage to an alien nor change of nationality by the
husband during marriage shall automatically change the nationality of the
wife, render her stateless or force upon her the nationality of the husband.
2. States Parties shall grant women equal rights with
men with respect to the nationality of their children.
PART III
Article 10
States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to
eliminate discrimination against women in order to ensure to them equal
rights with men in the field of education and in particular to ensure, on a
basis of equality of men and women:
(a) The same conditions for career and vocational
guidance, for access to studies and for the achievement of diplomas in
educational establishments of all categories in rural as well as in urban
areas; this equality shall be ensured in pre-school, general, technical,
professional and higher technical education, as well as in all types of
vocational training;
(b) Access to the same curricula, the same examinations,
teaching staff with qualifications of the same standard and school premises
and equipment of the same quality;
(c) The elimination of any stereotyped concept of the
roles of men and women at all levels and in all forms of education by
encouraging coeducation and other types of education which will help to
achieve this aim and, in particular, by the revision of textbooks and school
programmes and the adaptation of teaching methods;
(d ) The same opportunities to benefit from scholarships
and other study grants;
(e) The same opportunities for access to programmes of
continuing education, including adult and functional literacy programmes,
particulary those aimed at reducing, at the earliest possible time, any gap
in education existing between men and women;
(f) The reduction of female student drop-out rates and
the organization of programmes for girls and women who have left school
prematurely;
(g) The same Opportunities to participate actively in
sports and physical education;
(h) Access to specific educational information to help
to ensure the health and well-being of families, including information and
advice on family planning.
Article
11
1. States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to
eliminate discrimination against women in the field of employment in order to
ensure, on a basis of equality of men and women, the same rights, in
particular:
(a) The right to work as an inalienable right of all
human beings;
(b) The right to the same employment opportunities,
including the application of the same criteria for selection in matters of
employment;
(c) The right to free choice of profession and
employment, the right to promotion, job security and all benefits and
conditions of service and the right to receive vocational training and
retraining, including apprenticeships, advanced vocational training and
recurrent training;
(d) The right to equal remuneration, including benefits,
and to equal treatment in respect of work of equal value, as well as equality
of treatment in the evaluation of the quality of work;
(e) The right to social security, particularly in cases
of retirement, unemployment, sickness, invalidity and old age and other
incapacity to work, as well as the right to paid leave;
(f) The right to protection of health and to safety in
working conditions, including the safeguarding of the function of
reproduction.
2. In order to prevent discrimination against women on
the grounds of marriage or maternity and to ensure their effective right to
work, States Parties shall take appropriate measures:
(a) To prohibit, subject to the imposition of sanctions,
dismissal on the grounds of pregnancy or of maternity leave and
discrimination in dismissals on the basis of marital status;
(b) To introduce maternity leave with pay or with
comparable social benefits without loss of former employment, seniority or
social allowances;
(c) To encourage the provision of the necessary
supporting social services to enable parents to combine family obligations
with work responsibilities and participation in public life, in particular
through promoting the establishment and development of a network of
child-care facilities;
(d) To provide special protection to women during
pregnancy in types of work proved to be harmful to them.
3. Protective legislation relating to matters covered in
this article shall be reviewed periodically in the light of scientific and
technological knowledge and shall be revised, repealed or extended as
necessary.
Article
12
1. States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to
eliminate discrimination against women in the field of health care in order
to ensure, on a basis of equality of men and women, access to health care
services, including those related to family planning.
2. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph I of this
article, States Parties shall ensure to women appropriate services in
connection with pregnancy, confinement and the post-natal period, granting
free services where necessary, as well as adequate nutrition during pregnancy
and lactation.
Article
13
States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to
eliminate discrimination against women in other areas of economic and social
life in order to ensure, on a basis of equality of men and women, the same
rights, in particular:
(a) The right to family benefits;
(b) The right to bank loans, mortgages and other forms
of financial credit;
(c) The right to participate in recreational activities,
sports and all aspects of cultural life.
Article
14
1. States Parties shall take into account the particular
problems faced by rural women and the significant roles which rural women
play in the economic survival of their families, including their work in the
non-monetized sectors of the economy, and shall take all appropriate measures
to ensure the application of the provisions of the present Convention to
women in rural areas.
2. States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to
eliminate discrimination against women in rural areas in order to ensure, on
a basis of equality of men and women, that they participate in and benefit
from rural development and, in particular, shall ensure to such women the
right:
(a) To participate in the elaboration and implementation
of development planning at all levels;
(b) To have access to adequate health care facilities,
including information, counselling and services in family planning;
(c) To benefit directly from social security programmes;
(d) To obtain all types of training and education,
formal and non-formal, including that relating to functional literacy, as
well as, inter alia, the benefit of all community and extension services, in
order to increase their technical proficiency;
(e) To organize self-help groups and co-operatives in
order to obtain equal access to economic opportunities through employment or
self employment;
(f) To participate in all community activities;
(g) To have access to agricultural credit and loans,
marketing facilities, appropriate technology and equal treatment in land and
agrarian reform as well as in land resettlement schemes;
(h) To enjoy adequate living conditions, particularly in
relation to housing, sanitation, electricity and water supply, transport and
communications.
PART IV
Article 15
1. States Parties shall accord to women equality with
men before the law.
2. States Parties shall accord to women, in civil
matters, a legal capacity identical to that of men and the same opportunities
to exercise that capacity. In particular, they shall give women equal rights
to conclude contracts and to administer property and shall treat them equally
in all stages of procedure in courts and tribunals.
3. States Parties agree that all contracts and all other
private instruments of any kind with a legal effect which is directed at
restricting the legal capacity of women shall be deemed null and void.
4. States Parties shall accord to men and women the same
rights with regard to the law relating to the movement of persons and the
freedom to choose their residence and domicile.
Article
16
1. States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to
eliminate discrimination against women in all matters relating to marriage
and family relations and in particular shall ensure, on a basis of equality
of men and women:
(a) The same right to enter into marriage;
(b) The same right freely to choose a spouse and to
enter into marriage only with their free and full consent;
(c) The same rights and responsibilities during marriage
and at its dissolution;
(d) The same rights and responsibilities as parents,
irrespective of their marital status, in matters relating to their children;
in all cases the interests of the children shall be paramount;
(e) The same rights to decide freely and responsibly on
the number and spacing of their children and to have access to the
information, education and means to enable them to exercise these rights;
(f) The same rights and responsibilities with regard to
guardianship, wardship, trusteeship and adoption of children, or similar
institutions where these concepts exist in national legislation; in all cases
the interests of the children shall be paramount;
(g) The same personal rights as husband and wife, including
the right to choose a family name, a profession and an occupation;
(h) The same rights for both spouses in respect of the
ownership, acquisition, management, administration, enjoyment and disposition
of property, whether free of charge or for a valuable consideration.
2. The betrothal and the marriage of a child shall have
no legal effect, and all necessary action, including legislation, shall be
taken to specify a minimum age for marriage and to make the registration of
marriages in an official registry compulsory.
PART V
Article 17
1. For the purpose of considering the progress made in
the implementation of the present Convention, there shall be established a Committee on the
Elimination of Discrimination against Women (hereinafter referred to as
the Committee) consisting, at the time of entry into force of the Convention,
of eighteen and, after ratification of or accession to the Convention by the
thirty-fifth State Party, of twenty-three experts of high moral standing and
competence in the field covered by the Convention. The experts shall be
elected by States Parties from among their nationals and shall serve in their
personal capacity, consideration being given to equitable geographical
distribution and to the representation of the different forms of civilization
as well as the principal legal systems.
2. The members of the Committee shall be elected by
secret ballot from a list of persons nominated by States Parties. Each State
Party may nominate one person from among its own nationals.
3. The initial election shall be held six months after
the date of the entry into force of the present Convention. At least three
months before the date of each election the Secretary-General of the United
Nations shall address a letter to the States Parties inviting them to submit
their nominations within two months. The Secretary-General shall prepare a
list in alphabetical order of all persons thus nominated, indicating the
States Parties which have nominated them, and shall submit it to the States
Parties.
4. Elections of the members of the Committee shall be
held at a meeting of States Parties convened by the Secretary-General at
United Nations Headquarters. At that meeting, for which two thirds of the
States Parties shall constitute a quorum, the persons elected to the
Committee shall be those nominees who obtain the largest number of votes and
an absolute majority of the votes of the representatives of States Parties
present and voting.
5. The members of the Committee shall be elected for a
term of four years. However, the terms of nine of the members elected at the
first election shall expire at the end of two years; immediately after the
first election the names of these nine members shall be chosen by lot by the
Chairman of the Committee.
6. The election of the five additional members of the
Committee shall be held in accordance with the provisions of paragraphs 2, 3
and 4 of this article, following the thirty-fifth ratification or accession.
The terms of two of the additional members elected on this occasion shall
expire at the end of two years, the names of these two members having been
chosen by lot by the Chairman of the Committee.
7. For the filling of casual vacancies, the State Party
whose expert has ceased to function as a member of the Committee shall
appoint another expert from among its nationals, subject to the approval of
the Committee.
8. The members of the Committee shall, with the approval
of the General Assembly, receive emoluments from United Nations resources on
such terms and conditions as the Assembly may decide, having regard to the
importance of the Committee's responsibilities.
9. The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall
provide the necessary staff and facilities for the effective performance of
the functions of the Committee under the present Convention.
Article
18
1. States Parties undertake to submit to the
Secretary-General of the United Nations, for consideration by the Committee,
a report on the legislative, judicial, administrative or other measures which
they have adopted to give effect to the provisions of the present Convention
and on the progress made in this respect:
(a) Within one year after the entry into force for the
State concerned;
(b) Thereafter at least every four years and further
whenever the Committee so requests.
2. Reports may indicate factors and difficulties
affecting the degree of fulfilment of obligations under the present
Convention.
Article
19
1. The Committee shall adopt its own rules of procedure.
2. The Committee shall elect its officers for a term of
two years.
Article
20
1. The Committee shall normally meet for a period of not
more than two weeks annually in order to consider the reports submitted in
accordance with article 18 of the present Convention.
2. The meetings of the Committee shall normally be held
at United Nations Headquarters or at any other convenient place as determined
by the Committee.
Article
21
1. The Committee shall, through the Economic and Social
Council, report annually to the General Assembly of the United Nations on its
activities and may make suggestions and general recommendations based on the
examination of reports and information received from the States Parties. Such
suggestions and general recommendations shall be included in the report of
the Committee together with comments, if any, from States Parties.
2. The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall
transmit the reports of the Committee to the Commission on the Status of
Women for its information.
Article
22
The specialized agencies shall be entitled to be
represented at the consideration of the implementation of such provisions of
the present Convention as fall within the scope of their activities. The
Committee may invite the specialized agencies to submit reports on the
implementation of the Convention in areas falling within the scope of their activities.
PART VI
Article 23
Nothing in the present Convention shall affect any
provisions that are more conducive to the achievement of equality between men
and women which may be contained:
(a) In the legislation of a State Party; or
(b) In any other international convention, treaty or
agreement in force for that State.
Article
24
States Parties undertake to adopt all necessary measures
at the national level aimed at achieving the full realization of the rights
recognized in the present Convention.
Article
25
1. The present Convention shall be open for signature by
all States.
2. The Secretary-General of the United Nations is
designated as the depositary of the present Convention.
3. The present Convention is subject to ratification.
Instruments of ratification shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of
the United Nations.
4. The present Convention shall be open to accession by
all States. Accession shall be effected by the deposit of an instrument of
accession with the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
Article
26
1. A request for the revision of the present Convention
may be made at any time by any State Party by means of a notification in
writing addressed to the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
2. The General Assembly of the United Nations shall
decide upon the steps, if any, to be taken in respect of such a request.
Article
27
1. The present Convention shall enter into force on the
thirtieth day after the date of deposit with the Secretary-General of the
United Nations of the twentieth instrument of ratification or accession.
2. For each State ratifying the present Convention or
acceding to it after the deposit of the twentieth instrument of ratification
or accession, the Convention shall enter into force on the thirtieth day
after the date of the deposit of its own instrument of ratification or
accession.
Article
28
1. The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall
receive and circulate to all States the text of reservations made by States
at the time of ratification or accession.
2. A reservation incompatible with the object and
purpose of the present Convention shall not be permitted.
3. Reservations may be withdrawn at any time by
notification to this effect addressed to the Secretary-General of the United
Nations, who shall then inform all States thereof. Such notification shall
take effect on the date on which it is received.
Article
29
1. Any dispute between two or more States Parties
concerning the interpretation or application of the present Convention which
is not settled by negotiation shall, at the request of one of them, be
submitted to arbitration. If within six months from the date of the request
for arbitration the parties are unable to agree on the organization of the
arbitration, any one of those parties may refer the dispute to the
International Court of Justice by request in conformity with the Statute of
the Court.
2. Each State Party may at the time of signature or
ratification of the present Convention or accession thereto declare that it
does not consider itself bound by paragraph I of this article. The other
States Parties shall not be bound by that paragraph with respect to any State
Party which has made such a reservation.
3. Any State Party which has made a reservation in
accordance with paragraph 2 of this article may at any time withdraw that
reservation by notification to the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
Article
30
The present Convention, the Arabic, Chinese, English,
French, Russian and Spanish texts of which are equally authentic, shall be
deposited with the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned, duly authorized,
have signed the present Convention.
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