Myanmar is a member state of United Nations. United Nations is perhaps best known for the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), which was written after the Second World War, in 1948.
UDHR is by far not the only UN document dealing with human rights. The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, also known as CEDAW, is an international bill of rights for women. The United Nations General Assembly adopted the Convention in December 1979. Consisting of a preamble and 30 articles, CEDAW defines what constitutes discrimination against women and sets up an agenda for national action to foster greater equality. CEDAW is often referred to as the Women’s Convention because, unlike conference declarations, it sets legally-binding principles and standards for realizing women’s rights.
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Terms: Declaration and Convention What is the difference between a declaration (e.g. UDHR) and a convention (e.g. CEDAW)? A declaration is not legally binding, although, if it has been in use for a long time and is referred to often, it is politically seen as soft law. A convention is stronger: it is a legally binding instrument, meaning that governments, which have ratified a specific convention – like CEDAW – are under the responsibility to fulfil its obligations. |
Since 1982 the CEDAW committee has been meeting on a regular basis to go through reports submitted usually every fourth year by the nations who are members of the treaty, evaluating how the member states are advancing in fulfilling the obligations of the treaty.
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Exercise: Myanmar and CEDAW Only a few countries in the world have not signed and ratified the CEDAW treaty. Try to find out: When did Myanmar become member of the treaty? When did Myanmar last report to the CEDAW committee? |
Often active civil society organizations of member countries submit their own, so-called shadow reports, to the committee.
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Exercise: Myanmar and shadow reporting Try to find out: Did women’s organizations in Myanmar submit a shadow report to the CEDAW committee when the last reporting was done? |
In 2000, a new instrument, the Optional Protocol of CEDAW, entered into force, enabling singular women or groups of women to submit claims of violations of their rights to the CEDAW committee. Myanmar has signed but not ratified the Optional Protocol.
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Terms: Signing and ratifying What is the difference between signing and ratifying a treaty? After a state signs a treaty, it will start looking at the situation at home, trying to bring national legislation to the level that meets the requirements of the treaty. (After signing CEDAW, even a country like Finland, advanced in many ways and seen as a pioneer of gender equality, had to rewrite national legislation.) After these adjustments are done, the state will notify other parties that it consents to be bound by the treaty. This is called ratification. |
CEDAW provides a practical blueprint for each country to achieve equality for women and girls. Providing opportunities for women and girls to learn, earn and participate in public decision-making helps reduce violence, alleviate poverty, build democracies and strengthen economies. In countries that have ratifiedCEDAW, women have partnered with their governments to shape policies that create greater safety and opportunities for women and their families. Examples:
- Educational opportunities – e.g., Bangladesh used CEDAW to help attain gender parity in primary school enrollment and set as a goal for 2015, to eliminate all gender disparities in secondary education.
- Violence against women and girls – e.g., Mexico responded to a destabilizing epidemic of violence against women by using CEDAW terms in a General Law on Women’s Access to a Life Free from Violence. By 2009, all 32 Mexican states had adopted the measure.
- Marriage and family relations – e.g., Kenya has used CEDAW to address differences in inheritance rights, eliminating discrimination against widows and daughters of the deceased.
- Political participation – e.g., Kuwait’s Parliament voted to extend voting rights to women in 2005 following a recommendation by the CEDAW Committee to eliminate discriminatory provisions in its electoral law.[1]
Many countries have signed and ratified the convention with declarations and/or reservations. For instance, Algeria, Egypt, Bangladesh, Kuwait, Lebanon, Malaysia, Morocco, Oman, Tunisia, and Turkey make reservations about articles that contradict with their respective family laws or are seen to be in contradiction with certain elements of the Islamic sharia law.
Myanmar has written reservations for article 29, paragraph 1.
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To be reflected upon: Myanmar’s reservation for CEDAW Reservation: Article 29: "[The Government of Myanmar] does not consider itself bound by the provision set forth in the said article." 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. |