Women and girls around the world face violence and discrimination daily.  The Treaty for the Rights of Women, officially known as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), is an international agreement addressing the rights of women and girls. Only 7 countries have not ratified the Women’s Treaty and unfortunately the United States is one of them. This puts the U.S. in the same company as known human rights violators such as Sudan, Somalia, and Iran. Citizens for Global Solutions has made the ratification of this Convention by the United States a priority and works in tandem with other NGO’s to see that it happens.

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• CEDAW Fact Sheet, Citizens for Global Solutions, 2010
  Read this fact sheet issued by Citizens for Global Solutions about CEDAW.
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• Reservations, Understandings, and Declarations, Citizens for Global Solutions, 2010
  What are RUDs? The government of a country has the option to place reservations, understandings, and declarations on a treaty which condition a country's ratification of the treaty. This chart explains the differences between them.
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• Ratification of CEDAW, Citizens for Global Solutions' Partners Call, 2010
  In January of 2010, our super-activists, the Partners of Citizens for Global Solutions, participated in a call that focused on the ratification of CEDAW. The speakers were Alex Arriaga and June Zeitlin. Alex Arriaga is an independent consultant and co-chair of the former CEDAW Working Group. June Zeitlin is the Director of the CEDAW Education Project at the Leadership Conference on Human and Civil Rights Education Fund.
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• Supporters of CEDAW
  Senator Barbara Boxer, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have all made public statements declaring their support for the treaty. Read here these statements of support.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton speaks to MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell on her priorities: one of them being women's rights. March 15, 2010

Statement made by Susan E. Rice, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations on December 18, 2009, the 30th Anniversary of the Treaty.
In this statement, Ambassador Rice  stated the United States firm commitment to women's rights and  ratification of  CEDAW.  Ambassador Rice also covered the Administration's desire to close gender gaps, "both at home and abroad." 

• Text of the CEDAW Convention, United Nations, 1979
  Here you will find the text of the Treaty for the Rights of Women, officially known as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).
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• Optional Protocol to the CEDAW Convention, United Nations, 1979
  The optional protocol to CEDAW establishes a complaint and inquiry mechanism called the Committee to End all forms of Discrimination against Women. Members of the Protocol allow the Committee to make recommendations and decisions regarding possible violations of the treaty.
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• The Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, United Nations , 1969
  The Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties is a treaty concerning customary international law between states. The United States ratified it on April 24, 1970. The Convention explains the rules of making reservations, understandings and declarations on international treaties which the United States has done with CEDAW.
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• Reservations, Understandings, and Declarations, United States Government, 2002
  In 2002, the United States Government placed a set of reservations, understandings and declarations (RUDs) on CEDAW when it was last being considered by the Senate. This is that package of RUDs.
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• The RUD's of CEDAW States Parties, United Nations
  This is a comprehensive list of all the Reservations, Understandings, and Declarations made by nations already party to the CEDAW Convention.
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• UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace, and Security, United Nations, 2000
  This United Nations Security Council Resolution was the first formal and legal document requiring parties in a conflict to respect women’s rights and to support their participation in peace negotiations and in post conflict reconstruction. It also addressed the impact of war on women and urged the full participation of women in the peace process.

• Second UN Security Council Resolution on Women, Peace, and Security, United Nations, 2008
  This second UN Security Council Resolution on Women, Peace, and Security was introduced in 2008 with the purpose of eliminating violence against women and girls especially during armed conflict.
   
• Third UN Security Council Resolution 1888 on Women, Peace, and Security, United Nations, 2009
   On September 30, 2009, the United Nations Security Council adopted unanimously a resolution addressing the need to end violence against women in the midst of armed conflict. The resolution was introduced by the U.S. government in a special session chaired by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. 
  

• UN Security Council Resolution on the Use of Child Soldiers, United Nations, 2005
  This United Nations Security Council Resolution  implements a reporting and monitoring mechanism on the use of child soldiers.
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The CEDAW Education Project, led by the Leadership Conference on  Civil and Human Rights, 2009
The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights recently established a new task force on the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the most comprehensive international women’s human rights treaty.