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 right 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, neocolonialism, 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 that the strengthening of international peace
and security, the relaxation of international tension, mutual
cooperation 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:
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.
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.
States Parties
shall take in all fields, in particular in the political, social,
economic and cultural fields, all appropriate measures, including
legislation, to ensure 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 programs 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 programs of continuing
education, including adult and functional literacy programs,
particularly 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 programs 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.
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.
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 1 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.
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.
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, counseling and services in family planning;
(c) To benefit directly from social security programs;
(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.
1. States Parties shall accord to women equality with men
before the law.
2. State 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.
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.
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.
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 fulfillment of obligations under the present Convention.
1. The Committee shall adopt its own rules of procedure.
2. The Committee shall elect its officers for a term of
two years.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
1. The present Convention shall be open for signature by all
States.
2. The Secretary-General of the United Nations is designated
as the depository 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.
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.
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.
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.
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 1 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.
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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