The International Bill of Rights for Women The impact of the CEDAW Convention

This book provides a detailed guide to the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. The convention is one of the principal human rights treaties adopted by the United Nations and has been described as an "International Bill of Rights for women". Byrnes and Connors examine the history and development of this important human rights treaty which guarantees women equality in all areas of social life and explore the steps which States have taken to give effect to it. They explore the pivotal role played by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (the expert monitoring body created by the Convention), in promoting implementation of the treaty, and thereby ensuring the promotion and protection of women's rights and the realization of equality between the sexes. This book also examines how human rights advocates have used the Convention, and the output of the Committee at the international and national levels in litigation, political advocacy, and other forms of activism.

Andrew Byrnes is Professor of International Law in the Faculty of Law at the University of New South Wales. He has acted as a consultant for national and international agencies including the United Nations, the ILO, and the OSCE, and has worked with nongovernmental organizations on a range of human rights issues. Jane Connors is a Senior Human Rights Officer at the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. Eleven years ago she joined the United Nations as the Chief of the Women's Rights Section where she was responsible for the oversight of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. She joined the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in 2002.