The
Principle of State Obligation
Implications
of becoming States parties to CEDAW
The CEDAW
Convention carries with it the principle of State obligation.
When a country becomes a State party to CEDAW, it voluntarily
accepts a range of legally binding obligations to eliminate discrimination
against women and bring about equality between women and men.
By doing this, it has entered into a contract with all other States
parties to the CEDAW Convention that it will abide by norms and
standards collectively agreed upon by the States parties and that
it is offering itself to a scrutiny by an international expert
committee on the basis of these norms and standards.
To facilitate
the scrutiny, every States party is obligated to present a report
to the United Nations one year after accession on the obstacles
to the equality status of women and the actions it intends to
take to remove such obstacles. This is called the initial report
and thereafter the States party is required to submit a report
on the progress made every four years. These are called periodic
reports.
Under the
CEDAW treaty the dynamics of relationship between the State and
women is no longer one of the dependency of women on the good
will or vagaries of the State, but one in which the State has
responsibilities to women from which it cannot withdraw. These
are responsibilities that the State will be held accountable at
the national and international levels.
Some basic
principles of State obligation are as follows:
The State
has an obligation of means through laws and policies and obligation
of results. The latter requires that the State ensures the practical
realisation of rights by undertaking special measures for women,
implementing enabling conditions etc. so that women's capacity
to access the opportunities provided is enhanced. Article 2a specifically
says that governments have to ensure the practical realisation
of rights. This means:
Specific
Measures
Articles 2-4
spell out the broad State obligation while articles 5-16 provide
substance and context in which the principles of State obligation
has to be applied. These substantive articles may not show all
the context of women's lives, but the very fact that the CEDAW
Convention obligates States to eliminate all forms of discrimination
against women means that every context is included. Article one
which defines discrimination helps us to include all contexts.
(i) Article
2 obligates the State to enact a policy of non-discrimination
through which:
-
The
principle of equality will be embodied in the national constitution
and other laws (article 2a);
-
Discrimination
will be prohibited through the enactment of relevant laws and
policies such as an Anti-Sex Discrimination Act, and sanctions
imposed if necessary (article 2b);
-
Women's
rights are protected by setting-up effective mechanisms through
which they can obtain redress if their rights are violated (article
2c);
-
Women's
rights are respected by not doing anything that can be constituted
as discrimination against women and also to ensure that no public
authority or institution violates the rights of women. In this
regard the State is obligated to repeal all discriminatory laws
and policies (articles 2d, f and g); and
-
Women
are protected by measures to eliminate discrimination by any
person or enterprise (article 2e). In other words, the State
is obligated not only to regulate itself but also the actions
of private persons and institutions.
(ii) Article
3 obligates the State to promote equality through all appropriate
means. This includes proactive measures and enabling conditions
to ensure the full development and advancement of women.
(iii) Article
4 obligates the State to put in place affirmative action to accelerate
de facto equality.
In short,
the principle of State obligation means any States party must:
-
Prevent
discrimination
-
Prohibit
discrimination
-
Identify
and redress
-
Impose
sanctions against discriminating acts
-
Promote
women's rights and equality through proactive measures
-
Accelerate
de facto equality
This
page was last updated on July 25, 2003
“IWRAW
Asia Pacific is an independent, non-profit, NGO in Special consultative
status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations.”
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