Tips
for NGOs
The next step
in making the Optional Protocol to the CEDAW Convention (OP-CEDAW)
an effective tool for advancing women's human rights in your country
is to persuade your government to sign, ratify or accede to it.
The legal
steps that must be taken in order to ratify or accede to the OP-CEDAW
will be determined by your national law. NGOs can catalyse this
process through public information campaigns, advocacy and support
government officials who are working to secure ratification.
Advocacy for
ratification means building a working knowledge of the OP-CEDAW
and the CEDAW Convention and how the OP-CEDAW will benefit women's
human rights. This understanding will equip you to advocate persuasively
for ratification.
Some suggestions
for national-level advocacy on signature, ratification or accession
to the OP-CEDAW:
1. Lobbying
and advocacy
-
Identify
the legal process for ratification/accession in your country
and map possible obstacles to ratification/accession.
-
Identify
any country-specific "political" or policy arguments
against ratification and try to counter them. You can develop
informative factsheets on the OP-CEDAW that address misconceptions
and concerns that government representatives may have.
-
Approach
government representatives and share information on the need
to ratify the OP-CEDAW and its the potential benefits. Emphasise
that ratification is a key element of follow-up to the Beijing
Conference, and a tangible sign of their commitment to ensuring
women's human rights.
-
Identify
the individuals from your government who are responsible for
formulating the government's position on the OP-CEDAW. These
may be officials from your Women's Ministry, Foreign Affairs
Department, and other governmental agencies. Share information
with them and craft a ratification strategy that takes their
concerns into consideration.
-
Identify
members of parliament interested in promoting the OP-CEDAW,
and work with them.
-
Demonstrate
to your government that civil society representatives in your
country strongly support an effective OP-CEDAW. Have face-to-face
meetings with government officials responsible for deciding
on ratification, government officials or political leaders known
to be supportive of women's human rights issues, as well as
prominent opponents of women's human rights.
-
Broaden
the campaign for ratification. Communicate with NGOs in your
country and region about your lobbying efforts, and invite their
participation in the campaign. The more voices that urge ratification
of the OP-CEDAW, the more motivated governments will be to act.
2. Awareness
raising and information dissemination
-
Develop
educational materials on the OP-CEDAW for other key stakeholders,
including the general public, in order to build widespread support
for it.
-
Hold
public and community meetings.
-
Create
a street theater production with a mock trial for violations
of women's rights.
-
Use
the media to educate people, mobilise support for the OP-CEDAW,
and make your voices heard. Get media coverage of the ratification
process, e.g. through writing letters to the editor or articles
for newspapers, holding press conferences, and conducting a
radio education campaign.
-
Conduct
letter-writing campaigns, organise street theater and other
creative public events or demonstrations.
-
Develop
brochures, flyers for mass distribution, or make visible statements
using inexpensive means, like mural painting.
-
Create
a video to be used in international campaigns that includes
interviews with:
i)
NGO representatives talking about why the OP-CEDAW is important
and how it will effect their constituents;
ii) Delegates from countries that have signed the OP-CEDAW talking
about why they think their country should ratify it; or
iii) Local women who support the OP-CEDAW to discuss how it
may impact their lives and why they think an international instrument
for women's human rights is important.
Source:
Produced for IWRAW Asia Pacific by the NYU Law School Human Rights
Clinic
This
page was last updated on November 1, 2003
“IWRAW
Asia Pacific is an independent, non-profit, NGO in Special consultative
status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations.”
©IWRAW Asia Pacific
Contact Us | Site
Map
|
