For Immediate Release

WASHINGTON, D.C  — Today, Congressman Jamaal Bowman, Ed.D (NY-16) and Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC-At Large), along with 15 of their colleagues, wrote a letter to President Biden urging him to pursue bipartisan negotiations in the Senate for ratification of the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). The Convention protects all women’s political, economic, social, cultural, and civil rights as well as their fundamental freedoms.

“The Convention is essential now more than ever because, despite the strides we have made, women and girls have yet to experience full equality in the United States and abroad,” wrote the lawmakers. “By ratifying CEDAW, the United States would accept its governmental obligation to ensure that all women, regardless of sexual orientation, race, gender identity, national origin, socioeconomic, or familial status, can live their lives free from discrimination.”

As of 2023, 189 countries have ratified the Convention. The United States is an outlier, joining only Iran, Palau, Somalia, Sudan and Tongo in not ratifying the treaty. In light of the Senate’s inaction, dozens of U.S. cities, counties and states have passed resolutions in support of the Convention’s ratification. Most recently, the District of Columbia enacted the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women Act in accordance with the principles of the Convention. As Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, President Biden recommended CEDAW for a vote and is now uniquely situated to assist these negotiations with the Senate.  

Read the full letter here. 

“As a nation, we cannot be a leader in civil rights unless we advocate for and guarantee the rights of all people in this country,” said Congressman Jamaal Bowman Ed.D. “Ratifying the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women is a critical step in promoting equity, regardless of gender identity. U.S. ratification of this 1979 Convention holds broad public support and is long overdue. The U.S. must back-up its international discourse with domestic action and join the 189 countries who have already ratified the Convention.”

“The Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women represents a monumental step towards eliminating the entrenched disparities in the job market and in our society,” said Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton. “Its ratification is long overdue. President Biden supported ratification of this Convention when he was chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. I urge the Senate to ratify this important Convention at last.”

“We are very gratified that the initiative UNA-Westchester started in 2015 in Mount Vernon is now part of a national movement to Ratify CEDAW,” said Yuhanna Edwards, Advocacy Chair of the United Nations Association Westchester Chapter. “Mount Vernon was the first city in New York to pass a CEDAW resolution, and Westchester County was the first county in New York to adopt a resolution on implementing CEDAW in Westchester County (May 2020).”

“We are so grateful to Congressman Bowman for moving forward with this excellent letter to President Biden, which can be a guide for other members of Congress, as well as for UNA-USA chapters throughout the country leading the Ratify Movement, to bring CEDAW to the Senate floor and get it ratified 44 years after it was signed by President Jimmy Carter,” said Marcia Brewster, President of the United Nations Association Westchester Chapter. “Ratification could catalyze real change in women’s equal rights for the betterment of all women and girls.”

The letter is also signed by Reps. Jasmine Crockett (TX-30), James P. McGovern (MA-02), Jill Tokuda (HI-02), Raúl M. Grijalva (AZ-07), Barbara Lee (CA-12), David J. Trone (MD-06), Nikema Williams (GA-05), Henry C. “Hank” Johnson, Jr. (GA-05), Sheila Jackson Lee (TX-18), Ilhan Omar (MN-05), Nanette Diaz Barragán (CA-44), Rashida Tlaib (MI-12), Glenn Ivey (MD-04), Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), and Debbie Dingell (MI-06).

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