The United States was active in drafting the Treaty for the Rights of Women. President Carter signed the Treaty on July 17, 1980, and in November he began the ratification process by sending it to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

The committee held its first hearings on the Treaty in 1990. In the spring of 1993, 68 senators signed a letter to President Clinton asking him to move ratification along.

In June 1993, Secretary of State Warren Christopher announced at the World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna that the Clinton administration would pursue the Treaty for the Rights of Women and other human rights treaties.

In September 1994, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved the Treaty on a bipartisan vote of 13 to 5, with one abstention. The vote occurred in the last days of the congressional session, and Congress adjourned before any Senate action could be taken. Under new Republican control, no further Treaty action occurred until 2002.

In July 2002, under the leadership of Sens. Joseph R. Biden, Jr. (D-DE) and Barbara Boxer (D-CA), the Treaty was again approved by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on a bipartisan vote of 12 to 7.

Action stalled after the Bush administration took office. In February 2007, the State Department notified the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that the CEDAW Treaty for the Rights of Women was among the treaties “on which the administration does not support Senate action at this time."

During the 2008 presidential campaign, Democratic candidates Barack Obama, Joseph Biden and Hillary Rodham Clinton all expressed support for Treaty ratification. As president, Obama reaffirmed his support, and Vice-President Biden has long been a leader in the ratification drive.

In February 2009, Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA), another longstanding CEDAW champion, announced plans to hold Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearings yet again on the Treaty for the Rights of Women. 

Click here for a list of the current members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Local and State Support

With U.S. Senate action stalled for so many years, momentum for ratification has grown in states and counties. To date, legislatures in 11 states and territories have endorsed U.S. ratification: California, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Guam, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont. The Connecticut and Wisconsin Senates and the House of Representatives in North Carolina, Florida, South Dakota and West Virginia also have endorsed U.S. ratification. Nineteen counties have endorsed U.S. ratification: Alachua Co., FL, Cook Co., IL, Cuyahoga Co., OH, Dade Co., FL, Dane Co., WI, Fayette/Lexington Co., KY, Jefferson County Fiscal Court, KY, Los Angeles Co., CA, Marin Co., CA, Milwaukee Co., WI, Monterrey Co., CA, San Francisco Co., CA, San Mateo Co., CA, Santa Barbara Co., CA, Santa Clara Co., CA, Santa Cruz Co., CA, Sonoma Co., CA, Spokane Co., WA and Ventura Co., CA.