Senate Subcommittee to Hold Hearing on U.N CEDAW Treaty

 

Home School Legal Defense Association Alert

Posted 11/17/2010

Congress failed to hear the message the American people sent on Election Day. On Thursday, November 18, during Congress’ lame-duck session, the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Human Rights and the Law will hold a hearing on the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). Urgent calls are needed to oppose this treaty.

Background

CEDAW is an international treaty drafted by the United Nations in 1979. Although it was signed by the Carter administration, it has never been ratified by the U.S. Senate. While it was intended for a good purpose—stopping discrimination against women and girls—ratification by the U.S. Senate would not provide any greater protections to women and would actually cause irreparable harm to American sovereignty and to homeschool families. We urge you to read a detailed analysis of CEDAW and how it threatens homeschool freedom.

If CEDAW is ratified, it will embolden internationalists to attempt ratification of additional treaties. HSLDA fears that approving CEDAW would be the first step toward ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which would cause even greater harm to homeschool freedom and parental rights. You can read Mike Farris’ detailed analysis of the U.N. children’s rights treaty online.
Action Requested

If your senator is listed below, please call him immediately and urge him to oppose CEDAW.

If you are a homeschooler, you may identify yourself as such and explain how ratification of CEDAW would harm you specifically. You can use some or all of the following message:

“Please oppose the United Nation’s CEDAW treaty during the hearing on Thursday, November 18. CEDAW would cause great harm to American sovereignty. Additionally, it will hurt the freedom of parents to choose how to educate their children and would allow the federal government to regulate how schools and parents teach their children under the guise of eliminating gender bias. Finally, it will not provide any greater protection to women and girls because U.S. laws and foreign policy already protect women from discrimination.”

The following senators are on the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Human Rights and the Law. If your senator is not on the committee, call the chairman and urge him to oppose CEDAW:

  • Richard Durbin (IL), chairman (202) 224-2152
  • Russell Feingold (WI) (202) 224-5323
  • Benjamin Cardin (MD) (202) 224-4524
  • Edward Kaufman (DE) (202) 224-5042
  • Arlen Specter (PA) (202) 224-4254
  • Al Franken (MN) (202) 224-5641
  • Lindsey Graham (SC) (202) 224-5972

Tom Coburn (OK)—calls not needed—Senator Coburn opposes CEDAW
John Cornyn (TX)—calls not needed—Senator Cornyn opposes CEDAW

We encourage you to send emails using the link above to thank senators Coburn and Cornyn for their opposition to CEDAW.

Additional Resources

United Nation’s webpage on CEDAW >>
Concerned Women for America Article on CEDAW >>