CEDAW attacks sovereignty. (The Last Word).(Brief Article)

The United Nations produced its Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in 1979. Characteristically, President Jimmy Carter signed it for the United States in 1980. But the Senate has never ratified it and many have criticized it, including scholars representing various women's organizations.

Dr. Christine Hoff Sommers, chairman of the Independent Women's Forum's (IWF) National Advisory Board, claims that CEDAW "mandates government intrusion" into wage-setting, maternity leave, childcare and other policies already adequately covered by U.S. law. An author, scholar and self-described feminist, Sommers points out that the treaty "requires federal coercion of matters that have constitutionally and historically been left under state control, including family law and education." She insists that CEDAW will "favor empowering a committee of foreign bureaucrats to oversee American social mores." But CEDAW is now before the U.S. Senate for formal ratification this fall.

Last year, when Vermont Senator James Jeffords decided he'd rather be an Independent than a Republican, his defection gave the Democrats a 50-49 Senate edge and the right to name committee chairmen. Consequently, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee fell into the hands of Joe Biden (D-Del.). On July 30th of this year, Biden's committee approved CEDAW 12-7 and sent it to the full Senate for a vote. Not only should the Senate kill CEDAW, the president should unsign this treaty.

The Biden-led Foreign Relations Committee has given a stamp of approval to a very dangerous UN power grab, something the previous committee chairman, Senator Jesse Helms (R-N.C.), may not have allowed. In October 1999, as reported by Christine Stolba of the Independent Women's Forum, "Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-Calif.) and nine fellow congressional femmes stormed into Jesse Helms' Committee room to demand hearings" on CEDAW. According to Stolba, Helms viewed the convention "as a threat to U.S. sovereignty." When the 10 radical feminists became unruly, Helms "had Capitol Hill police escort the disruptive dames from the room," even telling Woolsey to "act like a lady"! The feminist posse scurried to the White House, where they "received kudos and a pledge of support from Madeleine Albright."

CEDAW operates through a panel of 23 "experts," named by the UN to oversee implementation of its provisions. Nations that have ratified the treaty and opened their doors to its experts are regretting their action. In Croatia, the law ...