Letter to Senator Biden

Here is a copy of the letter (some minor protocol changes will be made) the U.S. NGO (non-governmental organization) Caucus is sending to Senators Biden and Boxer.


March 1, 2007

Senator Joseph Biden and Senator Barbara Boxer
Senate Foreign Relations Committee
Cc: Representative Nancy Pelosi
Ambassador Patricia Brister, U.S. Mission to the United Nations

Dear Senator Biden and Senator Boxer,
We, the U.S. members of the North American NGO Caucus to the 51st Commission on the Status of Women at the United Nations, call on you and other members of the Senate Foreign Affairs Select Committee to schedule hearings on the ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) during this coming session of Congress. Beginning Congressional hearings on this critical treaty is an important part of the United States’ effort to reestablish its place as a leader in human rights and equal opportunity around the world.
At a time when the majority leader of the U.S. House of Representatives is a woman, now is the moment for Congress to reconsider the positive impact that CEDAW has on women’s lives around the world. CEDAW enabled countries like the Ukraine, Nepal, Thailand, and the Philippines to pass laws against sex trafficking. CEDAW helped Pakistan introduce coeducation in primary schools. CEDAW played a role in Australia, Mexico, and Argentina providing health care programs to indigenous and migrant women. As you know, currently 185 countries—including Iraq and Afghanistan—have ratified this international treaty.
In a season when the political winds of change are being felt in our nation’s capital and around the country, it is time once again to take on the myths about CEDAW on the Senate floor. For too long, opposition to this treaty has rested on the misconception that support for family planning will mean encouraging abortion. Your own committee recognized in 1994 that this is not the case, and the State Department has recognized that CEDAW is “abortion neutral.” Likewise, the idea that CEDAW somehow interferes with traditional family structures is also a myth that needs shattering. As you know, the treaty urges governments to “adopt education and public information programs to eliminate prejudices and practices that hinder women’s equality.”
The United States has best practices to share with the rest of the world in the areas of advancement of women in this country. Yet our nation simultaneously suffers a very tarnished image abroad when it comes to human rights and equal opportunity. Ratification of CEDAW and the Optional Protocol would demonstrate the progress that the U.S. has made in women’s rights.
In conclusion, we urge you to put CEDAW, a treaty that the United States was instrumental in forming, on the schedule again for hearings in this upcoming congressional session. Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Sincerely,