'Long Past Time': CEDAW Ratification in the United States

Abstract

More than 70 years after Eleanor Roosevelt pioneered the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the US has not ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW or what is known as the global Bill of Rights for Women). The Trump administration is planning measures such as paid parental leave and child care legislation which are supported by the CEDAW. Despite the Trump administration's caution about human rights treaties, we argue that an enlightened self-interest on the part of the administration will draw it towards the CEDAW ratification despite the ratification being "past time."

Keywords: International law, Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, CEDAW, United Nations, equal pay, childcare, Ivanka Trump, paid family leave