Author: Mary Hansel

Mary Hansel (@maryhhansel) is an attorney and legal scholar, specializing in international human rights law. Her current scholarship analyzes the potential legal and normative contributions of the U.S. Equal Rights Amendment as compared to those of the U.N. Convention to Eliminate All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). She is a member of the Advisory Committee for the Cities for CEDAW movement, although she submits this article in her personal capacity.

Local Implementation of CEDAW Is at an Inflection Point

Since 1998, dozens of local governments across the U.S. have passed measures implementing the U.N. Convention to Eliminate All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW)—most recently, Los Angeles County. the most populous local jurisdiction in the country.

CEDAW has been ratified by every country in the world, except for six: Iran, Sudan, Somalia, Palau, Tonga and the U.S. Although President Carter signed CEDAW in 1980, the Senate has never approved the treaty by a two-thirds vote, as the Constitution. In response to the U.S.’s failure to ratify the treaty, grassroots advocates have focused on passing local measures that embody the key principles of CEDAW.