HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.C.R. NO.	16
TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2008
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

requesting the united states congress to ratify the united nations convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women.

     WHEREAS, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (Convention) was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1979; and

     WHEREAS, the Convention is the most complete international agreement that focuses specifically on basic human rights for women; and

     WHEREAS, the Convention requires ratifying nations to improve the status of women and to work towards eliminating discrimination and violence against women by establishing equality in legal status, political participation, education, employment, healthcare, and the family structure; and

     WHEREAS, the Convention has resulted in reforms for women around the world, including measures against sex slavery, domestic violence, and trafficking of women; increasing primary education previously denied to females; and improved health care that have saved lives during pregnancy and childbirth; and

     WHEREAS, in 1972, Hawaii was the first state to ratify the federal Equal Rights Amendment, which would have amended the United States Constitution by establishing a guarantee of equal rights for women; and

     WHEREAS, although the United States played an important role in drafting the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, the United States is one of only eight countries that include Sudan, Somalia, Qatar, Iran, Nauru, Palau, and Tonga, that have not ratified the Convention as of March 1, 2007; and

     WHEREAS, the United States' failure to ratify the Convention undermines the principle that human rights of women are universal and worthy of being guaranteed through international human rights standards; and

     WHEREAS, as women in the Unites States are succeeding in greater leadership roles in business and government and participate in local and national elections in record numbers, it is appropriate that the United States Congress demonstrate its unequivocal support for the rights of women internationally by ratifying the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women; now, therefore,

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-fourth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2008, the Senate concurring, that the Legislature urges the United States Senate to demonstrate our national commitment to human rights for all people by ratifying the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, and joining the one hundred eighty-five ratifying nations in endorsing the most comprehensive treaty ensuring fundamental human rights and equality for all women; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, and members of Hawaii's congressional delegation.

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title: 

Discrimination Against Women; Ratify Treaty