Adopted by the Liberal International Executive Committee, Taipei, Taiwan, 19 February 2000
Liberal International notes with concern:
That in this year of review of progress since the 1995 World Conference on the Status of Women, marked gender inequalities continue in almost all countries.
Further notes:
That the potential of CEDAW (the UN Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women) as an instrument for the advancement of women remains largely unrealised.
Notes in particular that CEDAW:
- Recognises that “the full and complete development of a country, the welfare of the world and the cause of peace require the maximum participation of women on equal terms with men in all fields”
- Requires signatory States to guarantee women¹s basic human rights and fundamental freedoms on an equal basis with men and seeks the elimination of all social and cultural patterns based on notions of the inferiority or superiority of either sex
- Defines areas of discrimination on which all subsequent international Conventions, Declarations and World Conferences affecting the status of women have been built
- Requires all States which both sign and ratify the Convention to submit to the United Nations Committee on CEDAW open regular reports regarding their progress in achieving gender equality and further encourages non-governmental organisations to submit independent reports
- By 30.12.99 had been signed and ratified by 166 countries and is thus the Convention regarding women¹s human rights which has the largest number of ratifying States world-wide.
- Now that the preponderance of States world-wide have signed, serves to highlight those States which remain uncommitted, even in principle, to gender equality.
- Remains the Convention with currently the most powerful mechanism for the promotion of implementation of women¹s human rights world-wide.
- Was further strengthened by the adoption by the UN General Assembly in October 1999 of the Optional Protocol giving women the right to appeal to the United Nations once they had exhausted their national legal procedures. This additional power has so far been signed by 23 countries.
Accordingly urges all member Parties:
- To encourage awareness of continuing gender discrimination by ascertaining and publicising their country’s status with regard to CEDAW
- To require their Governments, as necessary, to sign and ratify CEDAW without reservations
- Further require that their Governments to sign the Optional Protocol
- To establish dates for achievement of these objectives and publicise attainment or failure in meeting these dates
Vigorously to promote the elimination of all areas of gender discrimination in accordance with Liberal principles, whether they are identified by governmental or non-governmental reports to CEDAW or by other means.
