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The CEDAW Convention The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) is a United Nations convention which seeks to end gender discrimination. Adopted in 1979 by the UN General Assembly, it is often described as an international Bill of Rights for women. The Convention defines discrimination against women as "...any distinction, exclusion or restriction made on the basis of sex which has the effect or purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment or exercise by women, irrespective of their marital status, on a basis of equality of men and women, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field." Countries around the world are given the opportunity to sign onto CEDAW, and by accepting the Convention they commit themselves to undertake a series of measures to end discrimination against women in their respective countires. Every four years, states which have agreed to implement CEDAW, including Singapore, submit a report to the UN CEDAW Committee describing measures they have taken to comply with their treaty obligations. NGOs are encouraged to submit shadow reports to assist the CEDAW Committee in its review of the governments’ reports. AWARE has been submitting shadow reports to the government’s official report detailing the situation as they see it. THE FACTS The Singapore government ratified CEDAW in October 1995.
The Singapore government has submitted three country reports, the first two were reviewed in July 2001 and the third in August 2007. In response, AWARE has submitted two Shadow Reports explaining the climate as they see it. (Shadow report No.2, May 2007)
In their 2004 report’s Forward, the Singapore government notes “work-life balance” as the most significant struggle for women and men in the 21st century; AWARE’s 2007 report’s Forward however notes more dramatic problems, including sexual role stereotyping, poverty amongst women, and the absence of a constitutional guarantee of equality for women before the law.
The UN CEDAW Committee in its  2007 Concluding Comments (49.80 KB) to the Singapore government expressed concern about the “persistence of patriarchal attitudes and deep-rooted stereotypes regarding the roles and responsibilities of women and men within the family and society at large. These stereotypes present a significant obstacle to the implementation of the Convention, are a root cause of violence against women in the private and public spheres, put women in a disadvantaged position in a number of areas, including in the labour market, and limit their access to leadership positions in the political and public life".
AWARE's Voice Shortly after Singapore began submitting reports to CEDAW, AWARE formed a committee made up of members and volunteers to research women’s rights in Singapore and write CEDAW shadow reports. The latest one, published in May 2007, received excellent reviews from the United Nations CEDAW committee in New York. The AWARE CEDAW Working Committee has also been organising workshops to stimulate discussion, engage and build the capacity of other organizations to apply CEDAW in their areas of work and get involved in the NGO shadow report process. The AWARE CEDAW committee is currently developing public education materials to familiarise the general public with the CEDAW Convention and its principles and provisions. They have also set up a monitoring system to observe issues of discrimination, stereotyping, trafficking and prostitution, political leaders, citizenship, workplace employment, health and politics. AWARE believes that the CEDAW mechanism is crucial in keeping women’s issues on the agenda and that using a human rights framework is necessary for working towards the advancement of women and eliminating discrimination. |
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