Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and its Committee
The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) is an international treaty adopted in 1979 within the framework of the →United Nations, which aims to achieve equal treatment of women. For the purposes of the Convention, the term “discrimination against women” means „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” (Article 1).
The implementation of the CEDAW is monitored by a Committee of 23 independent experts, which examines periodic reports submitted by States, considers individual complaints, adopts general recommendations to interpret certain provisions of the Convention, and carries out inquiry procedures on grave or systematic violations of women’s rights. The text of the CEDAW does not contain explicit provisions on the protection of minorities, but the reporting procedure reveals that women and girls belonging to minorities – according to current terminology: vulnerable and disadvantaged groups – are the most frequent victims of human rights violations. For instance, in the Central and Eastern European region Roma women are in the most difficult situation.