Over 185 countries have ratified the United Nation’s Conven­tion on the Elimination of all Form of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and many more have adopted specific laws to support this international bill of rights for women. Govern­ments worldwide are called upon to accelerate the implementation of CEDAW. Such implementation includes passing national laws that promote the rights of women and providing services to women especially in health, education, food security, counselling, transport and even the provision of adequate budgetary allocations for programmes and projects that em­power women and reduce gender inequalities. But, for most women in the world, especially in communities and households, CEDAW is far removed from their daily struggle for a life free of violence, poverty, exclusion and disease.

The 2007 World YWCA Council adopted a resolution requesting the YWCA movement to place emphasis on CEDAW implementation as an affirmation of the organisation’s commitment to global action for women. This important resolution calls on YWCAs to take part in the monitoring and implementation of CEDAW in their countries and in preparing periodic reports including NGO alternative or shadow reports to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women.

This Common Concern weaves the meaning, content and value of CEDAW with the reality member associations face as they run programmes for women in various countries. The feature article on CEDAW walks us through the basics of CEDAW, the meaning of equality and how to achieve rights for all women. It gives us a glimpse of the reporting process and what YWCAs and civil society organisations can do to promote CEDAW.

HIV and AIDS remains a global challenge for women’s empowerment. In this edition, we highlight how CEDAW addresses HIV and AIDS, and pro­vide information on how we can all continue to address the issue. The XVII International AIDS Conference to be held from August 3-8, 2008 in Mexico is the largest and most important conference on HIV and AIDS and provides a platform to address global challenges in the response to HIV and AIDS. A World YWCA delegation will attend the conference to ensure women’s voices are heard and their concerns included in the response to the HIV and AIDS pandemic.

Read the Common Concern:

• English: CEDAW: Women's tool for change (PDF 1.12 MB)
• Français: CEDAW, un instrument de changement (PDF 1.10 MB)
• Español : CEDAW : Herramienta para el cambio en favor de la mujer (PDF 1.11 MB)