Title
Supporting the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) initiative, and supporting the principles of the United Nations CEDAW at the local level.
Body
Whereas, CEDAW was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 18, 1979, and became an international treaty as of September 3, 1981, and 189 UN member nations have agreed to be bound by CEDAW's provisions; and
Whereas, the only six nations in the world that have not yet supported CEDAW are Somalia, Sudan, Iran, Tonga, Palau, and the United States; and
Whereas, although women have made gains in the struggle for equality in many fields, much more needs to be accomplished to fully eradicate discrimination based on gender and to achieve one of the most basic human rights, that of equality; and
Whereas, in 2014, Minnesota passed the Women’s Economic Security Act (WESA) which included steps toward closing the gender pay gap, expanding family and sick leave for working families, helping older women be economically secure, and providing support for women-owned small businesses; and
Whereas, Saint Paul City Council passed a resolution in 2014 Supporting the Women's Economic Security Act and local efforts to build a stronger economic future for women and working families in Saint Paul; and
Whereas, Saint Paul City Council desires to ensure that women and girls who live in Saint Paul enjoy all the rights and privileges and remedies that are bestowed on all people in the US, no matter race, national origin, gender, or religious belief, and with a purpose to claim worldwide that Saint Paul is a City within which women can thrive and a City that will not tolerate discrimination against women and girls or violence perpetrated against them in any form, by any hand; and
Whereas, CEDAW provides a comprehensive framework for governments to examine their policies and practices in relation to women and girls and to rectify discrimination based on gender; and
Whereas, city and county governments have an appropriate and legitimate role affirming the importance of eliminating all forms of discrimination against women in communities as universal norms and to serve as guides for public policy;
Now, therefore, be it resolved by the Saint Paul City Council,
That the City of Saint Paul is committed to eliminating all forms of discrimination against women and girls, to promoting the health and safety of women and girls, and to affording them equal academic, economic, and business opportunities in Saint Paul, Minnesota and around the world.