CEDAW Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women

UN Entity Layer: 
Gender-specific Bodies and Mandates

The United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), an expert body established in 1982, is composed of 23 experts on women's issues from around the world.

The Committee's mandate is very specific: it watches over the progress for women made in those countries that are the States parties to the 1979 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. A country becomes a State party by ratifying or acceding to the Convention and thereby accepting a legal obligation to counteract discrimination against women. The Committee monitors the implementation of national measures to fulfil this obligation.

WILPF’s Human Rights program leads our engagement with CEDAW, which includes monitoring, advocacy, and coordination with WILPF sections around the world to provide shadow reports at the country level.

Contact information

For more information, visit the offical CEDAW website.

To learn more about PeaceWomen's engagement with CEDAW, click here