Right to equality - 40 years of CEDAW: the current alternative report of the CEDAW Alliance Germany

Berlin, November 27, 2019. Today the Federal Ministry for the Family, Seniors, Women and Youth is celebrating this in a festive act 40th anniversary of the UN women's rights convention CEDAW and the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.

On this occasion, the CEDAW Alliance Germany handed over to the federal government its statement on the implementation status of girls' and women's rights in Germany. Under the title Right to equality This includes the topics of stereotypes, education, participation, institutional mechanisms, working life, violence against girls * and women *, health and international issues as well as the overarching topics of digital transformation and anti-feminism and right-wing extremism.

When the statement was handed over to Federal Minister Franziska Giffey (BMFSFJ) today, the deputy chairwoman of the German Women's Council said Susanne Kahl-Passoth: “CEDAW is directly applicable law in Germany, and the Federal Government has taken positive measures to further develop equality and anti-discrimination in recent years. However, omissions that the CEDAW exclusion listed in 2017 have not yet been made up for. We miss a coherent gender equality and anti-discrimination policy that is permanently secured with institutional mechanisms, we miss a stronger commitment to girls' and women's rights, which are coming under increasing pressure from fundamentalist, right-wing populist and right-wing extremists. We demand more protection for women and human rights defenders in our country as well. There will be no free democracy without gender equality. Gender equality promotes social peace and protects our society from patriarchal relapses and extremism. "

CEDAW (Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women): The United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women was adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on December 18.12.1979, 3.9.1981 and came into force on September 1985, XNUMX. CEDAW is considered the most important human rights instrument for girls * and women * under international law. It prohibits discrimination based on gender and gender identity in all areas of life. It calls on the contracting states to achieve legal and factual equality between the sexes. The contracting states testify to the implementation of the convention with periodic state reports which must be submitted to the CEDAW committee. In XNUMX Germany ratified the convention. It thus became directly applicable national law.

CEDAW and civil society: In order to ensure the implementation of the convention, the UN has established a periodic state reporting procedure for all contracting states. Germany, too, has to submit an implementation report and supplementary interim reports to the CEDAW committee in Geneva on a regular basis. In order to get a comprehensive picture of the implementation progress of a country, the CEDAW committee asks for input from civil society. Civil alliances and individual actors from different organizations in Germany have contributed to past reporting processes.
The alliances in particular used the political power of their alliance and their “alternative reports” to address the Federal Government directly in order to discuss sustainable demands and solutions in dialogue.

The CEDAW Alliance Germany: It is an amalgamation of 32 civil society organizations with a focus on women's and human rights policy. The sponsoring organization of the alliance is the German Women's Council. The opinion was drawn up as part of the regular review process for the implementation of CEDAW. From the perspective of the participating organizations, it describes the current discrimination situation for girls * and women * in Germany.

Right to equality. The current statement of the CEDAW Alliance Germany on the status of the implementation of the women's rights convention in Germany

Contact to the CEDAW Alliance Germany:
cedaw@frauenrat.de, Juliane Rosin: 030-204569-19, Juliane Zinke: 030-204569-24

The press release as PDF