International law and women's rights
International context
Submissions to CEDAW
March 2009 letter of inquiry to Attorney General
June 2009 letter to Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada Robert Nicholson
December 2009 letter to Attorney General
CEDAW Report Card
International context
Canada is a signatory to a number of international declarations and conventions that commit our governments to advancing the equality rights of women in B.C.
One such international treaty is the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). Canada ratified CEDAW on December 10, 1981, and is now bound in international law to comply with the terms of this treaty.
CEDAW provides a comprehensive code of what women’s equality means in marriage, politics, cultural institutions and more, and how measures of women’s equality should be incorporated into domestic law. CEDAW sets out important measurable goals and provisions to ensure the equality of women in countries around the world.
Periodic reviews take place for signatory countries to track and ensure compliance.
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CEDAW submissions
Reviews were done in 2003 and 2008 and another will be conducted in 2010. As part of a coalition known as the BC CEDAW Group, West Coast LEAF participated in a series of "shadow report" intended to draw the Committee’s attention to those areas of inequality of particular concern to women in BC.
2003 Submission by BC CEDAW Group
2008 Submission by BC CEDAW Group
2010 Submission by BC CEDAW Group
The U.N. CEDAW Committee issued its “Concluding Observations” of the Canadian government in November 2008. The UN Committee’s concluding observations on Canada’s CEDAW compliance picked up on many of the 2008 shadow report’s findings. The Committee expressed strong concern about women’s equality rights in a number of areas, particularly in B.C., and comments on issues such as the many missing or murdered Aboriginal women, cuts to social assistance schemes, the over-incarceration of women of colour and the lack of affordable childcare.
UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women Concluding Comments on Canada 2008
2008 Report by Canadian Feminist Alliance for International Action to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women
Canada's 2008 Report to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women
Canada's 2010 response to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women
In early 2009, the BC CEDAW Group met with the Attorney General of BC to discuss the reports and recommendations. A letter was sent after the meeting.
March 2009 letter of inquiry to Attorney General and BC CEDAW group
West Coast LEAF also participated in a letter to The Honourable Robert Douglas Nicholson, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada in June 2009, urging a full public inquiry into the failure of Canada’s justice system to adequately protect Aboriginal women and girls from racialized and sexualized violence, and to investigate the cases of missing and murdered Aboriginal women promptly and effectively.
June 2009 letter to Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada Robert Nicholson
A follow-up letter was sent to the Attorney General of BC in late 2009, highlighting some priority areas.
December 2009 letter to Attorney General Mike DeJong from BC CEDAW Group
The CEDAW Report Card grades the BC government on how well it has adhered to the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).
The Report Card monitors BC’s compliance between CEDAW’s 4-year reporting periods, in order to hold the government accountable both to UN standards and BC women. Measurements include a number of important legal and policy areas that fall within provincial jurisdiction, such as access to justice and violence against women.
The grades are based on the realities of women in BC and represent cross-sector consultation and extensive research.
The goal of West Coast LEAF’s CEDAW Report Card project is to raise public awareness and to advocate for adequate responses to the CEDAW Committee’s concerns.
West Coast LEAF will be drafting an annual report card to measure BC’s CEDAW compliance.
