FYI...Stefanie ------- Forwarded Message Follows ------- X-posted from: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: WOC Alert 2/13/98: Tell the Senate to Join the World; Good News; WOC Alert 2/13/98: Tell the Senate to Join the World; Good News; Welcome to our New Subscribers CEDAW, the Convention to Eliminate All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (also known as the International Women's Bill of Rights) is being considered by the U.S. State for ratification -- and we must push for passage. The Convention (or agreement) defines discrimination against women in politics, law, employment, education, health care, commercial transactions and domestic relations. It establishes rights for women in areas not previously subject to international standards, as well as a monitoring Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women. CEDAW has a long history. The call for a Women's Convention emerged from the First World Conference on Women in Mexico City in 1975. On December 18, 1979, the United Nations adopted CEDAW. The U.S. was involved in drafting the Convention and signed it on July 17,1980. But the guys in the Senate still haven't ratified it! Under Article II, section II of the US Constitution, after a President signs a treaty, it must be ratified by the Senate. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee, (Jesse Helms currently at the helm), must hold hearings to consider ratification and then a 2/3 Senate majority is required for passage. (The House of Representatives is not involved in passage, though Rep. Carolyn Maloney introduced House Concurrent Resolution 39 in support of CEDAW). In 1994, CEDAW was voted out of committee; however, several senators put a hold on the Convention, so it did not make it to the Senate floor during the 103rd Congress. When the new Senate convened in January 1995, the Convention was submitted to the Senate Foreign Relations committee for action, where it remained at the end of the 104th Congress in October 1996. President Clinton, First Lady Hillary Clinton, and Secretary of State Madeline Albright, among others, have publicly pledged to pass CEDAW. At the UN Conference on Women in Beijing in September, 1995, the United States also made ratification of the Women's Convention one of its goals. As of December 1997, 161 countries have signed. The absence of the United States, considered a world leader in other aspects of human rights, is somewhat embarassing. Every other country in the Western hemisphere has signed this treaty, as has every other industrialized nation besides Switzerland (who, you might remember, just recently decided woman should have the vote). NGO's (nongovernmental organizations) have been working on different fronts to encourage passage of the treaty, and as of November, 1997, at least 6 states and a number of cities and counties have passed resolutions supporting local implementation of the underlying principles of CEDAW, and urging the US Senate to ratify it. The U.S. has already ratified other human rights treaties, including one addressing racial discrimination. Our Senators need to be reminded that women's rights are human rights, and CEDAW provides a set of standards for addressing and defining women's rights violations. ACTION: Amnesty International (joining the ongoing work of the women's rights community), the Ba'hais and the National Committee on the UN Convention of CEDAW, have declared a Campaign of Commitment, focusing on the 38 senators who are against CEDAW or are undecided. They hope to obtain more than the 67 votes needed for ratification, to bring the Convention to the floor in this session. Below you will find the list (some of the names will not be a surprise). Amnesty is collecting letters by February 16th to deliver en masse to Senators by March 8, 1998, International Women's Day. You can participate in Amnesty's drive (see letter below), contact your Senator directly (fax, snail mail, e-mail) at <<http://www.senate.gov/senator/membmail.html>>, or send an automatic email at <<http://www.feminist.org/research/cedawmain.html>>. To Join the Amnesty International Campaign: 1) Copy this and redistribute as widely as possible to persons who would be interested in signing this letter. You may also email this complete document, including these instructions to others. 2) Print out and separate the letter from these instructions. 3) Sign the letter. Include your name and address so the Senator knows that you are in her/his state. 4) Return signed letter by February 16, 1998 to Ratification Working Group, C/o Amnesty International USA, 304 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE, Washington, DC 20003 for delivery to the Senator's Office with all the other letters being sent from your state. --------------------cut here---------------------------------------- Date ______________ Dear Senator ____________: I firmly believe that human rights are women's rights. I hope that you do, too. But the reality is that women suffer violence and discrimination in today's world. We all need to fight against that. I support US ratification of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (Women's Convention). I want the United States to stand behind the efforts of women and men who are working to end that discrimination. The Women's Convention is an important tool for that work. As your constituent I am asking you to express your support for U. S. ratification of the Women's Convention and work to bring the Convention to the floor of the Senate for a vote in the 105th Congress. On International Women's Day, March 8, 1998, we will be publicizing your position. Sincerely yours, ___________________________________________________ signature Name (please print clearly) Street address, City, State, Zip ----------------------------cut here-------------------------------- LIST OF US SENATORS BY POSITION ON RATIFICATION OF WOMEN'S CONVENTION *Up for reelection in 1998 +Members of Foreign Relations Committee UNKNOWN: Abraham, S. (R-MI); Allard, W. (R-CO);Bennett, R. (R-UT)*;Bond, C. (R-MO)*; Burns, C. (R-MT);Coats, D. (R-IN)*; Cochran, T. (R-MS);Collins, S. (R-ME);Craig, L. (R-ID);D'Amato, A. (R-NY)*;DeWine, M. (R-OH);Domenici, P. (R-NM);Durbin, R. (D-IL);Enzi, M. (R-WY);Faircloth, L. (R-NC)*;Frist, B. (R-TN)+;Grams, R. (R-MN)+;Grassley, C. (R-IA)*;Gregg, J. (R-NH)*;Hatch, O. (R-UT);Hutchinson, T. (R-AR);Inhofe, J. (R-OK);Johnson, T. (D-SD);Kempthorne, D(R-ID)*;Kyl, J. (R-AZ);Lott, T. (R-MS);Lugar, R. (R-IN)+;Mack, C. (R-FL);Nickles, D. (R-OK)*;Roth, W. (R-DE);Sessions, J. (R-AL);Smith, G. (R-OR)+;Smith, R. (R-NH);Stevens, T. (R-AK);Thomas, C. (R-WY)+;Thompson, F. (R-TN) LEANING AGAINST: Brownback, S. (R-KS)*+; Gorton, S. (R-WA); Hagel, C. (R-NE)+; Roberts, P. (R-KS); Santorum, R. (R-PA) AGAINST: Ashcroft, J. (R-MO)+; Coverdell, P. (R-GA)+*; Gramm, P. (R-TX); Helms, J. (R-NC)+; Hutchison, K. (R-TX); McConnell, M. (R-KY) FOR: Akaka, D. (D-HI); Baucus, M. (D-MT); Biden, J. (D-DE) +; Bingaman, J. (D-NM); Boxer, B. (D-CA) *; Breaux, J. (D-LA) *; Bryan, R. (D-NV); Bumpers, D. (D-AR) *; Byrd, R. (D-WV); Campbell, B. (R-CO) *; Chafee, H. (R-RI);Conrad, K. (D-ND); Daschle, T. (D-SD) *; Dodd, C. (D-CT) *+ ; Dorgan, B. (D-ND) *; Feingold, R. (D-WI) +*; Feinstein, D. (D-CA) +; Ford, W. (D-KY) *; Glenn, J. (D-OH) *; Graham, B. (D-FL) *; Harkin, T. (D-IA); Hollings, E.(D-SC) *; Inouye, D. (D-HI) *; Jeffords, J. (R-VT);Kennedy, E. (D-MA); Kerrey, R. (D-NE); Kerry, J. (D-MA) +; Kohl, H. (D-WI); Landrieu, M. (D-LA); Lautenberg, F. (D-NJ); Leahy, P. (D-VT) *; Levin, C. (D-MI); Lieberman, J. (D-CT);McCain, J. (R-AZ) *; Mikulski, B. (D-MD) *; Moseley-Braun, C. (D-IL) *; Moynihan, D. (D-NY); Murkowski, F. (R-AK) *; Murray, P. (D-WA) *; Reid, H. (D-NV); Robb, C. (D-VA) +; Rockefeller, J. (D-WV); Sarbanes, P. (D-MD) +; Shelby, R. (R-AL) *; Snowe, Olympia (R-ME); Specter, A. (R-PA) *; Thurmond, S. (R-SC); Warner, J. (R-VA); Wellstone, P. (D-MN) +; Wyden, R. (D-OR)*. LEANING FOR: Cleland, Max (D-GA); Reed, J. (D-RI); Torricelli, R. (D-NJ). For more information, or for local grassroots organizing packets, please contact Pat Rengel at Amnesty International, <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, 202-675-8577 (phone), 202-546-7142 (fax), the Feminst Majority <http://www.feminist.org>, Kit Cosby of the Baha'is, 202-833-8990 (phone), 202-833-8988 (fax); Billie Heller, Chair, National Committee on UN/CEDAW, 310-271-8087 (phone), 310 271 2056 (fax). AND NOW -- FOR SOME GOOD NEWS The Republican-dominated House of Representatives this week finally agreed to accept the wishes of the people and formally rejected B1 Bob Dornan's claim that he lost his re-election campaign due to fraud by his opponent Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez. That's right -- $1.2 M in investigation costs, and nearly two-years later, -- with Dornan misbehaving so badly that he was actually expelled from the house floor, even with the approval of his fellow Republicans, the boys finally admitted what the voters knew all along: Bob Dornan was beaten by a girl!!! And the Senate did the right thing (with relatively little fanfare) in its confirmation of Dr. David Satcher as Surgeon General (a post left vacant since the forced resignation of Dr. Joycelyn Elders). Some Senators (running for the Republican presidential nomination) did their usual bit of pandering to the anti-abortion forces, but it didn't work this time. We once again have a Surgeon General who believes that women's lives are human lives. WELCOME! Greetings to the new WOC subscribers. WOC welcomes you to our feminist action network united to combat the anti-woman actions of the Radical Right. If you missed and would like to receive our most recent alerts, follow these instructions: for WOC Alert, 2/11/98: "Bombingham, again"; send an e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the subject: bomingh.txt; for WOC Alert 1/28/98: "Women and the State of the Union; Zippergate"; send an e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the subject: stateu.txt; and for WOC Alert 1/21/98: "A Week (or more) of Attacks on Womens Lives"; send an e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the subject: attack.txt; or check out our web page <<http://wlo.org>>. To participate in our interactive, moderated, members only listserves, go to <<http://www.wlo.org/discuss.htm>>, available for contributing members. To volunteer, go to our web page <<http://wlo.org>> and complete the volunteer form. VALENTINE'S DAY TIP: If your honey gives you one of Senator Orrin Hatch's newly published albums of patriotic, religious and love songs -- and it isn't a joke -- dump that chump! 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