This week (Tuesday, Feb. 11) the Common Council unanimously sponsored and approved legislation supporting the principles of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). CEDAW was originally adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1979, and became an international treaty in 1981. The United States signed the treaty but did not ratify it. As such, Cities for CEDAW was then created in 1988 to allow municipalities to tackle this issue at a local level. Milwaukee becomes the 43rd city to pass CEDAW related legislation.
File #191069, primarily sponsored by Alderwoman Nikiya Dodd, also creates a partnership between the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom and the City of Milwaukee Equal Rights Commission to analyze public- and private-sector efforts to adhere to the principles of CEDAW. Both bodies will provide an update to the Council within 12 months on public and private efforts to adhere to CEDAW.
“I would like to thank all of my Council colleagues for their overwhelming support and unanimous sponsorship of this legislation. It’s a moving testament to show how we can all come together to support such an important issue,” said Alderwoman Dodd. “Local government has a role to play in eliminating all forms of discrimination, and I look forward to this legislation taking us one step closer toward making Milwaukee a top tier city where women can thrive.”
In 2019, the Milwaukee Equal Rights Commission passed a resolution supporting the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women. More information on CEDAW can be found at ohchr.org/en/hrbodies/cedaw.
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