Label
Council Members Whitman, Komives, Gadus, Grim, McPherson, Moline, Morris, and Williams
Title
Enacting a new Toledo Municipal Code Chapter 184, Local Implementation of the United Nations Convention of the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women ("CEDAW").
Body
SUMMARY & BACKGROUND:
The City of Toledo hereby finds and declares as follows:
(a) The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women ("CEDAW"), an international human rights treaty, provides a universal definition of discrimination against women and girls and brings attention to a range of issues concerning women and girls' human rights. Countries that ratify CEDAW are mandated to condemn all forms of discrimination against women and girls and to ensure equality for women and girls in the civil, political, economic, social and cultural arenas. The United Nations General Assembly adopted CEDAW in 1979 and President Carter signed the treaty on behalf of the United States in 1980, but the United States Senate has not yet ratified CEDAW.
(b) Since 1995, state and local jurisdictions have stepped up and passed resolutions in support of CEDAW. Some have implemented ordinances establishing CEDAW principles as law. In 2014, municipalities across the nation began signing onto the Cities for CEDAW Initiative, pledging to step up where the federal government has failed and implement the principles of CEDAW at the local level.
(c) There is a continued need for the City of Toledo to protect the human rights of women and girls by addressing discrimination, including violence, against them and to implement, locally, the principles of CEDAW. Adherence to the principles of CEDAW on the local level will especially promote equal access to and equity in employment, economic development, political representation, and health care and will also address the continuing and critical problems of violence against women and girls. Further, the City of Toledo will focus on the is...
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