Eliminating discrimination against women

The Division for the Advancement of Women of the United Nations services the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). CEDAW was established 1982, with the signing of and under the [Convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women] (also CEDAW). The Committee meets once a year to review national reports submitted by the states parties to the Convention on their progress to eliminate all forms of discrimination against women and to promote equal rights between men and women - discrimination against women is defined in the Convention as any distinction, exclusion or restriction made on the basis of sex which has the effect or purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment or exercise by women, irrespective of their marital status, on a basis of equality of men and women, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil and any other field.

The International Labour Organization (ILO) relies heavily on tripartite institutions and consultations to both promote and implement international standards, such as labour legislation on equality and opportunity for men and women in employment. UNESCO has as one of its principal objectives the application of international instruments that promote equality between the sexes, as well as identifying the cultural and ethnic obstacles to [de facto] equality in daily life. UNFPA supports a number of research activities aimed at identifying attitudinal, traditional, cultural and legal factors that contribute to the inequalities between men and women in different socio-cultural settings. These aim principally to inform and educate women about their rights and their possibility of exercising them. UNHCR provides protection against discrimination for refugee women especially with respect to access to assistance programmes and relief supplies and services.