The Convention on the Political Rights of Women was approved by the

United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Curr ...

during the 409th plenary meeting, on 20 December 1952, and adopted on 31 March 1953. The Convention's purpose is to codify a basic international standard for women's political rights.

Background

In the aftermath of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, many countries had still not granted women full political liberty. In 1952, the year before the Convention was adopted,

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...

had been granted in less than 100 countries worldwide. The main impetus for the legislation, and much of its drafting, came from the

United Nations Commission on the Status of Women The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW or UNCSW) is a functional commission of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), one of the main UN organs within the United Nations. CSW has been described as the UN organ promoting gend ...

. The Commission sent a survey about women's political rights to its member states; the resulting replies became the basis for the Convention. The Convention was adopted on 31 March 1953.

Overview

Preamble

The preamble of the Convention reiterates the principles set out in article 21 of the

Universal Declaration of Human Rights The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is an international document adopted by the United Nations General Assembly that enshrines the rights and freedoms of all human beings. Drafted by a UN committee chaired by Eleanor Roosevelt, ...

, which declares that all people have the right to participate in the government of their country, and to access public services. The ''Convention on the Political Rights of Women'' specifically protects this right for women.

Articles

The first three articles of the Convention assert the rights of women to vote (Article I), to be eligible for election (II), and to hold public office (III), with each article ending with the specification: "all on equal terms with men, without any discrimination." The remaining articles cover the mechanics of the legislation itself, specifying how and when it will come into force (Articles IV–XI).

Legacy

The Convention entered into force on 7 July 1954. As of August 2015, it has 123 state parties, comprising 122

United Nations member states United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...

plus the State of Palestine. The Convention followed the path of the Inter American Convention on the Granting Political Rights to Women that was the first international legislation at the regional level protecting the equal status of women to exercise political rights. The Convention was the first treaty in the context of the United Nation Moreover, it was the second international treaty to obligate its states to protect citizens' political rights. The Convention was one of the United Nations' several efforts in the postwar period to set standards of nondiscrimination against women; others were the Convention on the Nationality of Married Women and the

Convention on Consent to Marriage, Minimum Age for Marriage and Registration of Marriages The Convention on Consent to Marriage, Minimum Age for Marriage, and Registration of Marriages is a treaty agreed upon in the United Nations on the standards of marriage. The treaty was drafted by the Commission on the Status of Women and opene ...

, brought into force in 1958 and 1964, respectively. The rights outlined by the Convention were incorporated into the later, more substantial Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. This later Convention, a wider-reaching and more straightforward legislation for nondiscrimination, was approved by unanimous vote in 1967.

References

External links