ABSTRACT
In some ways women’s rights are the most popular of international initiatives, but they are also the area with the most profound disagreements. As of January 1996, 121 nations had ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW, or the Women’s Convention). Although it enjoys the privilege of having this exceptionally large membership, CEDAW is also the human rights
convention with the largest number of state reservations. This says much about the international community and the question of women. Relative to other fields, women’s rights are more fragile, have weaker implementation procedures, and suffer from inadequate financial support from the United Nations.
