Introduction

This chapter identifies the concepts of women reflected in each of the various conventions and examines the direction in which the treatment of women under international agreements is moving. Since 1945 more than twenty different international legal instruments have been drafted which deal specifically with women. The conclusion of international agreements regarding women, as might be expected, has been particularly difficult to achieve for two reasons. First, states have traditionally been reluctant to discuss, let alone codify, those issues which they have viewed as essentially subject to domestic jurisdiction, and for most states any issue affecting the status of women would automatically be so defined. Second, there is as yet no consensus at the domestic level on what action would be prove most effective for advancing the position of women. The corrective category also identifies women as a separate group which needs special treatment, but corrective provisions are significantly different from protective ones.