HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 91

(By Delegates Brown, Fleischauer, Poore, Barker, Guthrie, Caputo, Manypenny, Marshall, Longstreth, Hall, Perdue, M. Poling, Fragale, Frazier, Doyle, Moore, Hatfield, Hunt, Wells, Cowles, Morgan and Stowers)

Requesting the Legislature of the State of West Virginia to communicate with the executive and legislative branch of the United States Government in order to encourage the ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.

    Whereas, On December 18, 1979, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly and after the twentieth nation ratified the convention on September 3, 1981, it became an international treaty; and

    Whereas, The treaty brings the female half of humanity into the focus of human rights concerns and establishes not only an international bill of rights for women but also an agenda for action by countries to guarantee those rights; and

    Whereas, Ratifying governments are committed to creating conditions within which women can exercise and enjoy basic rights and freedoms; and

    Whereas, Ratifying governments are committed to affirmative action for women until parity with men is reached; and

    Whereas, Ratifying governments are committed to abolishing all forms of slavery and prostitution of women; and

    Whereas, Ratifying governments are committed to securing women's right to vote, to stand for election and to hold public office; and

    Whereas, Ratifying governments are committed to providing equal opportunity for women to represent their countries internationally; and

    Whereas, Ratifying governments are committed to allowing women the right to change or retain their nationality and that of their children, regardless of marital status; and

    Whereas, Ratifying governments are committed to ensuring girls' and womens' equal access to quality education in all subjects and at all levels including continuing and vocational programs for women; and

    Whereas, Ratifying governments are committed to ensuring equal employment, vocational and promotion opportunities, job security and equal pay for work of equal value; and

    Whereas, Ratifying governments are committed to ensuring that women who are married, pregnant or have children have the right to work and the right to maternity leave and other appropriate benefits; and

    Whereas, Ratifying governments are committed to ensuring that child care is available and that pregnant women are protected from work that may be hazardous to their health or the health of their future children; and

    Whereas, Ratifying governments are committed to providing adequate health services to women including family planning, where necessary, and prenatal care including nutrition for pregnant and lactating mothers; and

    Whereas, Ratifying governments are committed to ensuring access to financial credit for women; and

    Whereas, Ratifying governments are committed to ensuring the right of women to participate in recreational, cultural and athletic activities; and

    Whereas, Ratifying governments are committed to giving special attention to all the provisions of the treaty to women who reside in rural areas; and

    Whereas, Ratifying governments are committed to ensuring women equal rights in choosing a spouse, name, or occupation; to marry and divorce; to own, buy, sell, and administer property; to share

parenting roles regardless of marital status; and, to choose the number and spacing of their children including adoption or guardianship; and

    Whereas, Ratifying governments are committed to establishing a minimum age for marriage and to ensuring that all marriages are entered into freely, by mutual consent; and

    Whereas, In 1979, after the United Nations General Assembly adopted the treaty, President James Carter sent it to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for ratification where it was subsequently approved by the committee with bipartisan support but never scheduled for a vote on the Senate floor because such treaties require a two-thirds vote of support; and

    Whereas, Over six million women are beaten by their husbands or boyfriends each year in the United States and one million five-hundred thousand of these die from their injuries; and

    Whereas, One hundred eighty-six countries have ratified the

treaty; and

    Whereas, The United States of America is considered by many nations to be the leader of the democratic societies of the world and the leading proponent of human rights yet the United States of America is the only industrialized nation in the world that has not ratified the treaty; and

    Whereas, President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton should be strongly urged to place the treaty in the highest category of priority to accelerate its passage through the Senate Foreign Relations Committee; and

    Whereas, The Legislature should exhort the Senate Foreign Relations Committee once again to pass the treaty favorably out of committee as soon as possible; therefore, be it

Resolved by the Legislature of West Virginia:

    That the Legislature of the State of West Virginia requests the United States Congress to ratify, and President Obama to sign, the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women; and be it  

    Further Resolved, That the Legislature of the State of West Virginia respectfully requests the Congress and the President to enact appropriate legislation that would address the concerns set forth in this measure; and be it

    Further Resolved, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates transmit copies of this resolution to the President and Vice President of the United States, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Majority Leader of the Senate, the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and to each Senator and Representative from West Virginia in the Congress of the United States.