HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 2


(By Mr. Speaker, Mr. Kiss , and Delegates Hubbard, Fleischauer, Compton, Spencer, Susman, Poling, Mahan, Brown, Warner, Douglas, Leach, Webster, Wills, Hatfield, Manuel, Mathews, Keener, J. Smith, Williams, Shelton, Kuhn, Shaver, Caputo, Prunty, Stalnaker, Manchin, Wright, Flanigan, Frederick, Campbell, Perdue, Stephens, Louisos, Evans, Canterbury, Anderson, L. Smith, Walters, C. White, Boggs, Ashley, Riggs, Carmichael, Romine, Overington, Azinger, Schadler, Ellem, G. White, Fletcher, Trump, Leggett, Craig, Morgan, McGraw, R. M. Thompson, Fragale, Browning, Amores, Mezzatesta, Beane, Butcher, Dempsey, H. White, Martin, Paxton, Staton, Kominar, Tucker,

Michael, Pino, Perry and Doyle)


[Introduced November 28, 2001]


Urging the government of the United States of America to ratify the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and urging the government of the United States of America to accelerate and strengthen efforts to assure full and equal participation of Afghan women in all aspects of the negotiation and rebuilding of a constitutional democracy in a post-Taliban Afghanistan in which women have full and equal civil and human rights and social justice;

Whereas, The Taliban regime has not recognized international human rights treaties agreed to by previous governments and the international community, citing irrelevance to their culture and Islamic law; and
Whereas, Under Taliban rule, Afghan women have been subjected to a brutal system of gender apartheid and extreme repression being banned from schools, prohibited from working, forbidden from leaving their homes, and being forced to wear head-to-toe burqa shrouds; and
Whereas, Afghan women have been subjected to harsh punishments in the form of public beatings in the name of "religion and culture" upon violation of Taliban decrees; and
Whereas, These decrees have caused a virtual collapse of the educational system, a complete disregard of human and civil rights, and have had a disastrous impact on healthcare systems in Afghanistan; and
Whereas, These decrees represent a striking departure from past religious and cultural practices in Afghanistan; and
Whereas, The United Nations General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in 1979; and
Whereas, The United States of America became a party to CEDAW but never ratified the convention; and
Whereas, There have been one hundred sixty-eight ratifications and accessions of CEDAW including Iraq, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Germany, Great Britain and Canada with the most recent country ratifying CEDAW being Mauritania on May 10, 2001; and
Whereas, Notable exceptions of countries not yet ratifying CEDAW besides the United States include Iran and Afghanistan; and
Whereas, The United States of American has joined with the United Nations in attempting to include women in all aspects of the humanitarian, reconstruction and redevelopment efforts in Afghanistan as well as in the re-establishment of a constitutional democracy in Afghanistan; and
Whereas, After years of being subjugated and brutally repressed by the Taliban regime, it is time for Afghan women to enjoy full and equal participation in every level of Afghan society, without discrimination; therefore be it
Resolved by the House of Delegates:
That the House of Delegates of the West Virginia Legislature urges the government of the United States of America to accelerate and strengthen efforts to assure that Afghan women have a full and equal role in every aspect of the reconstruction process and the re-establishment of a constitutional democracy in a post-Taliban Afghanistan in which women have full and equal civil and human rights and social justice; and, be it
Further Resolved, That the West Virginia House of Delegates urges the government of the United States of America to ratify the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, and be it
Further Resolved, That the Clerk of the West Virginia House of Delegates is hereby directed to forward a copy of this resolution to the President of the United States of America, to the Vice President of the United States and to the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives in order that they may be apprized of the sentiments of the House of Delegates of West Virginia in this matter.