The UK CEDAW story

The article discusses the United Kingdom's engagement with the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW. It considers the context of the United Kingdom's signing and eventual ratification of CEDAW and includes analysis of the United Kingdom's reservations to CEDAW, the application of CEDAW to its Overseas Dependent Territories and Crown Dependencies and UK Government interactions with the CEDAW Committee. It concludes that successive UK Governments have been complacent about the country's record with respect to women's equality. When action has been taken to remedy sex-based discrimination, the impetus for change is more often as a result of European requirements or from the personal commitment of key individuals within Parliament than from a desire to comply with the United Kingdom's legal obligations under CEDAW.