The Limits of Law: A Response to Martha C Nussbaum

In the preceding chapter, Professor Nussbaum suggests that CEDAW (an acronym that is often used interchangeably to mean both the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women of 1979 and also the twenty-three member Committee of independent experts that oversees that Convention) has failed to have the transformative effect on women’s lives that was anticipated at its adoption. Framing CEDAW as part of a social movement, Professor Nussbaum shows that there has been what she calls modest progress, but concludes that much remains to be done. This in turn leads her to question the efficacy of CEDAW and international law in the struggle for women’s equality. This response argues that the Committee has made a great deal of normative progress in three of the key areas identified in Professor Nussbaum’s chapter: intersectionality, reproductive rights and violence against women. It also highlights how much CEDAW has impacted positively on the work of other Committees and in the development of human rights standards globally