Unsex CEDAW, or What\u27s Wrong With Women\u27s Rights

Part I discusses why CEDAW continues to be relevant as the primary source of international law on sex discrimination. Until the advent of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), CEDAW was the most widely-subscribed international treaty. Some of the draft language of CEDAW reflects the tension between category and identity and how women won the debate. Part II contrasts CEDAW with the Convention for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD). It points to the identitarian focus of CEDAW as a core reason for its failures. Had CEDAW reflected a category focus, as CERD did, it would more directly incorporate the breadth of sex discrimination. Part III argues that CEDAW should include all sexes- CEDAW\u27s focus on women excludes men, women who are not victims and all other sexes. The Article concludes by arguing that the counterproductive engagements by CEDAW suggest the need for a radical refashioning of this crucial treaty