The 1979 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women

This article is devoted to an analysis of the 1979 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (the "Women's Convention"). The author places the Women's Convention in the context of United Nations efforts to establish a body of human rights law. The article draws parallels with other international conventions in the human rights field and analyses the meaning and importance of the various articles. The author argues that, in many ways, the Convention overlaps with existing international conventions but in certain important respects it goes beyond the protection offered by them.