This paper analyzes the balance between
states' commitment to international human
rights agreements, like the Convention on
the Elimination of all forms of
Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), and
the reservation provisions embedded within
these agreements. Reservation provisions
were adopted to accommodate certain state
interests, while allowing these states to
continue to participate in the treaty
regime. The author, using the CEDAW as a
model, underscores how reservation
provisions can allow states to exempt
themselves from the core objectives of the