Evatt, Elizabeth

This article describes the operation of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). It shows the limitations that inhibit its effectiveness and suggests measures which might improve its potential. Recent proposals to develop a new international instrument to deal with violence against women are used to illustrate these themes.

This article is part of a series reviewing the first ten years of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (the Women's Convention). It focuses on some of the difficulties the Convention and the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW Committee) have faced and the steps taken to overcome these problems in order to become a respected and effective tool in the pursuit of women's rights.