In 2020, which marked the 40th anniversary of China's ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (hereinafter referred to as "CEDAW”), the Chinese edition of the book the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women: A commentary (hereinafter referred to as the "Commentary") was published by Social Sciences Academic Press.

China is an original state party to CEDAW. On September 29, 1980, the Standing Committee of the Fifth National People's Congress decided on its 16th meeting to ratify CEDAW, thereby making it the first United Nations core human rights treaty ratified by China. The ratification of CEDAW started a process in China. From the promulgation and revision of the Law on the Protection of Women's Rights and Interests, to the promulgation of the Anti-Domestic Violence Law, the continuous improvement of the sexual harassment prevention and control system, and to the establishment of gender equality evaluation mechanisms in various places – all these advancements are related to China's fulfillment of its obligations under CEDAW and its active interaction with the CEDAW Committee. Nevertheless, there is still a gap between the current level of protection of women's rights and interests in China and the standards set by CEDAW. The full implementation of CEDAW is the only way for China to fulfill its international commitments and eliminate discrimination against women. This requires an understanding of CEDAW that keeps pace with the times. The Commentary analyzes and expounds in a comprehensive way from multiple angles the rights connotation of each provision of the CEDAW Convention, the scope of obligations of States parties, as well as work of the CEDAW Committee. Through this book, readers can have a deeper understanding of the connotation and extension of the elimination of discrimination against women in various fields, as well as the development history of CEDAW.

Author: Dai Ruijun, a research fellow at CASS Institute of International Law and Secretary General of CASS Center for Gender and Law Studies.

Source: China Women's Daily, April 27, 2021.