Reservations
When governments
become States parties to a convention, they can identify that
they will not be bound to particular elements of that treaty.
This is known as "entering a reservation" and in the
CEDAW Convention this is permitted under article 28. Sometimes
States parties can also make declarations. These have the same
effect as reservations.
Nevertheless,
there are limits to this process in so much as article 28(2) precludes
any reservation that is incompatible with the object and purpose
of the CEDAW Convention. Furthermore, reservations are meant to
be temporary so that a States party can take steps to remove obstacles
to the implementation of the articles it has reserved. (Click
here for list of reservations entered by States parties to the
CEDAW Convention)
Countries
have filed many formal reservations to the CEDAW Convention. In
fact, it is the most heavily reserved treaty in the UN human rights
system. Many of the reservations address key elements of the CEDAW
Convention, including the nature of steps to be taken to eliminate
discrimination (particularly article 2 which identifies the breadth
of measures to be taken to eliminate discrimination) and the primacy
of existing family law codes (particularly article 5 on sex roles
and stereotyping, and article 16 on marital relations). Additionally,
a number of States parties have reserved against the resolution
of disputes on interpretation or application of the CEDAW Convention
by the International Court of Justice (article 29).
