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Elahe Amani, Chair Women’s Intercultural Network

Soon-Young Yoon is a Korean-American advocate for women’s human rights and author of “Citizen of the World — Soon-Young and the UN”. She currently serves as a United Nations representative of the International Alliance of Women. In 2020, she founded the Cities for CEDAW History and Futures Project of which she is currently co-director.She is the main representative of the International Alliance of Women to the United Nations ECOSOC. In that capacity she was Chair of the NGO Committee on the Status of Women, New York from 2011 to 2015 during which the committee launched the Cities for CEDAW campaign. In 2014, she received the CEDAW award for International Comity from the Friends of the Commission on the Status of Women in San Francisco.

As a champion of the Cities for CEDAW campaign over the past decade, how do you suggest ensuring the Cities For CEDAW ( C4C ) continued relevance and adaptability in the face of shifting political landscapes? 

The media, public education and movement building as the most important phase of passing an ordinance. To ensure sustainable, effective implementation, building consensus through community consciousness-raising is critical. Feminist and women leaders are most successful if they use the campaign to build strong coalitions around activities such as school programs, youth education, media campaigns and outreach to city officials. Activists used petitions, briefings for mayors, as well as demonstrations and marches.

For example, in Boulder County, Colorado Business and Professional Women of Colorado in partnership with United Nations Association-USA of Boulder County met with city council members in Lafayette, Louisville and Boulder to obtain Resolutions. CEDAW T-shirts were created and handed out to stakeholders and Mayors. The Midwest Coalition 4 CEDAW developed a PowerPoint “CEDAW 101” that was used for community education at the public library and for women’s organizations in Kansas City, Laurence, Lee’s Summit and other regional cities. In Washington DC, the coalition worked for more than two years; UNA/DC held public hearings, reached out to media, and held briefings and meetings with local officials. Fairfax county Special Interest Group published a CEDAW guide, addressing local opposition to passing a county resolution. The same group wrote and performed a Trilogy on CEDAW presented virtually during the CSW NGO Forum.

Besides this, we must work with men because they are the majority of mayors and city council representatives. What is interesting is that in the campaign so far, most city councils that passed CEDAW (or EDAW) had a male majority.

Counties and States can also use levers to change the political culture and set new social norms for cities in their jurisdictions. We have nearly 22 counties in the campaigns, with all counties in Hawaii. Let’s see what Santa Clara and Los Angeles counties will achieve—I think we can expect a lot.

What notable milestone or achievement stands out to you as a testament to progress in advancing the C4C campaign? 

We can cite progress in statistical numbers, but I think the rise in leadership and political will for the campaign is an outstanding result.  We see diverse leadership initiatives that make a difference. For example, in 2015, mayor Eric Garcetti in Los Angeles issued an executive directive on gender equity which called on every City Department to help Los Angeles fulfill its responsibilities under the CEDAW ordinance. The city now includes a Gender Equity Liaison from every City Department and heads must prepare a Gender Equity Action Plan. Public events organized by the Los Angeles mayor’s office such as the Youth Women’s Assembly and LAFD (firefighters) camp for girls further highlighted the importance of leadership at the very top using the mayor’s convening power. Similarly, when mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz of Toledo commemorated the CEDAW ordinance, he welcomed a newly founded Women’s Business Council, drawing attention to the importance of CEDAW to women’s businesses and economic growth. In cities like Washington DC and Durham, male heads of city council (see figure above) led the way to champion CEDAW, sometimes in the face of strong opposition.

We also have many more tools like the LA county Gender Impact Assessment guide that is going to help newcomers to the campaign. One of the best examples of using ordinances to guarantee funding is found in the Washington DC ordinance which requires the DC government to conduct a gender analysis every four years, ensure training on gender equity and human rights and a citywide action plan to eliminate discrimination against women. Under the Mayor ‘s Office of Women’s Policy and Initiatives, the CEDAW (called EDAW in DC) ordinance will be monitored in its 80 plus agencies so that resources are allocated throughout departments.

San Francisco has one of the few women’s departments in the country that can raise its own funds. It has raised millions of dollars, focusing on violence against women and trafficking. Moreover, the department has the mandate to require all city departments (as in Los Angeles) to use their resources towards citywide goals.

How can we collaborate with other entities to amplify the impact of C4C and tangibly promote women’s human rights and dignity? 

I have lots of ideas on this issue:

1. Form Counties for CEDAW through peer leadership. LA county, for example, could help to network the other 9 counties currently engaged and help the CEDAW Challenge reach more through the county national association meetings.
2. Mobilize more legal expertise through peer leadership to network law schools and other university departments in support of CEDAW ordinances and resolutions. For example, Santa Clara Law school’s International Human Rights Clinic could reach out to other already engaged in the campaign such as Mount St Marys and Cincinnati Law schools.
3. Establish more “Friends of women’s commissions”, “Friends of the Department of Inclusion and Diversity” or other city or county-associated mechanisms where corporate and small business leaders can contribute financial support.
4. Expand the Cities for CEDAW campaign globally. City officials, women’s commissions, and feminist international NGOs can reach out to model cities in countries that have already ratified CEDAW (e.g. Vienna, Reykjavik and Bogota) to network with the Cities for CEDAW campaign to exchange global experiences and share training and toolkits.
5. Replicate CEDAW Youth from Miriam college, Philippines, in other schools, including in high schools to connect with the Secretary-General’s new Youth Office.
6. Promote the “CEDAW Challenge” in US cities, counties and states as the national association of counties meetings as well as at meetings at the UN such as the CSW, High Level Political Forum and regional preparatory meetings for the Summit of the Future.
7. Invite CEDAW experts to awards ceremonies, media events and other UN-related activities in the US that increases public awareness.

Looking ahead, what innovations or changes do you envision to further align the C4C campaign with its overarching goal of championing women’s rights?

The UN has a critical role to play in the Cities for CEDAW movement because of its historic responsibility as standard bearer for human rights and gender equality. We need to make the CSW a Council under the General Assembly to reestablish its authority and legitimacy. We also need to make CEDAW a standing agenda item at CSW and make sure it is seen as an accountability mechanism for all the SDGs. At the Summit of the Future, the UN must put forth bold reforms in the gender architecture at the UN, opening more spaces for local authorities, feminist and women’s movement leaders and youth groups to influence its outcome.

What happens at the global level affects grass-root campaigns and vice-versa. The Cities for CEDAW is like an innovation lab that can bring CEDAW to life in diverse settings in real time. As Runya and Sanders noted “…the practical interactions among policymakers and CEDAW activists that occur through these processes (localization of CEDAW) contribute to the vitality of CEDAW norms themselves, which are given life and meaning through practical enactment and social grounding”[1] If the US ratifies CEDAW, this campaign will have helped lay a foundation for rapid and sustainable change. Indeed, national governments are more likely to step up to the challenge when the values of global citizenship and human rights thrive in communities and the UN’s goals are pursued locally.

[1] Anne Sisson Runya and Rebecca Sanders, “Prospects for realizing international women’s rights law through local governance: the case of Cities for CEDAW, in Human Rights Review (2021), 22:303-325.