Governor's
Newsletter
For the current issue of Governor Mary Ann
Tarantula's June 2007 newsletter,
click here.
U.S. Senate Ratifies CEDAW
The
U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved U.S.
ratification of the Convention to Eliminate All Forms of
Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) by a 12-7 bipartisan vote!
This is a HUGE step toward U.S. ratification of the treaty. This
treaty is critical to upholding the human rights of women
worldwide
The treaty will now move to the
full Senate for a debate and vote. In order for the U.S. to
ratify an international treaty, two-thirds of the Senate must
consent, meaning 67 yes votes. Your continued support can make a
difference.
Steps for a U.N. Treaty to become
U.S. Law:
The U.N. General
Assembly adopts a treaty.
The U.S. President
signs the treaty, indicating the U.S. intends to ratify the
treaty. The State Department prepares a legal report with
recommended Reservations, Understandings, and Declarations (RUDs).
The President sends the treaty to the Senate. (President Carter
signed CEDAW in 1980).
The Senate Foreign
Relations Committee holds hearings, reviews the recommended RUDs,
and sends the treaty to the full Senate. Passage must be by 2/3
majority.
The Senate returns
the treaty to the President.
The President
ratifies the treaty by signing the “instrument of ratification”
and then deposits it with the U.N. Secretary General.
This
biennium we are encouraged to focus on our mission…Advancing the
status of women. What better way to do that than to encourage
our Senators to pass the CEDAW treaty!
Click
here to find out what you can do to help pass CEDAW
District 3 is one of 30
Districts in Zonta International
The
Zonta Club of Fairfax County is one of the clubs in Area 4, District 3
of Zonta International. District 3
is one of the thirty
districts of the Zonta world. It extends from southern New York
through Virginia, including the mid-Atlantic states of New Jersey,
Maryland, Delaware, part of Pennsylvania and the District of Columbia.
District 3 is part of
Zonta International,
a worldwide service organization of executives in business and
the professions who work together to improve the status of
women. Founded in 1919 in Buffalo, New York, Zonta currently
has approximately 34,000 members in more than 1,200 clubs in
71 countries.
Zonta takes its
name from a Sioux Indian word meaning “honest and
trustworthy” and uses the yellow rose as its symbol.
Zontians volunteer their time, talents, skills, and energy to
local and international service projects designed to advance
the status of women.
As one of the
premier NonGovernmental Organizations (NGOs), Zonta
International maintains consultative status with the following
United nations agencies:
 | United
Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC); |
| United
Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO); |
| United
Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF); |
| International
Labor Organization (ILO); and the Council of Europe. |
|
