Legal Status Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women under the 2005 Iraqi Constitution

Abstract

In 1979, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (hereinafter CEDAW or the Convention). Iraq ratified CEDAW in 1986, and published it in its Official Gazette in the same year. However, since then, the Country has undergone significant changes and adopted a new Constitution. Any discussion on CEDAW and its application in Iraq thus inevitably raises a number of questions: What is CEDAW? What legal method was used to ratify CEDAW in the framework of the 1970 Interim Constitution? What is the legal status of the Convention after its ratification - has it become a part of the Iraqi legal system? To what degree is Iraq committed to the Convention following the political and legal changes of 2003 and the introduction of a new Constitution in 2005? Can Iraq avoid its commitment to the Convention? Do Iraqi statutes and laws, specifically the Iraqi Penal Code, comply with the content of the Convention? What is the effect of Iraq’s reservations to CEDAW on the country’s commitments and their reflection on Iraqi legislation? Each of these issues will be discussed separately.