Australia has today formally moved to become a party to the Optional Protocol to the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), which was opposed by the former Government.
Australia has been a party to CEDAW since 1983. The previous Government refused to sign the Optional Protocol when it was adopted in 2000, despite countries such as the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand and a number of our Asia-Pacific neighbours doing so. Even today, the Coalition, under Malcolm Turnbull, still opposes this important international human rights instrument.
The announcement comes on the eve of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.
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