Article 24

Abstract

Abstract This chapter discusses Article 24 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). At first sight, Article 24 seems to state an obvious principle of international law: that States parties must take measures at the domestic level to give effect to the obligations they accept under a treaty. It also appears to repeat, and to be subsumed by, other obligations set out in the Convention. Articles 2, 3, and 24 are closely linked and overlapping articles, and the omission of Article 24 from the Convention would be unlikely to have any significant impact on the obligations of States parties. Indeed, some commentators suggest that Article 24 may be ‘redundant’. Nevertheless, the drafters included Article 24 in the Convention as a separate article; accordingly, it is appropriate to consider its history and potential role, as well as to analyse the references States parties and the CEDAW Committee have made to Article 24. However, the exact function that Article 24 is intended to perform is far from clear and the Committee rarely engages with this provision.