wfn.org | United Methodist Women promotes U.N. treaty

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG>]

April 3, 1998		Contact: Linda Bloom, (212) 870-3803, New York
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WASHINGTON (UMNS) -- Leaders of United Methodist Women visited U.S.
Senators here March 31 to promote an international treaty to end
discrimination against women.

"Women deserve and society needs to recognize the rights of women," said
Pat Rengel of Amnesty International USA. Rengel spoke with the UMW group
about a women's human rights treaty before the visits to senators.

The treaty, known as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination Against Women, was adopted by the United Nations in 1979.
It is a comprehensive document addressing the
rights of women socially, politically, economically and culturally.

UMW members have written thousands of postcards in recent years, urging
senators to ratify the treaty. The United States is the only country in
the western hemisphere that has not done so.

The 1 million-member UMW focuses on fostering spiritual growth,
developing leaders and being an advocate for social justice.

United Methodist News Service
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