CEDAW Alliance Germany

CEDAW Alliance Germany (CEDAW-Allianz Deutschland) is a German umbrella organisation that brings together more than 30 civil-society organisations working for the human rights of women and gender equality. Its central purpose is to monitor how Germany — at federal, state and municipal level — implements and applies the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). The alliance was founded in 2015 and reconstituted itself in 2018 with a formal statute and rules of procedure. It describes itself as Europe's largest voluntary organisation specifically dedicated to the implementation of CEDAW. The alliance is a network rather than a conventional commercial enterprise: its members include the German Women's Council (Deutscher Frauenrat), the German Women's Ring (Deutscher Frauenring), UN Women Germany and a broad range of other women's organisations, so that it represents almost the entire organised women's movement in Germany. Its work includes critically observing legislative, judicial and executive action, raising public awareness of a convention that remains little known in Germany despite being decades old, and engaging in dialogue with the federal government. A core activity is the preparation of an alternative report (Alternativbericht) that responds to the German government's state report and presents civil society's assessment of how well the convention is being implemented; this report is used by the UN CEDAW Committee to evaluate government conduct. The alliance also represents German civil society before the UN CEDAW Committee and seeks to influence the multi-stage state reporting process. It explicitly takes multiple discrimination into account and positions itself against sexism, racism, homophobia and transphobia, and antisemitism. Although the alliance is not a commercial brand in the usual sense, it functions as a recognised civil-society platform and advocacy brand in German gender-equality policy, with a public website, published reports and active social-media channels.

CEDAW Alliance Germany was founded in 2015 as an umbrella organisation for German civil-society organisations working on the human rights of women and gender equality. According to the German Wikipedia entry, it was established on the initiative of the German Women's Council (Deutscher Frauenrat) and with financial support from the federal government. The alliance describes itself as Europe's largest voluntary organisation specifically concerned with the implementation of the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). In 2018 the alliance reconstituted itself and adopted a common set of rules in the form of a statute and rules of procedure. Since its founding it has grown steadily, reaching 34 member organisations. Its members include the German Women's Council, the German Women's Ring, UN Women Germany and a range of other women's organisations, so that the alliance encompasses almost the entire organised women's movement in Germany. The alliance's central method is monitoring: it critically observes the German legislature, judiciary and executive at federal, state and municipal level in their implementation and application of CEDAW. Because the convention remains little known in Germany despite being decades old, the alliance works to raise awareness of it at various levels in order to accelerate implementation. It takes multiple discrimination into account and highlights discrimination and human-rights violations affecting women and girls, positioning itself against sexism, racism, homophobia and transphobia, and antisemitism. A key part of its work is the preparation of an alternative report (Alternativbericht) that responds to the German government's state report and formulates civil society's assessment of the state of implementation. This civil-society perspective is used by the UN CEDAW Committee to assess government action. The alliance also represents German civil society before the UN CEDAW Committee and seeks to influence the multi-stage state reporting process, and it actively engages in dialogue with the federal government with the shared goal of ending all discrimination on the basis of gender.

• 2026

  The alliance has grown to 34 member organisations and has published four reports.

• 2018

  The alliance reconstitutes itself and adopts a statute and rules of procedure.

• 2015

  CEDAW Alliance Germany is founded as an umbrella organisation of German civil-society organisations.

A civil-society umbrella alliance and advocacy platform monitoring Germany's implementation of the UN Women's Rights Convention, positioning itself against sexism, racism, homophobia, transphobia and antisemitism.

• Alternative report (Alternativbericht) to the UN CEDAW Committee

  Civil society's assessment of Germany's implementation of CEDAW, used by the UN CEDAW Committee to evaluate government conduct.

1. 1Frauenrechte sind Menschenrechte - CEDAWcedaw-allianz.de
2. 2CEDAW-Allianz - Über unscedaw-allianz.de
3. 3Mitglieder der Allianz - CEDAWcedaw-allianz.de
4. 4CEDAW Alliance Germany - Wikidatawikidata.org
5. 5CEDAW-Allianz - Wikipediade.wikipedia.org