A Realization of 'Acting Locally and Thinking Globally': A New Framework for Incorporating International Treaties in the United States

Since WWII, the human rights movement has both evolved and expanded, but it has remained focused on belief that "all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights," as exemplified in Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Yet, despite the importance of these rights, the United States is party to only 12 of the 27 articles that have been identified as "most central to the spirit and goals of the Charter," every one of them subject to conditions. It is for this reason that this paper examines the barriers to the ratification of human rights law in the United States and seeks to address the question: can the local incorporation of human rights law at the city or state level offer an alternative to its failure to be ratified at the federal level? In order to answer this question, the existing literature on human rights and American exceptionalism will be analyzed in the context of the diffusion of global norms to the local level to better understand how the San Francisco Convention for the Elmination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) ordinance provides us with an example of both government and civil society actors working together to initiate international law in the United States, as well as an example of a participatory problem-solving approach being used in place of the traditional top-down methods. From such a study this thesis concludes that not only is CEDAW necessary for women in the United States to experience a greater realization of their rights, but also finds that implementing CEDAW at the local or sub-national level can offer communities the opportunity to extend rights to their citizens that the national government has thus far failed to ensure. The greatest challenge will be making this alternative available in regions of the United States that may not be prepared to grant true gender equality.