United States of America

House of Representatives Senate

House of Representatives

Political system
Presidential system
Structure of parliament
Bicameral
IPU membership
No
»

Specialized bodies - Gender equality

Committee on Foreign Affairs, sub-committee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights & International Organizations January 1981

About

Nature
Permanent
House of Representatives
Themes
Human rights
Gender equality

Members

Number of members
All Members 45 years of age or younger
Total 14 3
Male 9 1
Female 5 2

Chairperson(s)
(2023-01)

Person
Karen Bass (Female)
Date of birth: 03 Oct 1953
Political affiliation
Majority
Person
Christopher Smith (Male)
Date of birth: 04 Mar 1953
Political affiliation
Opposition

Committee functions

The Committee has the following functions:

Mainstream human rights into the work of (other) parliamentary committees and of Parliament as a whole
No information available
Mainstream gender equality into the work of (other) parliamentary committees and of Parliament as a whole
No information available
Scrutinise all Bills for their compatibility with human rights
No information available
Scrutinise all Bills from a gender perspective
No information available
Scrutinise the Executive’s policy for compatibility with human rights
Yes
Scrutinise the Executive’s policy from a gender perspective
No information available
Obtain information from the Executive about the justification for actions or inaction which affect human rights
No information available
Obtain information from the Executive about the justification for actions or inaction which affect gender equality and women’s rights
No information available
Scrutinise State compliance with existing UN human rights treaties
Yes
Scrutinise State compliance with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)
No information available
Initiate inquiries of its own choosing
Yes
Scrutinise proposed human rights treaties, and other international treaties with implications for human rights, and report to Parliament thereon, prior to ratification
Yes
Scrutinise proposed treaties on gender equality, and other international treaties with implications for gender equality and women’s rights, and report to Parliament thereon, prior to ratification
No information available
Ascertain and review the Executive’s reasons for not acceding to or ratifying existing international human rights treaties
Yes
Ascertain and review the Executive’s reasons for not acceding to or ratifying existing international human rights treaties on gender equality and women’s rights
No information available
Scrutinise the Executive’s response to judgments of national, regional and international courts with implications for human rights
Yes
Scrutinise the Executive’s response to human rights judgments - of national, regional and international courts – that have gender considerations
No information available
Monitor the adequacy of the existing national system for the protection of human rights
No information available
Monitor the adequacy of the existing national system for the promotion of gender equality
No information available
Review the allocation and expenditure of funds in the State budget to support measures to promote and protect human rights
Yes
Review the allocation and expenditure of funds in the State budget to support measures to promote gender equality and protect women’s rights
No information available
Other important functions, please specify
No information available

Committee involvement in international and national reporting mechanisms

Such as the UN Human Rights Council and its' Universal Periodic Review, the UN CEDAW Committee etc.

Consulted in the preparation of national report to the UN Human Rights Council
No information available
Consulted in the preparation of the most recent national report to the CEDAW Committee
No information available
Included in the official delegation which orally presented the most recent national report to the Council
No information available
Included in the official delegation which orally presented the most recent national report to the CEDAW Committee
No information available
Discussed the conclusions and recommendations which the Council adopted as a result
No information available
Discussed the conclusions and recommendations which the CEDAW Committee adopted as a result
No information available
Conducted hearings with the Executive about its plans to implement CEDAW conclusions and recommendations
No information available
Conducted hearings with the Executive about its plans to implement the conclusions and recommendations of the Human Rights Council
No information available
Involved in the preparation of national reports to other international or regional mechanisms (Resolution 1325 of the United Nations Security Council on Women, peace and security, the Beijing Platform for action…)
No information available

Committee powers

The Committee has the power to:

Propose amendments to legislation
Yes
Introduce bills into Parliament
Yes
Initiate parliamentary debates on its reports or on subjects of its choosing
No information available
Carry out inquiries
Yes
Hold oral evidence hearings
Yes
Compel witnesses to attend
Yes
Compel the production of documents and papers
Yes
Make recommendations to the Executive
No information available
Conduct visits, including visits abroad
Yes
Access places of detention without notice
No information available

Committee working methods

The Committee:

Adopts an annual or longer-term work plan
Yes
Publishes reports on its work on the parliamentary website
No information available
Usually reaches consensus on the issues on which it reports
No information available
Systematically follows up its reports and recommendations
No information available
Reports regularly to Parliament on its activities
Yes
Number of specialised staff to service committee
3

Cooperation and coordination

The Committee regularly cooperates and coordinates (e.g. through sharing of reports; meetings; joint follow-up action) with:

Other parliamentary committees
Often
Civil society organisations
Often
National Human Rights Institution(s)
No information available
National Human Rights Institution(s) and National Institution(s) for the promotion of gender equality
No information available
Academic institutions, including research institutes on human rights and the rule of law
Often
Academic institutions, including human rights and gender equality research institutes
No information available
The media
Often

Contact information for the Committee

Contact / Address
No information available
Phone
+1 (202) 225-5021
Fax number
No information available
E-mail
No information available
Web site

Historical data for IPU membership

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Historical data for IPU membership
Year IPU membership
2020-09
List of values for 2020-09
No
2019-04
List of values for 2019-04
No
2018-06
List of values for 2018-06
No