Convention on the Political Rights of Women in the United States

Article I

Women shall be entitled to vote in all elections on equal terms with men
without any discrimination.

Article II

Women shall be eligible for election to all publicly elected bodies,
established by national law, on equal terms with men, without any
discrimination.

Article III

Women shall be entitled to hold public office and to exercise all public
functions, established by national law, on equal terms with men, without any
discrimination.

Article IV

1. This Convention shall be open for signature on behalf of any Member of
the United Nations and also on behalf of any other State to which an
invitation has been addressed by the General Assembly.

2. This Convention shall be ratified and the instruments of ratification
shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

Article V

1. This Convention shall be open for accession to all States referred to in
paragraph 1 of article IV.

2. Accession shall be effected by the deposit of an instrument of accession
with the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

Article VI

1. This Convention shall come into force on the ninetieth day following the
date of deposit of the sixth instrument of ratification or accession.

2. For each State ratifying or acceding to the Convention after the deposit
of the sixth instrument of ratification or accession the Convention shall
enter into force on the ninetieth day after deposit by such State of its
instrument of ratification or accession.

Article VII

In the event that any State submits a reservation to any of the articles of
this Convention at the time of signature, ratification or accession, the
Secretary-General shall communicate the text of the reservation to all
States which are or may become parties to this Convention. Any State which
objects to the reservation may, within a period of ninety days from the date
of the said communication (or upon the date of its becoming a party to the
Convention), notify the Secretary-General that it does not accept it. In
such case, the Convention shall not enter into force as between such State
and the State making the reservation.

Article VIII

1. Any State may denounce this Convention by written notification to the
Secretary-General of the United Nations. Denunciation shall take effect one
year after the date of receipt of the notification by the Secretary-General.

2. This Convention shall cease to be in force as from the date when the
denunciation which reduces the number of parties to less than six becomes
effective.

Article IX

Any dispute which may arise between any two or more Contracting States
concerning the interpretation or application of this Convention which is not
settled by negotiation, shall at the request of any one of the parties to
the dispute be referred to the International Court of Justice for decision,
unless they agree to another mode of settlement.

Article X

The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall notify all Members of the
United Nations and the non-member States contemplated in paragraph 1 of
article IV of this Convention of the following:

(a) Signatures and instruments of ratifications received in accordance
with article IV;

(b) Instruments of accession received in accordance with article V;

(c) The date upon which this Convention enters into force in accordance
with article VI;

(d) Communications and notifications received in accordance with article
VII;

(e) Notifications of denunciation received in accordance with paragraph
1 of article VIII;

(f) Abrogation in accordance with paragraph 2 of article VIII.

Article XI

1. This Convention, of which the Chinese, English, French, Russian and
Spanish texts shall be equally authentic, shall be deposited in the archives
of the United Nations.

2. The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall transmit a certified
copy to all Members of the United Nations and to the non-member States
contemplated in paragraph 1 of article IV.

IN FAITH WHEREOF the undersigned, being duly authorized thereto by their
respective Governments, have signed the present Convention, opened for
signature at New York, on the thirty-first day of March, one thousand nine
hundred and fifty-three.