Reservations and Membership
A number of parties have made reservations and interpretative declarations to their application of the Protocol. Bangladesh, Belize and Colombia have exercised their right under Article 10 of the Protocol not to recognise the jurisdiction of the Committee to investigate "grave or systematic violations" of the Convention. Colombia declares that neither the Protocol nor the Committee can require it to decriminalise "offences against life or personal integrity".
Not every state which is a party to CEDAW is a party to the Protocol, and several major states still remain outside the Protocol. The United States of America has not became a signatory because it has not yet ratified CEDAW. Japan does not participate in any of the individual communications mechanisms for human rights treaties, but is currently considering joining while observing how these procedures are functioning. The People's Republic of China is currently "studying the problem of accession to the Optional Protocol".
Read more about this topic: Optional Protocol To The Convention On The Elimination Of All Forms Of Discrimination Against Women
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