Statement on Signing Two Conventions Concerning Political Rights of Women.

I AM pleased to have the opportunity of signing the Inter-American Convention on the Granting of Political Rights to Women, signed in Bogota in 1948, and the Convention on the Political Rights of Women, signed by the United Nations General Assembly in 1953.

Our ratification of the 19th amendment to our Constitution in 1920 granted women in this country equal voting rights with men. The ratification of these two conventions serves to underscore our firm dedication to the principle of equality of political rights for women. Indeed, the Preamble to the Charter of the United Nations to which our Nation and others subscribe provides that we "reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small."

International Women's Year, 1975, has just concluded. We have now entered the United Nations Decade for Women, as adopted by the 30th General Assembly of the United Nations. This decade, 1975-85, will provide an opportunity to put into action the recommendations and suggestions resulting from IWY. This will serve as an opportunity for effectively measuring our commitment to continuing the advancement of the status of women. It is highly appropriate that the ratification of these two conventions by the United States Senate took place during the beginning of our Bicentennial Year.