The report recommends that the U.N. consider the appointment of a Special Rapporteur on laws that discriminate against women. The mandate for this official should mirror those of existing special-procedure mechanisms. In addition to the impressive work already being done within the current U.N. human rights monitoring system, particularly by the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the achievements of special procedures, the time may be right for magnifying the focus on this very important issue by appointing a Special Rapporteur to address laws that discriminate against women. Divided into six parts, this report begins with a consideration of the concept of equality. This is followed by a review of regional human rights systems, which all apparently uphold the principle of nondiscrimination on the ground of sex; however, in some jurisdictions, international commitments to equality of the sexes is not reinforced by domestic laws. The report's next section addresses the work of human rights treaty bodies and special-procedures mechanisms. Treaty bodies' jurisprudence is assessed as it pertains to laws that discriminate against women. This is followed by a section that analyzes responses to the questionnaire that requested national data on laws that discriminate against women. The concluding section of the report outlines the arguments of interviewees and questionnaire respondents for and against the appointment of a Special Rapporteur on laws that discriminate against women. After analyzing these arguments, the report offers its recommendation. Appended project methodology, questionnaire, and a list of questionnaire recipients