The European Network for the Prevention of Female Genital Mutilation (EuroNet-FGM), in cooperation with No Peace Without Justice and the Transnational Nonviolent Radical Party, is organising an International Conference on The prevention of Female Genital Mutilation in the EU, which will be held in Brussels, Belgium on April 15-16-17, 2009. The Conference will take place in the European Parliament (EP), under the patronage of Mrs Rodi Kratsa-Tsagaropoulou, vice-president of the EP, Belgian Socialist MEP Anne Van Lancker and Italian Radical MEP Marco Cappato, with the support of the European Commission and the Belgian International Cooperation (DGOS).
The Conference, which will be opened by Mrs Rodi Kratsa-Tsagaropoulou, vice-president of the EP, Ms Khady Koita, President of Euronet-FGM, and Mrs Emma Bonino, Vice-President of the Italian senate, will bring together key international figures, ministers, parliamentarians, representatives of UN agencies and civil society activists from Europe and African countries affected by the practice who have played a key role in the battle for the eradication of FGM in recent years.
The purpose of the meeting is to discuss and consolidate the commitments and most successful initiatives undertaken in the framework of the National Action Plans for the elimination of female genital mutilation established and developed in 15 EU countries during the past two years, with the ultimate goal of the complete eradication of the practice of FGM in the near future.
In a resolution adopted on 24 March 2009, the European Parliament reaffirmed its strong condemnation of FGM as a violation of the human rights of women and girls and forcefully called for a ban on this practice in the European Union, rejecting any form of medicalisation “that would only serve to justify and to provide latent acceptance for the practice” within the EU and urging the implementation of a comprehensive strategy and action plans to enable current and potential victims to obtain effective protection.
No Peace Without Justice and the Transnational Nonviolent Radical Party consider legal instruments to be of fundamental importance in the struggle against the practice and are appealing to the European Union and Member States to adopt and enforce adequate and effective legislation to ban and regard all forms of FGM as criminal offences as well as to strengthen their support for all the women who struggle daily to challenge and eradicate this harmful practice and to gain respect for their human rights.
Download the Program of the Conference
For more information please contact Nicola Giovannini, NPWJ Press Officer (email: ngiovannini@npwj.org – phone: + 32 2 548 39 14 – fax: +32-2-511 8100).
