No Peace Without Justice, The Inter-African Committee on Traditional Practices Affecting the Health of Women and Children, Euronet-FGM and La Palabre have launched an International Campaign to promote the adoption of a Resolution by the 65th United Nations General Assembly that universally and explicitly bans FGM.
For nearly 30 years, Arab and African activists have been engaged in combating one of the most widespread and systematic violations of the most fundamental human rights, specifically the right to physical integrity. FGM is committed against 150 million women worldwide, in 27 African countries and in Yemen, as well as in Europe and North America, in which FGM is now practiced as a result of migration over recent decades.
In the last ten years, the longstanding dedication of women’s rights advocates and the increasing political commitment shown by affected States has led to significant progress. Twenty countries have currently enacted national legislation which prohibits and penalises FGM; the African Union has taken a strong position condemning the practice through the Maputo Protocol banning female genital mutilation as a violation of human rights; and many governments are engaged in the implementation of national action plans that, in conjunction with the law, provide information and awareness campaigns, especially in underdeveloped areas where the practice is more widespread.
These achievements have brought us to a pivotal moment in the fight against FGM. The universal ban on FGM, through the adoption of a specific resolution by the 65th General Assembly of the United Nations, is a goal within close reach.
A Resolution with an explicit ban on female genital mutilation will help to complete the shift of perspectives on FGM from a problem of “public health” or a “cultural” problem, to its universal recognition as a human rights violation and a form of violence against women. A UN Resolution would also reinforce the regional and international conventions that recognize FGM as a violation of human rights, give new impetus to efforts to improve national laws banning FGM where they exist, or to adopt one, where they do not, as well as provide strong and clear support for all activists working to bring an end to the practice.
Support the campaign by signing the
Appeal for a worldwide ban on Female Genital Mutilation by the United Nations General Assembly
For further information on the campaign and on how to support it, visit: http://www.banfgm.org/
Download the Brochure on the Campaign
Watch the video of the Ban FGM Campaign 2010
