The Resolution was hailed by the Ban FGM Campaign, an ever-expanding coalition of human rights activists that has been working towards a worldwide ban on FGM, including No Peace Without Justice, the Inter-African Committee on Traditional Practices, Euronet-FGM, and the NGOs La Palabre, Manifesto 99 and Equality Now.
A press briefing on the adoption of the Resolution will be hosted by Burkina Faso at the UN Dag Hammarskjöld Press Auditorium at 12:30, immediately following the UN Secretary General’s noon press briefing.
Schedule of Ban FGM events open to members of the media at UN Headquarters
10:00 UNGA Hall: United Nations General Assembly begins consideration of the proposals contained in the Reports of the Third Committee
10:45 UNGA Hall: estimated time of adoption of Resolution “intensifying global efforts for the elimination of female genital mutilation” which bans FGM worldwide
12:30 Dag Hammarskjöld Press Auditorium: Press briefing on the adoption of a worldwide ban on FGM hosted by Burkina Faso [immediately following the UN Secretary General’s noon press briefing] Watch live the Press Conference
16:00 Francophonie: Press Conference and Reception (for the francophone press) on the adoption of the worldwide ban on FGM, cosponsored by the Ban FGM Coalition and Burkina Faso, and hosted by the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie, 801 Second Avenue, suite 605, NY 10017, followed by a cocktail reception.
For more information: Alvilda Jablonko, FGM Coordinator – No Peace Without Justice
email: ajablonko@npwj.org Tel +1 (212) 980-2558, mobile +1 (347) 476-2327
Ban FGM Campaign
Over the past years, the members of the Ban FGM Coalition have collaborated on several initiatives to raise awareness internationally about the need for a UNGA Resolution banning this human rights violation, gathering the support of human rights activists, women’s organizations, parliamentarians and government representatives from throughout Africa and Europe.
Tangible momentum towards a Resolution has been gathering speed over this past year. A key step in the process was the July 2011 AU Assembly Decision by the Heads of State and Government of the African Union in support of a Resolution by the General Assembly.
The African Group at the UN took action to implement the will of the Heads of State by introducing a CSW Decision at the Session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) in March 2012, recommending that the issue of FGM, until now discussed only within the context of the CSW, be formally considered by the General Assembly under the agenda item “Advancement of Women”. In July 2012, the ECOSOC adopted the CSW recommendation and requested that the issue of female genital mutilation be added to the agenda of the 67th General Assembly. On 26 November 2012, the Social, Humanitarian Cultural Affairs Committee (commonly referred to as the Third Committee) of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) adopted the draft resolution “Intensifying Global Efforts for the elimination of female genital mutilation”, paving the way to its formal adoption by the 67th General Assembly.
- Brochure on the Ban FGM Campaign
