On 19-20 January 2017, No Peace Without Justice, in partnership with CPTAFE (Cellule de coordination sur les Pratiques Traditionnelles Affectant la Santé des Femmes et des Enfants) and the Inter-African Committee for Traditional Practices Affecting the Health of Women and Children (IAC), convened a national workshop in Conakry, Guinea, aimed at fostering the implementation of United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Resolutions 69/146 and 69/150 calling for a worldwide ban on female genital mutilation (FGM).

The workshop was organised with the support of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and the Islamic Development Bank. Participants to the national workshop include representatives of the government (Ministry of Social Action and for the Promotion of Women and Children, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health) and local authorities, parliamentarians, civil society activists and women’s rights groups, traditional and religious leaders, health practitioners, members of the media as well as the public at large.

This event aimed at strengthening awareness-raising and advocacy activities about the implications of the UNGA resolutions both among representatives of the government, civil society organisations and other key actors involved in the fight against FGM, and to ensure its effective application. The workshop provided an opportunity to analyse and discuss national mechanisms designed to protect women and girls against FGM and to identify operational challenges and adequate measures to improve existing strategies addressing violations of the prohibition of FGM, as well as to strengthen the capacity of the police, gendarmerie and the judiciary in ensuring compliance with the law. In Guinea, despite the practice being outlawed, it is estimated that 97% of girls aged 15 to 49 are FGM victims.

Documentation

• Final report of the national workshop (in French)
• Ban FGM Campaign
• NPWJ Gender & Human Rights Program activities

For more information, contact Alvilda Jablonko, Coordinator of the Gender and Human Rights Program, on ajablonko@npwj.org, phone: +32 494 533 915 or Nicola Giovannini, email: ngiovannini@npwj.org, phone: +32 2 548 39 15.