Orchid welcomes campaign for a UN ban on female genital cutting

Tuesday 14 December 2010

We were delighted to hear that the Egyptian government has signed an appeal to the UN to ban FGM. Around every 9 in 10 women and girls are cut in Egypt, and it is thought that the practice of infibulation originated there. They are in good company, as the Petition now signed by hundreds of high profile people and 45 country governments. Notable key signatories of this petition calling for a UN ban of the practice include first ladies, some of whom come from countries in Africa where effort to stem it is pitching hardnosed societies against activists. They include the first ladies of Burkina Faso, Guinea Bissau, Uganda and Benin. Others notable figures include Nobel laureates Desmond Tutu, Shirin Ebadi, Nadime Gordimer, and Martti Ahtisaari.

The International Ban FGM Campaign (distinct from the EU campaign) began on 23 September this year, with a meeting at the 65th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.  The campaign, building on successes of the past few decades, and the heightened profile of female genital cutting as a global human rights issue, aims to promote the adoption of a ‘Ban FGM’ resolution at the 65th UN General Assembly.

A UN General Assembly resolution is needed to support the fight to end FGC worldwide as it will reinforce previous steps taken by other UN agencies, as well as demonstrating there is political will and clear commitment at a global, international level to end FGC. A UN ban of female genital cutting would also provide support to governments who meet resistance to ending FGC in their countries by positioning FGC as a violation of universal human rights, a violation of the physical and psychological integrity of women. A United Nations ban on FGM would truly emphasise the gravity of FGC and the destructive impact it has on the lives of millions of women, girls and their families around the world.

The campaign launched in conjunction with No Peace Without Justice, the Inter-African Committee on Traditional Practices Affecting the Health of Women and Children, and Euronet-FGM.  No Peace Without Justice is working with parliamentarians and women’s rights activists from Africa, Europe and other affected countries, to ensure that they have input into a Resolution text with real meaning and political impact at both national and international level.

It remains to be seen what will happen to this proposed resolution. Obviously Orchid welcomes any resolution which would improve the status of FGC as a human rights issue, and in view of the new UN Women agency being fully functional from the new year this seems a prudent time for a resolution so crucial to women’s rights.

Sign the petition.