SUB-REGIONAL CONFERENCE HELD ON FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION
Djibouti, the international non-profit organization, No Peace Without Justice, UNICEF and the major cooperation agencies in the sub-region, are organizing, within the framework of the international campaign "Stop FGM", a sub-regional conference on Female Genital Mutilation. The conference, to be held in Djibouti from next February 2 to 3, will be an opportunity to celebrate the will and consensus of the government and religious authorities in favor of abandoning harmful traditional practices, which still affect around 98% of the female population in Djibouti, it was learnt.
The conference will be developed in two parallel sessions, the first as a reserved debate between religious authorities and the second on the Maputo Protocol and its implementation. The conclusion of both will be presented during the plenary closing session, where the government of Djibouti will present their instrument of ratification of the Maputo Protocol to a representative of the African Union.
The Maputo protocol, adopted by the 53 Heads of State of the African Union on 11 July 2003 in Maputo, Mozambique, stipulates in Article 5 that FGM should be prohibited and condemned. It requires ratification by 15 states parties to enter into force. As of January 2005, five states have ratified the protocol.
Participants from Yemen, Sudan, Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Djibouti will be attending the conference.
