Towards girls’ autonomy and self-determination

11 Oct, 2022 | Press Releases

On the occasion of the International Day of the Girl Child, La Palabre and No Peace Without Justice (NPWJ), together with GAMS France and Collectif Laïcité Yallah are organising the roundtable “GIRLS’ RIGHTS ARE HUMAN RIGHTS: towards girls’ autonomy and self-determination worldwide”.

The event will be hosted by Alessandra Moretti, MEP, at the European Parliament (Room ASP5G315) in Brussels, on 11 October 2022, 15:00-17:00 CET, with the participation of Frances Fitzgerald, MEP (EPP), Soraya Rodríguez Ramos MEP (Renew) and Pierrette Herzberger-Fofana, MEP (The Greens/EFA). It will take place onsite and will be broadcast online, as well.

Together, we want to shed light on the human rights violations suffered by girls around the globe – especially Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and Child Marriage (CM), which have both been at the heart of our work for a long time – and bring to the table institutional and civil society representatives active in the promotion and protection of girls’ rights, to continue to pave our common way forward. 

Each year, at least 12 million girls get married before they have turned 18 . The practice is particularly widespread in conflict-affected countries and in humanitarian emergencies. Around 200 million living women and girls in the world have undergone FGM; about 3 million girls are at risk every year . Both FGM and CM are serious human rights violations against girls.

The year 2022 marks both ten years since the UN universal ban on FGM, Resolution 67/146, and the 40th anniversary of GAMS France: we see this event as an excellent opportunity to celebrate the recurrence together and to take stock of the situation of girls’ rights in Europe and worldwide, and the needs and challenges ahead of us.

For further information, please contact fbasso@npwj.org or gschiavoni@npwj.org