Worldwide Ban on Female Genital Mutilation: UNGA resolution adopted today signals increased support to address this human rights violation

On 18 December 2014, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a Resolution which reaffirms its call to ban FGM worldwide. The Resolution [A/69/150], was cosponsored by the Group of African States and an additional 71 Member States, and was adopted by consensus by all UN members.

The UN General Assembly had taken a first strong stance on this issue on 20 December 2012 by adopting the Resolution A/RES/67/146, which was hailed by the Ban FGM campaign, a coalition of African and European NGOs created thanks to the initiative of No Peace Without Justice.

Statement by Alvilda Jablonko, FGM Program Coordinator of No Peace Without Justice:

“No Peace without Justice (NPWJ) and the Nonviolent Radical Party Transnational and Transparty (NRPTT) welcome today’s adoption by the United Nations General Assembly of a new Resolution to universally ban female genital mutilation (FGM). The increasing number of countries promoting the Resolution – 21 more than in 2012 – is a sign of a growing consensus among States willing to take effective action to bring an end to FGM as a serious and wide-scale violation of the rights of women and girls.

“As reaffirmed in the Resolution adopted today, all States should take all necessary measures, including enacting and enforcing legislation, to prohibit female genital mutilations and to protect women and girls from this form of violence, and to hold perpetrators to account. This is also an explicit and strong signal of support to all activists working from the grass-roots to the policy level and advocating for clear and effective national legislation to unequivocally ban FGM in their respective countries. Enacting and enforcing such legislation is critical to legitimize their local advocacy and educational efforts, to strengthen those who seek to defy the social pressures of tradition and reject FGM, to protect its victims and to end impunity.

“The majority of countries worldwide still lack legislation to protect these women and girls; where laws have been enacted, political will to implement them effectively has not always followed. Enhancing cooperation and synergy of action among all key actors, including civil society organisations, is crucial to enhance the efficacy of political and legislative measures aimed at fighting this human rights violation.

“We hope that this renewed commitment by the international community will be an incentive to ensure the full and swift compliance with and implementation of the Resolution’s provisions and principles at the national, regional and global levels. It is now up to all States and all those engaged in the fight to work together to ensure that the women and girls of tomorrow will be free from the threat of FGM”.

Useful links:

• UNGA resolution  A/69/150
• Ban FGM Campaign
• NPWJ FGM Program activities

For more information, contact Alvilda Jablonko, Coordinator of the FGM Program, on ajablonko@npwj.org / +32 494 533 915 or Nicola Giovannini, on ngiovannini@npwj.org /+32 (0)2 548-39 15.