UN global ban on FGM

In 2010 the Inter-African Committee launched a draft resolution of the United Nations General Assembly banning Female Genital Mutilation worldwide, in partnership with No Peace Without Justice (NPWJ) and La Palabre, and under the coordination of Mrs. Chantal Campaoré, First Lady of Burkina Faso and IAC Ambassador. Burkina Faso and its dynamic diplomacy took the forefront to translate this IAC initiative into a political and diplomatic reality.

Followed by intensive advocacy activities during the Campaign at the UN, on 20 December 2012, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a Resolution to Ban FGM worldwide. The Resolution was cosponsored by two thirds of the General Assembly, including the entire African Group, and was adopted by consensus by all UN members. Its adoption reflects universal agreement that female genital mutilation constitutes a violation of human rights, which all countries of the world should address through “all necessary measures, including enacting and enforcing legislation to prohibit FGM and to protect women and girls from this form of violence, and to end impunity”.

The adoption of a worldwide ban on FGM by the United Nations General Assembly constitutes a paradigm shift in the fight against this widespread and systematic human rights violation, committed against millions of girls and women in Africa and around the world. The majority of countries in the world lack legislation to protect these women and girls; where laws have been enacted, political will to implement them effectively seldom follows. The adoption of the Resolution is, however, not an end in itself: it is just the beginning of a new chapter in the fight against FGM. It is now up to all States and all of us to work together, so that the women and girls of tomorrow will be free from the threat of FGM.