COMMITTEE: General Assembly

QUESTION OF: Promoting international cooperation in devising and improving methods of reducing female genital mutilation

MAIN SUBMITTER: Guinea-Bissau

CO-SUBMITTER: Canada, Ghana, Azerbaijan, Uganda, Brazil, Libya, Mexico, DominicanRepublic, Ecuador

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,

Recalling the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, which constitute a significant contribution to the legal framework for the protection and promotion of the rights of women and girls,

Further recalling resolutions A/RES/67/146 of December 2012 and A/RES/69/150 of December 2014 adopted by the United Nations (UN) General Assembly, both entitled “Intensifying global efforts for the elimination of female genital mutilations,”

Affirming that the World Health Organization (WHO) states that the term “female genital mutilation” (FGM) refers to all procedures that intentionally alter or cause injury to the female organs for non-medical reasons, with no health benefits for women and girls, on the contrary making women and girls suffer from psychological repercussions, sexual problems, wound healing problems, urinating problems, extreme pain, severe bleeding, cysts, infections, complications in childbirth, increased risk of newborn deaths, and even death,

Reaffirming that FGM is internationally recognized as a violation of the human rights of women and girls, and is considered an act of violence against women and girls and an extreme form of discrimination,

Stressing that FGM is mostly carried out on young girls between infancy and age 15, thereby additionally constituting a violation of the rights of children,

Emphasizing that one of the targets of “Goal 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls” of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is to “eliminate all harmful practices, such as child, early, and forced marriage, and female genital mutilation,”

Concerned by figures showing that at least 200 million women and girls alive today in 30 countries in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia have undergone some form of FGM, and that if current trends continue, 30 million additional girls between the ages of 15 and 19 will be subjected to the practice in the next decade,

Recognizing the fact that the chance of a girl or woman being subjected to FGM today is about a third lower than it was 30 years ago, yet the pace of this change is uneven, both within and among countries,

Bearing in mind the international agreement on the use of five indicators in surveys on FGM: prevalence by age cohorts 15-49 years, status of daughters (as declared by mothers aged 15-49), percentage of “closed” (infibulation, sealing) and open (excision) FGM, the performer of FGM, and support of, or opposition to, FGM by women and men aged 15-49,

Commending the efforts made by the WHO, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), in conjunction with national governments and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) since 1997 to counteract FGM, efforts that have led to wider international involvement to end FGM, international monitoring bodies and resolutions that condemn the practice, revised legal frameworks and growing political support to end FGM, including a law against FGM in 26 countries in Africa and the Middle East, as well as 33 other countries with migrant populations from FGM-practicing countries,

Congratulating the efforts of the 2008-2017 UNFPA-UNICEF Joint Programme on Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting: Accelerating Change, which has, among other accomplishments in its first phase, helped implement national policy or legislation in 12 of its 15 program countries, and trained over 100,000 health practitioners on FGM prevention, response, and care,

Further congratulating the UN-sponsored International Day of Zero Tolerance to FGM, taking place every 6 February since 2003, which aims to raise awareness worldwide, especially through the use of social media,

1. Calls upon Member States to condemn all harmful practices and review and reform their legislation within the health, education, social, and legal protection systems, with the purpose of:

a)Constitutionally recognizing the rights of women and girls and ensuring that they are protected by the law against all harmful practices and attitudes regarding FGM,

b)Prosecuting and penalizing those traditional practitioners, health professionals, parents, guardians, or any other people who commit harmful acts, in a way that is commensurate with the gravity of their act or with the professional position they hold, in the following ways:

Fines for individuals who condone the practice through ways that do not directly involve practicing FGM,
Imprisonment for individuals that practice FGM,
Permanently revoking the medical license of health professionals,
Exposing the individuals for having committed said crime;

2. Further calls upon MEDCs who have the necessary resources to support LEDCs where FGM is prevalent through ways such as:

a)Providing necessary human capital such as NGO volunteers, health professionals, social workers, or educators, all of whom should have enough experience or education on the subject of FGM, as well as on the traditions and beliefs of the communities into which they are placed,

b)Providing modern medical equipment to be installed in medical facilities and used for treatment of victims of FGM,

c)Providing monetary capital only in cases where its receivers use it in a process of rehabilitation, such as starting life outside of the household that subjected them to FGM,

d)Encourage citizens to financially support campaigns regarding the elimination of female genital mutilation of UN Organizations (UNOs) such as UNICEF, UNFPA, UN Women, and/or NGOs supporting the cause, such as Save the Children or the Desert Flower Foundation;

3. Asks that Member States display a positive view on the issue of FGM by engaging in effective national and international coordination and communication mechanisms, aiming to reach consensus and devise measures preventing and eliminating the practice of FGM, in ways such as:

a)Contributing to open and effective dialogue, collaboration, and cooperation, regionally and internationally in the context of international summits and organizations,

b)Communicating and collaborating with human rights NGOs that are involved with the issue,

c)Using the annual International Day of Zero Tolerance to FGM as a way to raise awareness and promote social change,

d)Supporting the UNFPA-UNICEF Joint Programme on Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting and their policy changes and training operations;

4. Proposes that Member States welcome and develop strategies preventing FGM in the form of educational and awareness-raising campaigns, as well as public dialogue events aiming to eliminate the harmful attitudes and practices of FGM, strategies that should engage girls, boys, women, and men, targeting all stakeholders in society, including government officials, law enforcement personnel, health professionals, faculty of educational institutions, and religious or community leaders, while these strategies may take forms such as:

a)Informational sessions held by health professionals or representatives of human rights NGOs, providing comprehensive and comprehensible information explaining the implications of the physical procedure of FGM, as well as its repercussions, information that should be based on evidence and build on local perceptions and knowledge to the greatest extent possible,

b)Having FGM survivors who either are currently or have been affiliated with NGOs, government agencies, or media agencies speak publicly about their perspective, experience, and rehabilitation,

c)Public pledges from religious or traditional leaders disavowing religious or traditional requirements for FGM, as well as expressing a positive view on the social change resulting from eliminating the practice,

d)Using mass and social media as a way to broadcast correct information to people, as well as inform them about any positive social change that may be taking place in communities,

e)Community meetings encouraging public dialogue and debate on the issue, providing people with the opportunity to increase understanding and reflection on any newly acquired information,

f)Encouraging the denunciation of known cases of FGM to authorities or other potentially helpful organizations;

5. Urges Member States to revise national educational curricula regarding health and sexual education, in addition to education on FGM and human rights, ensuring that the information provided is commensurate with international standards set by the WHO, while additionally ensuring that the educational process is not threatening, but rather includes the development of analytical, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills;

6. Encourages the establishment of programs and communities that ensure the promotion of the rights to assembly and expression, while additionally serving as a safe space for women and girls whose home may be unwelcoming, unsafe, or an unsuitable environment for rehabilitation, through measures such as:

a)Support groups guided by social workers or health professionals,

b)Rehabilitation programs for women and girls suffering from physical or psychological repercussions,

c)Associations for women and girls to use as an open discussion forum, while these associations may be either solely directed towards women and girls, or may include men and boys as well, to facilitate their inclusion in the process;

7. Further recommends the provision of emotional, financial, and medical support to girls and women who have been subjected to female genital mutilation by disseminating shelters that offer:

a)Living arrangements,

b)Legal, financial, and social protection,

c)Availability of professionals providing mental rehabilitation and physical assistance,

d)Financial guidance;

8. Further encourages that Member States’ Ministries of Health closely monitor the process through which health professionals achieve their positions, complying with international standards about the extent of education and experience needed in order to practice any kind of provision of healthcare, especially emphasizing that these professionals must be educated about FGM, its repercussions, complications, and ways to treat emergencies;

9. Approves the detection of the medical practitioners who are willing to practice FGM through:

a)Vigilance of the mentioned practitioners’ income and its source,

b)Further investigation if the obtained information is revealed to be suspicious, in order to determine the legality of the origin of said income;

10. Recommends that Member States recognize that FGM is a form of gender-based violence that can amount to persecution within the meaning of the refugee definition, and thus women and girls should be granted refugee status and complementary forms of protection when their home situation is dangerous;

11. Further recommends that Member States record consistent data through continuous monitoring in order to document trends in prevalence and changes in the type and justifications of the practice of FGM, while respecting the international agreement regarding the five indicators in surveys on FGM, thereby allowing for comparative analysis at an international level of the feasibility and effectiveness of the implemented solutions;

12. Decides to remain actively seized upon this matter.