Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting

Global Consultation on Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting

Addis Ababa, 30th July – 3^rd August 2007

 

Final Declaration of Participants

 

We, participants of the Global Consultation on Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C) organized by UNFPA from 30 July to 3^rd August 2007 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia:

 

Welcome this important forum as a space that facilitated experience sharing, review of strategies and analysis of new challenges and opportunities to accelerate abandonment of FGM/C;

 

Support the development of a global roadmap to accelerate abandonment of FGM/C in consultation with national partners, civil society organizations and development partners;

 

Reaffirm our zero tolerance on FGM/C as it is an intolerable practice that is harmful to the health and well being of women and girls and a clear violation of women and girls’ rights and cannot be justified under any circumstance;

 

Note with concern the slow pace of progress despite decades of interventions to end the practice and the continued unnecessary suffering of millions of women and girls and;

 

Call upon medical professionals to uphold medical ethics and bring to an end any form of medicalization of FGM/C practice.

 

Therefore, we, the participants call on:

 

► Governments to increase their commitment to

• Accelerate abandonment of FGM/C in line with existing international instruments that protect the health and rights of women and children including CEDAW, CRC, African Charter of Human and People’s rights and others by enacting and enforcing laws banning any form of FGM/C, including when performed by health providers;
  
• Building a broad partnership and networks at national, regional and international levels and implementing culturally sensitive approaches for sustainable behaviour change;
  
• Giving highest priority to the health and human rights of women and girls and calling upon men to support the abandonment of FGM/C;
  
• Upholding the rights of female children who are also victims of this practice;
  
• Mainstreaming FGM/C in Human rights and reproductive health issues;
  
• Providing adequate resources to scale up FGM/C abandonment programmes in the context of effective gender equity, equality and women’s empowerment policies and programmes;
  
• Building national capacity including law enforcement institutions and health providers on counselling, treatment and reparation;
  
• Empowering communities and their leaders through sensitization programmes to educate them on the gravity of FGM/C and on legal literacy;
  
• Implementing a well-funded, coordinated and integrated response to accelerate abandonment of FGM/C;
  
• Setting proper mechanisms that involve all stakeholders to monitor progress towards abandonment of FGM/C and;
  
• Demonstrating accountability by making FGM/C a national development agenda and using CEDAW report as a platform for monitoring progress of abandonment of this practice.
  

 

We also call on:

 

► Religious and traditional leaders to

• Dispel the continuing myths and misconceptions within cultures and religious communities that are used to justify the continuation of this practice;
  
• Educate their constituencies on rights of women and girls to bodily integrity and their right to enjoy a healthy sexual and reproductive life and widely spread the position of all religions banning any form of FGM/C and;
  
• Promoting gender equality
  

 

Finally, we recommend to:

 

► Development partners to

• Increase their technical and funding support to countries (governments, civil society organizations, faith based organizations and community based organizations) and;
  
• Support continuing research, promote solidarity in the abandonment of FGM/C and mobilize adequate resources towards national ownership and sustainability.
  

    

Addis Ababa, 3^rd August 2007