RES/32/21 Elimination of female genital mutilation

GE.16-12411(E)

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Human Rights Council Thirty-second session

Agenda item 3

Resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council on 1 July 2016

32/21. Elimination of female genital mutilation

The Human Rights Council,

Guided by the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations,

Reaffirming the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,

Recalling the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention on the Elimination of

All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the Convention on the Rights of the Child

and the Optional Protocols thereto, the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel,

Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the International Convention on the

Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families and all

other relevant human rights instruments,

Recalling also its resolution 27/22 of 26 September 2014 on intensifying global

efforts and sharing good practices to effectively eliminate female genital mutilation,

Recalling further General Assembly resolution 67/146 of 20 December 2012 on

intensifying global efforts for the elimination of female genital mutilations and all other

relevant resolutions of the General Assembly, the Commission on the Status of Women and

the Human Rights Council on measures to eliminate harmful traditional practices that

violate the rights of women and girls,

Recalling the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, the Programme of

Action of the International Conference on Population and Development and the Beijing

Declaration and Platform for Action,

Welcoming the commitment made by States to achieve gender equality and the

empowerment of all women and girls in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development1

and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda,2

1 General Assembly resolution 70/1.

2 General Assembly resolution 69/313, annex.

United Nations A/HRC/RES/32/21

Recognizing that female genital mutilation can be an impediment to the full

achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls,

Recognizing also that efforts at the local, national, regional and international levels

have led to a decline in the global prevalence of female genital mutilation,

Recognizing further the role of regional and subregional instruments and

mechanisms in the prevention and elimination of female genital mutilation,

Reaffirming that female genital mutilation is a form of discrimination, an act of

violence against women and girls and a harmful practice that constitutes a serious threat to

their health, including their psychological, sexual and reproductive health, which can

increase adverse obstetric and prenatal outcomes and have fatal consequences for the

mother and the newborn, as well as increasing their vulnerability to HIV, and that the

elimination of this harmful practice can be achieved only as a result of a comprehensive

government-led movement that involves all public and private stakeholders in society,

including girls and boys, women and men,

Noting that these human rights violations and abuses of the rights of women and

girls can jeopardize their full and effective participation in the economic, political, social

and cultural development of their country,

Taking note of the Secretary-General’s “Unite to End Violence against Women”

campaign,

Deeply concerned that, despite the increase in national, regional and international

efforts, the practice of female genital mutilation persists in some countries and has seen the

development of new forms, such as medicalization and cross-border practice,

Recalling the inter-agency global strategy initiated in 2010 by the World Health

Organization to stop health-care providers from performing female genital mutilation,

Bearing in mind that States have primary responsibility for creating favourable

conditions to prevent and eliminate female genital mutilation, and for achieving zero

tolerance of the practice,

Welcoming the growing global consensus regarding the need to take appropriate

measures to prevent and eliminate female genital mutilation, and understanding that this

practice has no relevant religious or cultural basis,

Greatly concerned that the significant gap in resources continues and that the

shortfall in funding has severely limited the scope and pace of programmes and activities

for the elimination of female genital mutilation,

Welcoming the establishment by the United Nations of the International Day of Zero

Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation, on 6 February, the theme of which is, in 2016,

achieving the new global goals through the elimination of female genital mutilation by

2030,

1. Urges States to place special emphasis on education, in particular of youth,

parents and religious, traditional and community leaders, about the harmful effects of

female genital mutilation, and especially to encourage men and boys to become more

involved in information and awareness-raising campaigns and to become agents of change;

2. Calls upon States to continue and intensify efforts to provide information and

raise awareness about the harmful effects of female genital mutilation and about the

continuing increase at the national and international levels in support for the elimination of

the practice, and to organize activities within this framework during the International Day

of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation with the involvement of religious and

traditional authorities, which make the movement to end female genital mutilation more

visible;

3. Urges States to adopt national legislation prohibiting female genital

mutilation, consistent with international human rights law, and to take steps to ensure its

strict application, while working to harmonize their legislation in order to effectively

address the cross-border practice of female genital mutilation;

4. Encourages States to develop comprehensive policies to combat female

genital mutilation involving the Government, the parliament, the judiciary, civil society,

youth, the media, the private sector and all relevant stakeholders;

5. Also encourages States to develop, support and promote education

programmes, including on sexual and reproductive health, that clearly challenge the

negative stereotypes and harmful attitudes and practices that sustain female genital

mutilation and perpetuate violence and discrimination against women and girls;

6. Emphasizes the need for States to systematize, as appropriate, collection of

data on female genital mutilation, to encourage and provide financial support for research,

particularly at the university level, to use the results to strengthen public information and

awareness-raising activities, and to measure effectively progress in eliminating female

genital mutilation;

7. Calls upon States to provide assistance to victims of female genital

mutilation, including through support services for treatment of its physical, physiological

and psychological consequences;

8. Encourages States to consider presenting, during the universal periodic

review, relevant recommendations on measures to eliminate female genital mutilation;

9. Encourages the international community to keep the issue of the elimination

of female genital mutilation on the agenda of development policies and to devote special

attention to the issue in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030;

10. Calls upon States to continue to increase technical and financial assistance

for the effective implementation of policies, programmes and action plans to eliminate

female genital mutilation at the national, regional and international levels;

11. Invites the Joint Programme on Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting:

Accelerating Change of the United Nations Population Fund and the United Nations

Children’s Fund to continue to develop the national capacities of States and local

communities for the effective implementation of inclusive policies, programmes and action

plans to eliminate female genital mutilation at the local, national, and regional levels, while

encouraging States and development cooperation agencies to consider increasing their

financial support for the Joint Programme;

12. Invites the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the

relevant human rights treaty bodies, in particular the Committee on Economic, Social and

Cultural Rights, the Human Rights Committee, the Committee on the Rights of the Child,

the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, the Committee

against Torture and the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers

and Members of Their Families, to continue to give special consideration to the question of

the elimination of female genital mutilation;

13. Decides to continue its consideration of the question of female genital

mutilation in accordance with its programme of work.

44th meeting

1 July 2016

[Adopted without a vote.]