|
||
|
TWN
Info Service on UN Sustainable Development (Jul24/07) Penang, 18 Jul (Kanaga Raja) — Human rights experts and international and regional expert mechanisms on ending discrimination and gender-based violence against women and girls have welcomed the decision of the National Assembly of the Republic of The Gambia on 15 July to uphold the national ban on Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). In a statement issued on 17 July, the experts said that “the historic win served as an opportunity to reaffirm the commitment to ending FGM as well as to double the efforts to enforce the law banning FGM, to improve the delivery of protection, assistance and counselling to survivors, and to raise awareness.” The experts are: Reem Alsalem, the Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, its causes and consequences; Dorothy Estrada Tanck (Chair), Laura Nyirinkindi (Vice-Chair), Claudia Flores, Ivana Krstic, and Haina Lu, the Working Group on discrimination against women and girls; Mama Fatima Singhateh, the Special Rapporteur on the sale, sexual exploitation and sexual abuse of children; Alice Jill Edwards, Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; Ana Pelaez Narvaez (Chair), the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women; and Janet Ramatoulie Sallah-Njie, the Special Rapporteur on the rights of women in Africa of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights. Earlier on 15 July, five top United Nations officials commended The Gambia’s decision to uphold the ban on FGM, calling it a critical win for girls’ and women’s rights. This came in a joint statement issued by the Executive Director of the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Catherine Russell; the Executive Director of the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), Natalia Kanem; Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus; UN Women Executive Director, Sima Bahous; and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk. In their joint statement, the five senior UN officials said: “Following the vote today [on 15 July] by the National Assembly of The Gambia, we commend the country’s decision to uphold the ban on Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), reaffirming its commitments to human rights, gender equality, and protecting the health and well-being of girls and women.” “FGM involves cutting or removing some or all of the external female genitalia. Mostly carried out on infants and young girls, it can inflict severe immediate and long-term physical and psychological damage, including infection, later childbearing complications, and post-traumatic stress disorder,” the UN officials noted. They said the Women’s (Amendment) Act, 2015 – a pivotal milestone in advancing gender equality – is the culmination of years of advocacy, community engagement, and education aimed at eradicating this harmful practice and meeting the Sustainable Development Goal targets (5.3). “It is, therefore, crucial that these legal protections remain in place,” the UN officials underlined. (See SUNS #10048 dated 18 July 2024). In the statement issued on 17 July, the independent human rights experts and international and regional expert mechanisms said the National Assembly of The Gambia’s rejection of a bill seeking to lift the ban on FGM has avoided a dangerous precedent undermining a range of women’s rights. “We welcome the decision of the National Assembly of the Republic of The Gambia on 15 July 2024 to uphold the national ban on Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and to reject the Women’s (Amendment) Bill 2024, which was tabled in March 2024 to repeal the provisions in the Women’s Act that were introduced by the Women’s (Amendment) Act 2015 to explicitly prohibit FGM, in compliance with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) read in conjunction with General Recommendations Nos. 14 (1990), 24 (1999), 31 (2014), as well as No. 35 (2017), updating General Recommendation No. 19, of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women.” The experts said the vote is a testament to the determination and tenacity of Gambian women and girls, women civil society organizations and their allies, who have spared no effort to ensure that the ban on FGM is upheld, and with it, the right of women and girls in The Gambia to live a life that is free from gender-based violence. “We salute the strong message that The Gambia and Gambian society passed to the international community: that women and girls have an unequivocal right not to be subjected to FGM under any circumstances, in line with The Gambia’s obligations under international and regional human rights law.” The experts said by maintaining the ban on FGM, The Gambia safeguarded hard-won rights and ensured that FGM continues to be recognized internationally as a harmful practice that constitutes torture and a severe form of gender-based violence against women and girls with life-long health risks. “Overturning the law would have created a dangerous precedent rolling back on women’s rights to life, health, safety, physical integrity, bodily autonomy, privacy, dignity and freedom from gender-based violence and torture, and its impact would have been felt beyond The Gambia,” they added. The statement said experts have been in close contact with the Gambian Government and other stakeholders in The Gambia since the Women’s Amendment Bill of 2024 was introduced. In May 2024, the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights and UN Women organized a roundtable with key stakeholders in The Gambia to discuss the proposed repeal of the FGM law, it noted. It also said the Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls participated in the roundtable, which established an Ad Hoc Committee and adopted several recommendations to address the resistance against the FGM law and to promote gender equality. +
|
||
