Brussels, 26/07/2001 (Agence Europe) - By adopting the report tabled by Elena Valenciano Martinez-Orozco (Spanish, EPP) on the genital mutilation of women, the Committee on Women's Rights condemns these practices "as acts of violence against women that cause serious prejudice to their personal integrity, physical and mental health and are violations of their fundamental rights". The Committee of the European Parliament calls on the EU and Member States to draft specific legislation in the matter (or to align existing legislation) for these practices to cease. This report will be on the agenda of September's second plenary session, in Brussels.
Especially addressing Member States, the Parliamentary Committee asks them to: 1) define all female genital mutilation as a crime (whether or not the woman concerned consents to it); 2) punish in criminal law any resident of a Member State having participated in such an offence, even if the offence was committed outside the borders of the EU; 3) have their public administrations intervene, for example, in ensuring the guardianship of the young girl or even to decide on the suspension of social assistance, should there be any risk of definitive and irreparable harm or prejudice for the health or harmonious development of the under-aged girl; 4) adopt educational programmes for communities at risk, as well as programmes to help the victims; 5) publish comprehensible and precise information for an illiterate populations, notably in the consulates of European countries when issuing visas. This information must be communicated on arrival in the host country by the immigration services so that families are informed of the penal consequences that could lead to prison sentences when mutilation is observed.
The Committee would also like Community measures to be taken concerning the granting of residency permits, the support and protection of victims of this practice and concerning the recognition of the right of asylum for women, young girls and little girls who risk being mutilated. It calls for female genital mutilation to be fully integrated as serious violations of fundamental rights in the EU's development policy, the EU being urged to encourage external aid to countries having taken legislative and administrative measures banning and punishing such practices and to promote educational and socio-sanitary programmes in places where mutilation is current practice. Finally, it calls on the EU to have its voice heard in the United Nations so that the reservations expressed by many States over the Convention on the elimination of violence towards women are withdrawn (several countries having invoked certain customs to limit their commitment to complying with the Convention).
You may recall that, according to WHO data, 130 million women in the world have suffered genital mutilation, and each year 2 million are exposed to the practice. They take place in at least 25 African countries, in certain Asian countries (Indonesia, Malaysia) and in the Middle East (Yemen, United Arab Emirates, Egypt). In the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Europe, such practices have been observed among immigrant communities of different origins.