EU-Stop Female Genital Mutilation

Women’s Rights/Equal Opportunities - 10-02-2009

A clear strategy for banning female genital mutilation on EU territory and the need to acknowledge the problem in EU immigration law and cooperation agreements were among the key points of a report, adopted on Tuesday by the EP Women's Rights Committee, aimed at stamping out this practice.

Around 500,000 women in Europe are the victims of genital mutilation and the practice is particularly widespread in immigrant and refugee families, says the own-initiative report drafted by Cristiana Muscardini (UEN, IT).

Committee members want the Commission and Member States to draw up a clear strategy and action plans with the aim of banishing female genital mutilation from the EU.

Although female genital mutilation (FGM) is a violation of women's rights under various international conventions and is prohibited under the criminal law of the Member States, it is difficult to monitor on EU territory as it is carried out clandestinely.

Immigration law and cooperation accords should include clauses on FGM

MEPs also call for EU directives on immigration to treat the act of committing genital mutilation as an offence and lay down appropriate penalties for those guilty of it. The report urges the Commission to include a clause aimed at eliminating female genital mutilation in cooperation negotiations and agreements with the countries concerned.

Since FGM is a violation of rights, it can constitute a legitimate reason for applying for refugee status, says the report. This point was not supported unanimously by the committee and some MEPs voted against the report because of it.

Sounding the alarm

It should be compulsory for general practitioners, doctors and health clinic teams to report female genital mutilation to the health authorities or the police, say MEPs. Anyone who performs such operations should be prosecuted.

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