WUNRN
28/04/2009
Strasbourg, 28.04.2009 – In a resolution adopted today, PACE invited the
member states to adapt their national legislation in order to prohibit and
penalise forced marriages, female genital mutilation and any other gender-based
violations of human rights, encouraging them to prosecute abductions, illegal
confinements and forced returns of women or girls to their countries of origin.
According to the parliamentarians, cultural or religious relativism cannot be
invoked to justify these acts.
“It is a matter of the member states’ responsibility that they should do their
utmost to guard against and combat these anachronistic, inhuman practices both
nationally and internationally,” said Antigoni Papadopoulos (Cyprus, ALDE),
rapporteur for the Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men. “British
legislation on forced marriages is exemplary in this respect, in that it
provides a means of stopping potential victims from being taken out of the
country against their will and of compelling the family to disclose the
whereabouts of a member considered to be in danger,” she added, commending the
courage of a victim of Bangladeshi origin who gave her personal testimony today
on the sidelines of the session.
The Assembly also called upon the member states to develop co-operation
procedures at the international level with the authorities in the countries of
origin, encouraging them to intercede with the families concerned and to
strengthen women’s rights. The parliamentarians also advocate raising the
awareness of consular staff as regards the serious risks facing women and girls
forcibly returned to their countries of origin, and as regards the applicable
legal framework.
In a recommendation to the Committee of Ministers, the PACE reiterated its
request for the Council of Europe to draft a convention to combat the most
serious and widespread forms of violence against women, including forced
marriages.
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