The European Parliament

European Parliament on female genital mutilation in the EU

In February 2006 Members of the European Parliament raised the issue of FGM in a Resolution on the current situation in combating violence against women and any future action. This document urged the Commission “to devise a comprehensive strategic approach at EU level, with the aim of putting an end to the practice of female genital mutilation in the EU”.

In January 2009 the issue of FGM has been mentioned in the Resolution on the situation of Fundamental Rights in the Union 2004-2009. This resolution stresses the need for public awareness to combat the practice of FGM (point 60) and the need for a European legal framework “to ensure the physical integrity of young girls from Female Genital Mutilation” (contained in point 61).

On 24 March 2009, the European Parliament adopted a Resolution on combating female genital mutilation in the EU. This resolution reiterates previous resolutions and calls on the EU institutions and Member States to take certain steps towards ending of FGM in the EU and in third countries.

This resolution calls for “an overall strategy and action plans aimed at banishing FGM from the EU and, to that end, to provide the means required – in the form of laws and administrative provisions, prevention systems, and education and social measures, and in particular, wide dissemination of information regarding the existing protection mechanisms available to vulnerable groups – to enable real and potential victims to be properly protected” (point 2).

The European Parliament adopted a set of measures to improve the European asylum system on 7 May 2009. The proposal for a directive laying down the Minimum standards for the reception of asylum seekers specified “Member States shall take into account the specific situation of persons with special needs in the national legislation implementing this Directive” and “provide necessary medical or other assistance to applicants who have special needs”. The European Parliament has voted in favour of the amendment of Article 21 of the proposal to include ‘victims of female genital mutilation’ in the list of persons with special needs.

European Parliament and third countries

The need to address FGM in countries outside the EU has been raised consistently in the reports on human rights in the world.

In the 2007 resolution adopting the report on Human Rights in the World 2006 and the EU's Policy on the Matter, the EP clearly denounced the medicalisation of FGM (point 63).

In the 2008 resolution adopting the report on Human Rights in the World 2007, the European Parliament stresses the need for the EU to address FGM in its relation with third countries. It highlights existing duties and mechanisms which include human rights dialogue, Cotonou agreement, millennium development goals and the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR) to ensure respect for human rights and combating FGM (point 91-96).

In the European Parliament resolution of 7 May 2009 on the Annual Report on Human Rights in the World 2008 and the European Union's Policy on the Matter, the European Parliament stressed "the need to tackle the tragic phenomena of violence against women (including the practice of female circumcision)" in dealing with third countries (point 46).

European Parliament and the END FGM European Campaign

A Declaration of Intent was developed to urge MEPs and candidates for the 2009 European elections to renew their commitment towards working on ending FGM in the next European Parliament.

A number of MEPs have shown their commitment by signing up to this Declaration, which is calling for 5 specific measures to end FGM.

Read the Declaration and see which MEP’s have signed up to it.