It is on the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation, an unacceptable practice violating the human rights of girls and women, that an awareness-raising event took place at the Palais des Nations in Geneva. The event was co-sponsored by Italy and organised by the United Nations Population Fund, in partnership with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund, UN WOMEN and the World Health Organization.
Ambassador Gian Lorenzo Cornado, Permanent Representative of Italy to the UN in Geneva, opened the event emphasising the need to translate political decisions into concrete actions in order to achieve the zero tolerance goal within 2030. The Ambassador also recalled Italy’s traditional and strong commitment in fighting against female genital mutilation (FGM), a practice that affects about 200 million women and girls around the world. To this regard, Ambassador Cornado discussed the initiatives that Italy has implemented both at national and international level and urged all stakeholders to increase efforts in order to achieve the goal 5.3 of the 2030 Agenda by the set date. This goal is specifically focused on putting an end to all traditional harmful practices, such as FGM and Forced Marriage.
Italy is a case of best practice in this respect thanks to Law No. 7 of 9 January 2006, as recognised also by the UN, both in terms of provisions enforced to prosecute female genital mutilations and the awareness campaigns launched, among others, through several projects developed by the Department for Equal Opportunities (Office of the Prime Minister) and also with the participation of civil society and NGOs.
At the international level, Italy promotes and supports all UN resolutions designed to put an end to female genital mutilations (including the Human Rights Council Resolution adopted in June 2018). Further to it, Italy has contributed about 20 million euros over the past 10 years to carry out projects and activities in the countries where such a heinous practice is still widespread.
Permanent Representative of Italy to the UN in Geneva
