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[Page S966]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS
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SENATE RESOLUTION 494--DENOUNCING FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION OR CUTTING
AS A VIOLATION OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS OF WOMEN AND GIRLS AND URGING THE
INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY AND THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO INCREASE EFFORTS
TO ELIMINATE THE HARMFUL PRACTICE
Ms. ERNST (for herself, Mrs. Blackburn, Mrs. Capito, Mrs. Hyde-Smith,
Mrs. Loeffler, Mrs. Fischer, and Mr. Braun) submitted the following
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations:
S. Res. 494
Whereas female genital mutilation or cutting (referred to
in this preamble as ``FGM/C'') is recognized internationally
as a violation of the human rights of women and girls;
Whereas FGM/C comprises all procedures that involve partial
or total removal of the external female genitalia or other
injury to the female genital organs for nonmedical reasons;
Whereas an estimated 200 million girls and women alive as
of January 2020 have been victims of FGM/C, with girls under
the age of 15 representing 44 million of those who have been
cut;
Whereas more than 3 million girls are estimated to be at
risk of FGM/C annually;
Whereas the practice of FGM/C is mostly carried out on
young girls between infancy and age 15;
Whereas the practice of FGM/C is rooted in gender
inequality and is often linked to other elements of gender-
based violence and discrimination, such as child marriage;
Whereas the World Health Organization asserts that FGM/C--
(1) has no health benefits for women and girls; and
(2) can have long-term impacts on the physical,
psychological, sexual, and reproductive health of the women
and girls who experience FGM/C;
Whereas the impacts of FGM/C on the physical health of
women and girls can include bleeding, infection, obstetric
fistula, complications during childbirth, and death;
Whereas, according to the United Nations Children's Fund,
FGM/C is reported to occur in all parts of the world, but is
most prevalent in parts of Africa, the Middle East, and Asia;
Whereas, although the practice of FGM/C is highly
concentrated in specific regions and associated with several
cultural traditions, it is not tied to any one religion;
Whereas, in 2016, the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention published a report estimating that 513,000 women
and girls in the United States were at risk of, or may have
been subjected to, FGM/C;
Whereas, in 2015, the United Nations adopted a set of 17
Sustainable Development Goals that includes a target to
eliminate FGM/C by 2030, having previously recognized in 2010
that ``the abandonment of this harmful practice can be
achieved as a result of a comprehensive movement that
involves all public and private stakeholders in society'';
Whereas the elimination of FGM/C has been called for--
(1) by numerous intergovernmental organizations, including
the African Union, the European Union, and the Organization
of Islamic Cooperation; and
(2) in 3 resolutions of the United Nations General
Assembly;
Whereas the Annual Country Reports on Human Rights
Practices prepared by the Department of State include
information on--
(1) whether FGM/C is prevalent;
(2) the type and category of genital cutting that is most
common; and
(3) international and governmental efforts to address the
practice of FGM/C;
Whereas the Federal Government recognized FGM/C as a form
of gender-based violence in--
(1) the United States Strategy to Prevent and Respond to
Gender-Based Violence Globally, released in August 2012 and
updated in June 2016; and
(2) the United States Global Strategy to Empower Adolescent
Girls, released in March 2016;
Whereas a Government Accountability Office report released
in 2016 concluded that ``State and USAID currently have
limited international assistance efforts to address FGM/C'';
and
Whereas, in 2012, the United Nations General Assembly
designated February 6 as the ``International Day of Zero
Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation'' to enhance
awareness of, and encourage concrete actions by governments
and individuals against, the practice of FGM/C: Now,
therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) denounces female genital mutilation or cutting as a
violation of the human rights of women and girls;
(2) affirms the importance of ending the practice of female
genital mutilation or cutting globally for the safety and
security of women;
(3) calls upon the international community to increase
efforts to accelerate the elimination of female genital
mutilation or cutting; and
(4) urges the Secretary of State and the Administrator of
the United States Agency for International Development to
incorporate coordinated efforts to eliminate female genital
mutilation or cutting into the gender programs of the
Department of State and the United States Agency for
International Development, respectively.
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