3 June 2022, Banjul, The Gambia: The ACERWC and the ACHPR are convening a Validation Workshop on the Draft Joint General Comment on Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) from 7 to 8 June 2022 in Pretoria, South Africa. The Workshop is organised in collaboration with the Department of Health, Humanitarian Affairs and Social Development of the African Union Commission; UNFPA-UNICEF Joint Programme on the Elimination of FGM; the Spotlight Initiative and the Centre for Human Rights of the University of Pretoria.
The Joint General Comment comes as a response to the prevalence of FGM on the African continent; despitethe existing legislative frameworks under the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (Maputo Protocol), the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC), Agenda 2040 under Aspiration 7 and Agenda 2063 under Aspiration 6 which calls for ending all forms of gender-based violence against women and girls including FGM.
The validation workshop will serve as a consultative forum where actors in the children and women’s rights field and other relevant stakeholders will share inputs and comments on the first draft of the Joint General Comment on FGM.
The Specific Objectives of the Validation Workshop include:
- Gathering inputs and comments on the first draft of the Joint General Comment
- Providing comprehensive interpretations concerning the obligations of the AU Member States by defining the legislative, administrative, institutional, and other appropriate measures that should be adopted to prevent and eliminate FGM in Africa;
- Defining measures that should be taken to prevent and ensure that FGM is promptly and impartially investigated and that effective remedies are provided to girls and women who have been subjected to this harmful practice;
- Identifying gaps in the draft joint GC on FGM, if any exist, and gathering experts’ opinions and recommendations on how to reduce the prevalence of FGM and accelerate the elimination of FGM in Africa.
The Validation Workshop will be attended by Hon. Commissioners Janet Ramatoulie Sallah-Njie, ACHPR Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Women in Africa; Hon Maria Teresa Manuela of the ACHPR;Hon. Hermine Kembo Takam Gatsing, ACERWC Special Rapporteur on Child Marriage and Other Harmful Practices, and Hon. Aver Gavar, ACERWC Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Children; partner organisations, experts, academics, and staff of the Secretariats of the two organs.
For further information, please contact:
ACERWC Secretariat:
Nala House, Balfour Road,
Maseru, Kingdom of Lesotho
acerwc-secretariat@africa-union.org
ACHPR Secretariat
31 Bijilo Annex Lay-out, Kombo North District Western Region.
PO Box 673 | Banjul, The Gambia
Tel: 220 4410505/6 | Fax: 220 4410504
