This report outlines the international instruments available that address female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C). It covers the international instruments, the regional instruments and resolutions and declarations currently available. The report also looks at the roles of committees and special procedures to implement some of these international instruments. It highlights the following two barriers to the effective implementation of international law:
- Lack of government commitment at the highest level. This is an issue both in terms of ensuring adequate legal protection is enacted and upheld, as well as to ensure national awareness raising is.
- The difficulty of changing attitudes. Even where FGM/C has been legally prohibited, social acceptance of FGM/C may continue and consequently the practice may persist, either openly or in secret. Awareness raising campaign are thus required to complement legal provisions.
In order to eradicate FGM/C a simultaneous bottom-up and top-down approach is therefore required.
