[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 106 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 106

  Denouncing female genital mutilation/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.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            February 6, 2019

    Ms. Frankel (for herself and Mr. Perry) submitted the following 
   resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Denouncing female genital mutilation/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.

Whereas female genital mutilation/cutting (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 today have been victims 
        of FGM/C, with girls 14 and younger 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 is mostly carried out on young girls between infancy and 
        age 15;
Whereas the practice 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 has no health benefits 
        for women and girls, and can have long-term impacts on their physical, 
        psychological, sexual, and reproductive health;
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 UNICEF, 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 or may have been subjected to FGM/C;
Whereas, in 2015, the United Nations adopted a set of 17 Sustainable Development 
        Goals for 2030 that includes a target to eliminate FGM/C, 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 by numerous 
        intergovernmental organizations, including the African Union, the 
        European Union, and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, as well as 
        in 3 resolutions of the United Nations General Assembly;
Whereas the Department of State reports on FGM/C in its Annual Country Reports 
        on Human Rights Practices, including information on whether FGM/C is 
        prevalent, the type and category of genital cutting that is most common, 
        as well as international and governmental efforts being taken to address 
        the practice;
Whereas the Federal Government recognized FGM/C as a form of gender-based 
        violence in the United States Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Gender-
        Based Violence Globally, released in August 2012 and updated in June 
        2016, and 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 states and 
        individuals against the practice: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) denounces female genital mutilation/cutting as a 
        violation of the human rights of women and girls;
            (2) affirms the importance of ending the practice of female 
        genital mutilation/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/cutting; and
            (4) urges the Department of State and the United States 
        Agency for International Development in their gender 
        programming to incorporate coordinated efforts to eliminate 
        female genital mutilation/cutting.
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