Monrovia – Leading Child Rights advocacy groups including the Liberia Child Rights NGO Coalition, Liberia Children Forum and members of the National Children and Youth Advisory Board have called on the Government of Liberia to ban the practice of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).
In a joint statement issued recently in Monrovia, the rights groups called on the government to develop a legal framework in the Penal Code that explicitly criminalizes the practice of FGM including specific penalties.
The groups, in the statement read by the Executive Director of Defence for Children International (DCI), Atty. Foday M. Kawah also called for prioritizing the Strategy for the Protection of Girls against Child Marriage (2016) in conformity with the 2063 Agenda of the African Union and criminalize FGM.
In addition, the rights groups called for the Intensification of efforts to prevent and respond to SGBV, as well as to criminalize FGM in all circumstances and ultimately eradicate the practice.
In the process, they want the existing public awareness campaigns against FGM and other harmful traditional practices to be expanded to all the counties.
FGM involves the partial or total removal of external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons. It is widely practiced in Liberia, and most young girls under 18 are the victims.
Anti- FGM campaigners have called for the total ban of the practice they say has no health benefits but a plethora of health implications.
In 2006, a study published by the World Health Organization show that women who have had FGM are significantly more likely to experience difficulties during childbirth and that their babies are more likely to die as a result of the practice.
Other long-term consequences include anemia, the formation of swelling and sores, keloid scar formation, damage to the urethra resulting in urinary incontinence, dyspareunia (painful sexual intercourse), sexual dysfunction, hypersensitivity of the genital area and increased risk of HIV.
But Many practitioners believe that the procedure is dictated by tradition and is necessary to ensure marriage. It is sometimes stated that the purpose of female genital mutilation is to control women’s sexuality to ensure premarital virginity and marital fidelity.
Despite huge pressure on the government from rights groups over the ban of the practice, the government stills lack the political will. It was only compelled to place a stay order on the practice through series of executive orders.
The rights group, expressing disappointment over the government’s failure to act said: “We regret the lack of political will to address female genital mutilations. Such statements are not justified by the facts given Liberia’s continued lack of accountability.”
“Liberia’s approach also runs counter to SDG target 5.3 which eliminate all harmful practices, such as protection of the rights of child, early and forced marriage and FGM with no significant progress on justice for victims has been observed.”
The group also frowned on the government for failing to develop a legal framework in the Penal Code that explicitly criminalizes the practice of FGM including specific penalties.
It also said the government has failed to prioritize the Strategy for the Protection of Girls against Child Marriage (2016) in conformity with the 2063 Agenda of the African Union and criminalize female genital mutilation.
It also blamed the government for failing to intensify efforts to prevent and respond to SGBV, as well as to criminalize FGM in all circumstances and ultimately eradicate the practice; and expand the existing public awareness campaigns against FGM and other harmful traditional practices to all the country’s counties.
“It is unfortunate that the Government of Liberia will place a moratorium and Executive orders on the Practice of FGM but cannot banned its practices in keeping with the Concluding Observations and Recommendations of the UPR, CEDAW, UNCRC, and the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child.”
A Call to Implement Recommendations by UN Member States
The rights group also expressed disappointment over the government’s failure to accept recommendations provided by the Human Rights Council during it 3rd cycle Universal Periodic Report (UPR).
UPR is a state-driven process, under the Human Rights Council that provides the opportunity for each State to declare actions taken to improve the human rights situations in members’ countries which is part of the fulfilment of participating state human rights obligations
They also called for the submission of the ‘overdue’ State Party reports since January 2018 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC).
In addition, the groups recommended that the government ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, and the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography; expedite the ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, and child prostitution and child pornography.
Other treaties include the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict and ensure the timely implementation of the four-year National Action Plan for Child Welfare and Protection for Liberia, and allocate sufficient resources for the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection to implement the plan among others.