Efforts to eliminate FGM 'breaking new ground' with approval of U.N. General Assembly resolution

"The fight to eliminate the scourge of female genital mutilation is breaking new ground," following the adoption of a U.N. General Assembly resolution on Thursday "calling on all states to enact legislation banning this egregious human rights violation," Emma Bonino, vice president of the Italian Senate and founder of No Peace Without Justice, writes in a New York Times opinion piece. Adopted by consensus, the resolution "demonstrat[es] the international community's unified stance," she writes, noting, "The consensus is strengthened by the fact that two thirds of U.N. member states are co-sponsoring the resolution, with 67 states joining the 54 nations of the African Group, which initially introduced the text."

The resolution "represent[s] a paradigm shift of great significance, securing the political will necessary to stamp out the practice," Bonino says, adding, "It is now up to all of us to support activists on the ground whose efforts were instrumental in reaching this milestone: we must all continue to challenge parliaments, governments and international bodies, and hold them accountable." She continues, "[W]e must never stop pressing them to honor their commitments, never letting them off the hook until female genital mutilation has been once and for all eliminated the world over" (12/19).