Dear colleagues,
Excellencies,
Distinguished Delegates,
Ladies and Gentlemen, Thank you for attending this event, on a day I consider to be particularly special for women. A few days ago – precisely February 6th – we celebrated the International Day against female genital mutilations. The Day was proclaimed by the UN and launched in 2003 by the Inter-African Committee on traditional practices affecting the health of women and children. Since then progress has been made towards ending FGMs.
Italy, together with Egypt and Senegal, has strongly willed this event into the 54th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women. The affirmation of women’s rights and the elimination of all forms of violations against human rights are a priority for us at both the domestic and international levels. I would thus like to thank Minister Diop and Minister Khatab for wanting to join us in this initiative. I thank the first lady of Burkina Faso, Chantal Campaoré, who honored us with her presence today. Thanks also go to UNICEF and UNFPA, always in the frontline in the fight against female genital mutilations, and who have contributed their wealth of experience to organizing this event. Lastly, thanks also go to the members of civil society here today who will enrich our discussion with their direct experience in the field. What do we mean by FGMs? It is not merely just an acronym: it is a universe, a cut that unites us, a practice that heavily influences the lives of girls and women of many different countries throughout the world. FGMs involve not only a few African or Middle Eastern countries: in a globalized world, they are more and more widespread, involving, in reality o potentially, all continents of the globe.
It is thus a practice that touches us much more closely than we think. When we talk about FGMs, we are mainly talking about girls. Not girls that live far away in remote corners of the globe, but girls that we can bump into on the street, who live in our buildings, who are friends with our daughters, who study and work with us, who will be the women of the future here. They are girls who, against and in spite of their will, will be irreparably different.
So when we talk about female genital mutilations, we talk about protecting the dignity of every woman. We talk about rights that we have the duty to safeguard and preserve with strength. We are talking about the right to be born and grow healthy. Female genital mutilations are a scourge of society that touches all women and must be addressed first and foremost at the cultural level.
It is for this reason that beside me at this event are women who are sensitive to the issue, and who I thank at the onset for the time and passion they dedicate to resolving it.
For example, we would never have had the law in Egypt against genital mutilations if it weren’t for a woman that has directed so many vital efforts to this cause.
Another example is July of 1997, when in the community of Malicounda Bambara in Senegal, thirty women stood up, without any support from their community, and took a public stance for the abandonment of the practice of female genital excisions.  Twelve years later, over four thousand Western African communities came together and joined the movement started by these first courageous women to end cutting, in the name of the respect for human rights. Today we are thus reaping the fruit of work that started long ago. It pleases me to see that a concrete step was taken precisely in Africa, in Maputo, Mozambique, where in 2003 the African Woman was finally redeemed by the approval of the Protocol that strongly condemned practices defined as traditional but which were gravely hazardous to the health of women and girls, namely FGMs. The fruits of this work are also showing in Italy, with Law N. 7 of 9 January 2006, (that reads “Measures concerning the prevention and ban of the practice of female genital mutilations”) through which a new crime was to be inserted into the national criminal code, with punishment of four to twelve years’ imprisonment for the perpetrators of the mutilation of female genital organs. I unfortunately must admit that, to date, no action has been taken against this practice that is too deeply rooted to be reported. This shows us how important it is to support efforts that have proven to bring true social change, to overcoming social convention that underpins these practices. I also believe that agreements between Governments and international initiatives are vital to accelerate the abandonment of the practice of FGMs, as is financing programs for the training of NGO personnel and public organisms committed to eliminating this social custom. Action particularly in the field of communication and training in human rights and gender issues is also of fundamental importance. My Ministry has financed 21 projects, realized in three macro-areas: research-action; publicity campaigns and sensitization; training and ongoing education. The total amount of resources allocated was 4 million euros. Already underway is a bid for financing a similar amount for other projects. An important step forward on this journey was made in September of 2009, when for the first time within the G8 framework, the issue of Violence against women was tackled at an International Conference held in Rome, which also touched on the delicate topic of FGMs. It marked an innovative approach, because human rights issues are not typically discussed within the G8. And yet there is a close link between the respect of human rights and development.
It is precisely this conviction that has compelled Italy to act even here in New York. Our Government, with its Development Cooperation, is one of the top contributors to the UNFPA and UNICEF Joint Programme for the elimination of female genital mutilations. Even from a political perspective, I would like to recall that our Foreign Minister Franco Frattini held a Ministerial-level meeting last September with a number of Countries that are here today, as well as a meeting with UNFPA and UNICEF to discuss a common strategy together. Today’s event represents the next step after that initiative. In 2002, the Special Session of the General Assembly dedicated to children adopted the Declaration “A World Fit for Children” with which, among other things, we pledged to eliminate FGMs by 2010. Unfortunately we failed to reach that goal.
It is precisely by working together that the many Countries here today succeeded last December, through the General Assembly’s resolution on the girl-child, in setting a new goal, no less ambitious despite the more realistic deadline: the elimination of FGMs in one generation, with significant results to be reached by 2015. We cannot fail again. This is a path we must follow together and which, I hope, will reach our homes, the courtyards of our schools, our markets, to help us reflect, also through appropriate publicity campaigns, on the work for which we will need much strength and patience to carry on, and on the invaluable contribution of NGOs and civil society.
And I ask you not to cut this path short: it must pass through our homes and reach those girls that we meet on the street and those parents who believe that a cut means “tradition”: because tradition is about delivering and transmitting values of culture and respect, and not maiming the future of our daughters.  The rights of women are not flowers to be trampled on, but trees whose roots will grow the future and the culture of the world.  
I wish you all much success in your work.                            
    Thank you for your attention. * * *
I would first like to thank all of those who have participated in today’s discussion. I especially thank Ms. Gebre and the other representatives of civil society who shared their stories and what they experience as daily atrocities. I believe that such a lively and in depth discussion amply shows how the elimination of FGMs is a fundamental goal for all of us and how it must be a priority for the international community and the United Nations. I think we can sum up a few vital points: firstly, the need to support the initiatives that are already underway and see the African Countries take leadership in this sector. Such action has been taken on the African continent, a case in point – the Maputo Protocol, but also here in New York where the efforts of the African Group have led to placing FGMs on the UN agenda, as demonstrated by the recently discussed resolution that the CSW will be approving next week;
- secondly, the importance of laws: FGMs violate the bodies of women and children, their fundamental rights, their integrity. Thus they cannot be accepted, but, to the contrary, they must be banned;
- by the same token, while realizing the importance of laws, we must understand that laws alone are not enough. They must be accompanied by cultural change and education that are not limited by a judgmental approach, but are based on understanding and guidance. We need actions that are capable of changing mentalities, evolving beliefs and behaviors that can help overcome the social norms that are at the root of FGMs;
Lastly, I believe that today’s challenge is to translate the wealth of political will and experiences witnessed in this forum into a more politically incisive action, possibly with a strong political step, such as a General Assembly resolution. To eliminate  FGMs in one generation we must all do more, and together we can.
Thank you all