Ambassador Speeches
Speech by Her Excellency Janet E. Garvey
U.S. Ambassador to Cameroon
Female Genital Mutilation Advocacy Workshop
Ceremony organized by CYJULERC
Multipurpose Room, U.S. Embassy
Monday, November 19th, 2007; 10am
Dear Ministers,
Honorable Members of the Parliament,
Dear Colleagues from the Diplomatic Community,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Thank you for attending this Advocacy Workshop on Female Genital Mutilation (or “FGM”) organized by the Cameroon Young Jurist Legal Resource Centre (CYJULERC).
We are pleased to sponsor this workshop through a grant to CYJULERC under the Embassy’s Democracy and Human Rights Fund. Under this grant, this organization is also carrying out activities aimed at promoting women’s rights by helping to eradicating FGM in the Arab-Choa communities in the Far North Province.
The World Health Organization estimates that worldwide, 150 million women and girls have been subjected to Female Genital Mutilation, and an additional 2 million girls are at risk each year. FGM is reportedly prevalent in 28 African countries, including Cameroon.
While rooted in traditional practices, this kind of mutilation causes severe physical and psychological damage to millions of innocent women and girls. It is a fundamental violation of women’s human rights. In 1999, the United Nations Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Committee approved a resolution that calls upon states to implement national legislation and policies that prohibit traditional or customary practices affecting the health of women and girls, including FGM. Furthermore, the United Nations Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, resulting from the Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995, contains a clear condemnation of FGM as a form of violence against women and reaffirms the responsibility of states to take action to curb such violence. This violence against women is also outlawed by many governments.
Fifteen African countries have enacted laws criminalizing FGM. Among them are: Chad, Central African Republic, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana and Egypt.
I sincerely hope Cameroon will join this list soon. I know that many of you are committed to promoting human rights and combating FGM. I urge you to adopt a law outlawing the practice of Female Genital Mutilation in Cameroon.
I also encourage all of you to support FGM victims in other ways – stay with them, fight for their rights, speak out, use today’s workshop as one more catalyst to make a difference in the lives of many suffering Cameroonian women.
I am encouraged to see so many activists and parliamentarians here today. I would particularly like to highlight the work of the Vice President of the National Assembly, the Honorable Rose Abunaw, for her work in the South West Province to raise awareness about the dangers of FGM.
Thank you all for coming, and a special thanks to CYJULERC for organizing today’s event and for the work you are doing. I wish you a very successful workshop.