UN panel passes resolution on female circumcision

Zeenews Bureau

New Delhi: The UN General Assembly on Monday has passed a resolution condemning female circumcision.

According to a UN report, female genital mutilation is still widely practiced in Africa and in some countries in Asia and the Middle East, where more than 140 million women have been affected.

The resolution, adopted by consensus on Monday by the U.N. General Assembly’s human rights committee, calls the practice harmful and a serious threat to the psychological, sexual and reproductive health of women and girls.

It calls on the U.N.’s 193 member states to condemn the widespread practice and launch education campaigns to eliminate it.

With 110 sponsors, the resolution is virtually certain to be approved by the full General Assembly in the second half of December.

Italy’s U.N. Ambassador Cesare Maria Ragaglini says the committee’s approval marks “a breakthrough in the international campaign to end the harmful practice.”

(With Agency inputs)

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