[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 494 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 494

 Denouncing female genital mutilation or cutting as a violation of the 
human rights of women and girls and urging the international community 
and the Federal Government to increase efforts to eliminate the harmful 
                               practice.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           February 10, 2020

 Ms. Ernst (for herself, Mrs. Blackburn, Mrs. Capito, Mrs. Hyde-Smith, 
  Mrs. Loeffler, Mrs. Fischer, and Mr. Braun) submitted the following 
  resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Denouncing female genital mutilation or cutting as a violation of the 
human rights of women and girls and urging the international community 
and the Federal Government to increase efforts to eliminate the harmful 
                               practice.

Whereas female genital mutilation or cutting (referred to in this preamble as 
        ``FGM/C'') is recognized internationally as a violation of the human 
        rights of women and girls;
Whereas FGM/C comprises all procedures that involve partial or total removal of 
        the external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital 
        organs for nonmedical reasons;
Whereas an estimated 200 million girls and women alive as of January 2020 have 
        been victims of FGM/C, with girls under the age of 15 representing 44 
        million of those who have been cut;
Whereas more than 3 million girls are estimated to be at risk of FGM/C annually;
Whereas the practice of FGM/C is mostly carried out on young girls between 
        infancy and age 15;
Whereas the practice of FGM/C is rooted in gender inequality and is often linked 
        to other elements of gender-based violence and discrimination, such as 
        child marriage;
Whereas the World Health Organization asserts that 
        FGM/C--

    (1) has no health benefits for women and girls; and

    (2) can have long-term impacts on the physical, psychological, sexual, 
and reproductive health of the women and girls who experience FGM/C;

Whereas the impacts of FGM/C on the physical health of women and girls can 
        include bleeding, infection, obstetric fistula, complications during 
        childbirth, and death;
Whereas, according to the United Nations Children's Fund, FGM/C is reported to 
        occur in all parts of the world, but is most prevalent in parts of 
        Africa, the Middle East, and Asia;
Whereas, although the practice of FGM/C is highly concentrated in specific 
        regions and associated with several cultural traditions, it is not tied 
        to any one religion;
Whereas, in 2016, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published a 
        report estimating that 513,000 women and girls in the United States were 
        at risk of, or may have been subjected to, FGM/C;
Whereas, in 2015, the United Nations adopted a set of 17 Sustainable Development 
        Goals that includes a target to eliminate FGM/C by 2030, having 
        previously recognized in 2010 that ``the abandonment of this harmful 
        practice can be achieved as a result of a comprehensive movement that 
        involves all public and private stakeholders in society'';
Whereas the elimination of FGM/C has been called for--

    (1) by numerous intergovernmental organizations, including the African 
Union, the European Union, and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation; and

    (2) in 3 resolutions of the United Nations General Assembly;

Whereas the Annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices prepared by the 
        Department of State include information on--

    (1) whether FGM/C is prevalent;

    (2) the type and category of genital cutting that is most common; and

    (3) international and governmental efforts to address the practice of 
FGM/C;

Whereas the Federal Government recognized FGM/C as a form of gender-based 
        violence in--

    (1) the United States Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Gender-Based 
Violence Globally, released in August 2012 and updated in June 2016; and

    (2) the United States Global Strategy to Empower Adolescent Girls, 
released in March 2016;

Whereas a Government Accountability Office report released in 2016 concluded 
        that ``State and USAID currently have limited international assistance 
        efforts to address FGM/C''; and
Whereas, in 2012, the United Nations General Assembly designated February 6 as 
        the ``International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital 
        Mutilation'' to enhance awareness of, and encourage concrete actions by 
        governments and individuals against, the practice of FGM/C: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) denounces female genital mutilation or cutting as a 
        violation of the human rights of women and girls;
            (2) affirms the importance of ending the practice of female 
        genital mutilation or cutting globally for the safety and 
        security of women;
            (3) calls upon the international community to increase 
        efforts to accelerate the elimination of female genital 
        mutilation or cutting; and
            (4) urges the Secretary of State and the Administrator of 
        the United States Agency for International Development to 
        incorporate coordinated efforts to eliminate female genital 
        mutilation or cutting into the gender programs of the 
        Department of State and the United States Agency for 
        International Development, respectively.
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