The
Child Rights Unit of the Ministry of Justice with support from UNICEF on 12
October 2016 held a one-day sensitisation workshop on the practice of FGM/C for
Immigration officers drawn from all regions across the country to ensure the
effective upholding of the law.
The
sensitisation was organised premised on the fact that as security officials
tasked with enforcing the law and thereby frequently interacting with
communities, it is important to bring the provision to their attention together
with the effect of FGM/C and the need to eradicate it.
Speaking
at the opening ceremony held at the Kairaba Beach Hotel, UNICEF Resident
Representative, Mrs Sara Beysolow Nyanti, commended the Ministry of Justice for
its leadership in moving forward the child rights agenda through the training
of Immigration Officers.
She
described the day as a landmark event and signalled a significant evolution in
the collective quest to ensure the fulfilment of the rights of children in The
Gambia.
She
said the day demonstrates the government’s enhanced understanding of the need
for a multisectoral response to addressing FGM/C.
If
the practice will be abandoned, it will require everybody to play their role,
she said.
“Every
year, globally, millions of girls and women are subjected to FGM/C. which not
only violates their basic human rights, but also denies them their integrity
and their right to freedom from violence and discrimination,” she remarked.
Victims
and survivors of FGM/C will suffer disproportionately from pain through
systematic cutting, health complications, social and economic vulnerability and
lack of access to basic services, according to her.
In
many countries, despite the existence of legal mechanisms to oversee FGM/C,
challenges and limitations in implementation persist and are primarily due to a
lack of resources, skilled personnel, appropriate documentation, as well as
weak organizational capacity, she went on.
In
The Gambia, 75 per cent of girls and women aged 15 to 49 years have undergone
FGM/C, she said, adding: “For some regions and ethnic groups, the prevalence
rate is even higher with more than 90 per cent of women affected.”
Over
the years, UNICEF’s support to ending FGM/C has included research and high
level advocacy with government partners, National Assembly Members, and Islamic
religious leaders, she further said.
UNICEF
and UNFPA are supporting efforts to ensure a reduction in FGM/C incidents and
to ensure that girls are given a greater chance of fulfilling their fullest
development potentials.
UNICEF
and UNFPA will continue to support the Government, civil society organisations,
and other development partners working towards the promotion and protection of
children and women, she said.
“UNICEF
also remains fully committed and ready to work together with all our partners
towards addressing challenges in Child Protection that affect the children and
women of The Gambia.”
