Italy moves against FGM in Somalia

In an address by Foreign Minister Franco Frattini at the G8 International Conference on Violence Against Women, Italy stated: "So Italy has taken on a leading role in the global battle to combat violence against women. It is natural, therefore,

that our country should have wished to seal this strong political intent through a specific action designed to eliminate a practice that is still in wide use in a number of countries. A practice which is an aberrant form of physical violation of women’s bodies: female genital mutilation.

This is a topic on which Italy has taken action since the mid-1980s, starting in Somalia. Today it sees the Italian Foreign Ministry engaged in a full-blown prevention strategy, including through an international Development Cooperation campaign together with UNFPA and UNICEF. Naturally, to achieve substantive results, collaboration and a leading role for the governments directly concerned are crucial elements in the process.
In this framework, I have decided to promote an initial meeting in New York in the margins of the 64th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on 25 September to bring together the partners – who include a number of African countries, NGOs and UN agencies – who have thus far decided to espouse this cause and together draw up an effective common strategy."

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