The United Nations human rights office warned on Friday that families are crossing borders to subject girls to female genital mutilation (FGM), undermining global efforts to eliminate the practice.
A UN report found that families from countries where FGM is banned are traveling to places where it is legal or where enforcement is weak.
“Female genital mutilation is part of a continuum of gender-based violence and has no place in a human rights-respecting universe,” said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk. “It must be eliminated in all forms, and the gender stereotypes and patriarchal norms that support it must be uprooted.”
The report noted the difficulty in determining the exact number of girls subjected to cross-border FGM due to its secretive nature.
UNICEF reports that over 230 million girls and women have undergone FGM, with more than 144 million in Africa and over 80 million in Asia. The UN estimates that 4.3 million girls are at risk of FGM, which has no health benefits and severe health risks, including chronic infections.
Gambia, where 73% of women aged 15-49 have undergone FGM, might become the first country to lift its ban on the practice.
“There’s no justification for gender-based violence against women and girls anywhere, neither on the grounds of culture nor tradition,” stated Liz Throssell, spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
FGM is banned in over 70 countries, including at least 35 in sub-Saharan Africa, according to the World Bank.