H. Res. 106 

In the House of Representatives, U. S., 

May 20, 2019. 

Whereas female genital mutilation/cutting (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 

today have been victims of FGM/C, with girls 14 and 

younger 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 is mostly carried out on young girls between infancy and age 15; 

Whereas the practice 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 has no health benefits for women and girls, and can 

have long-term impacts on their physical, psychological, 

sexual, and reproductive health; 
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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 UNICEF, 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 or may 

have been subjected to FGM/C; 

Whereas, in 2015, the United Nations adopted a set of 17 

Sustainable Development Goals for 2030 that includes a 

target to eliminate FGM/C, 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 by numerous intergovernmental organizations, including the 

African Union, the European Union, and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, as well as in 3 resolutions 

of the United Nations General Assembly; 

Whereas the Department of State reports on FGM/C in its 

Annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, including information on whether FGM/C is prevalent, the 

type and category of genital cutting that is most common, as well as international and governmental efforts 

being taken to address the practice; 
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Whereas the Federal Government recognized FGM/C as a 

form of gender-based violence in the United States Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Gender-Based Violence 

Globally, released in August 2012 and updated in June 

2016, and 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 states and individuals against the practice: Now, therefore, be it 

Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

(1) denounces female genital mutilation/cutting as a 

violation of the human rights of women and girls; 

(2) affirms the importance of ending the practice of 

female genital mutilation/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/cutting; and 

(4) urges the Department of State and the United 

States Agency for International Development in their 
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gender programming to incorporate coordinated efforts 

to eliminate female genital mutilation/cutting. 

Attest: 

Clerk.