IV 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 106 

Denouncing female genital mutilation/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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 6, 2019 

Ms. FRANKEL (for herself and Mr. PERRY) submitted the following resolution; 

which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

RESOLUTION 

Denouncing female genital mutilation/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/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; 


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•HRES 106 IH 

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; 

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 


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•HRES 106 IH 

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; 

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 


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•HRES 106 IH 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) denounces female genital mutilation/cutting 

3 as a violation of the human rights of women and 

4 girls; 

5 (2) affirms the importance of ending the prac6 tice of female genital mutilation/cutting globally for 

7 the safety and security of women; 

8 (3) calls upon the international community to 

9 increase efforts to accelerate the elimination of fe10 male genital mutilation/cutting; and 

11 (4) urges the Department of State and the 

12 United States Agency for International Development 

13 in their gender programming to incorporate coordi14 nated efforts to eliminate female genital mutilation/ 

15 cutting. 

Æ 


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