H. Res. 106 
In the House of Representatives, U. S., 
May 20, 2019. 
Whereas female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) is recog-
nized 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 rea-
sons; 
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 be-
tween 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 con-
centrated 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 Pre-
vention 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 soci-
ety’’; 
Whereas the elimination of FGM/C has been called for by nu-
merous intergovernmental organizations, including the 
African Union, the European Union, and the Organiza-
tion 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, in-
cluding information on whether FGM/C is prevalent, the 
type and category of genital cutting that is most com-
mon, 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 Strat-
egy 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 des-
ignated February 6 as the International Day of Zero Tol-
erance for Female Genital Mutilation to enhance aware-
ness of and encourage concrete actions by states and in-
dividuals 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 in-
crease efforts to accelerate the elimination of female gen-
ital 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.