WRITTEN QUESTION No. 2774/97 by Marjo MATIKAINEN-KALLSTRÖM to the Commission. Female circumcision in Egypt
Date: 1997-09-01
Institutions: European Parliament, MATIKAINEN-KALLSTROEM
Subjects: EU aid, Egypt, action programme, adult education, basic education, national law, physician, public health, sexual mutilation, women's rights

C 102/116

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

3. 4. 98

(98/C 102/167)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2771/97

by Glyn Ford (PSE) to the Commission

(1 September 1997)

Subject: Free movement of people

Can the Commission confirm that free movement of people is intended as a two way street i.e. both in and out of
Member States?

What proposals do they intend to make to ensure convicted criminals and suspects can be quickly and simply
moved to the Member State of conviction or to the Member State investigating an offence?

Answer given by Mrs Gradin on behalf of the Commission

(3 October 1997)

A number of international agreements govern the arrangements for the extradition of suspected or convicted
criminals  from  one  Member  State  to  another,  the  principal  agreement  being  the  European  Convention  on
extradition, 1957 and its Protocols of 1975 and 1978.

In  addition  Member  States  have  concluded  two  conventions  to  facilitate  the  application  of  the  European
Convention  and  to  improve  on  its  provisions,  the  Convention  relating  to  simplified  extradition  procedures
concluded  on  10  March  1995  and  the  Convention  relating  to  extradition  between  the  Member  States  of  the
European Union concluded on 27 September 1996.

As long as Member States have not ratified the conventions, the problems that the Honourable Member raises
will not be solved.

(98/C 102/168)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2774/97

by Marjo Matikainen-Kallstro¤m (PPE) to the Commission

(1 September 1997)

Subject: Female circumcision in Egypt

An Egyptian court has reversed the government ban on female circumcision. The court ruling was a severe blow
to  human  rights  groups  and,  of  course,  Egyptian  women.  It  champions  the  opposing  cause,  namely  female
circumcision and the doctors who earn their livelihood by performing the operation.

As a result of circumcision, many women suffer continuously from bleeding and traumas and completely lose
their  libido.  Many  have  also  died  after  being  compelled  to  undergo  circumcision  at  the  hands  of  amateur
surgeons, in many cases barbers.

The Union(cid:146)s assistance to Egypt amounts to tens of millions of ecus a year. One aim of the support is to improve
the social situation in the country. What measures will the Commission undertake to improve the position of
women in Egypt by ensuring that female circumcision is prohibited?

Answer given by Mr Marin on behalf of the Commission

(26 September 1997)

The Commission deplores the practice of female genital mutilation (FGM) as dangerous on health grounds, and
as an inhuman physical assault on the human rights of women and girls. The Commission condemns the practice
and  supports  measures  to  eradicate  it  through  its  own  programmes  and  through  the  efforts  of  others.  The
Commission fully subscribes to the strong positions taken against FGM in the Cairo Conference of 1994 and the
Beijing Conference of 1995.