Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 215: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if his attention has been drawn to the fact that according to UNICEF 8,000 young girls every day are subject to female genital mutilation; the action he will take to outlaw this practice worldwide; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14309/09]

Peter Power (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

The practice of female genital mutilation is a clear violation of the human rights of women and girls. Furthermore, it infringes on children's rights to special protections, it has serious social, health and psychological consequences, and it perpetuates negative gender-based stereotypes. The World Health Organisation estimates that between 100 million and 140 million girls and women worldwide are currently living with the consequences of female genital mutilation. In Africa alone, three million girls are at risk annually.

The Government is active in global policy development, funding and research to address this appalling practice. We recognise that it is a form of gender-based violence, and that it is an important element in our comprehensive approach to tackling such violence, through our aid programme. The Government's 2006 White Paper on Irish Aid includes a firm commitment that Ireland will build its support for measures focused on preventing and responding to gender-based violence.

Through Irish Aid, the Development Cooperation Division of the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Government was a co-founder of the Joint Consortium on Gender Based Violence, in which we remain an active member. It brings together representatives from Irish Aid, the Defences Forces, and Irish development, humanitarian and human rights Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) in order to promote a coherent and coordinated response to all forms of gender based violence, including female genital mutilation. The Government has increased its funding in this area in recent years, from €110,000 in 2005 to €2.6 million in 2007. Irish Aid's funding guidelines for NGOs have been revised to highlight gender-based violence as a priority for the aid programme. In addition, the Government's agreements with a number of United Nations Funds, Programmes and other agencies include specific commitments to addressing gender-based violence. The Government engages with a number of organisations working to achieve the ending of the practice of female genital mutilation and supporting victims, including a range of UN agencies and Irish NGOs.

The Government has also provided funding for an important joint programme on female genital mutilation undertaken by the UN Population Fund and the UN Children's Fund, with the aim of achieving the ending of the practice in seventeen countries by 2012. While this programme focuses on promoting social change, it also includes support for victims of the practice through the integration of its implications into reproductive health strategies.

We recognise that the achievement of significant progress on gender-based violence is integral to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. This includes progress on the ending of the practice of female genital mutilation, which will have direct implications for the empowerment of women, the improvement of maternal health, the reduction of child mortality, and ultimately the reduction of poverty, which remains the overarching priority of our aid programme.