The End FGM European Network welcomes the first EU Strategy on the Rights of the Child that was launched this week by the European Commission.
FGM is usually practiced on girls between 0-15 years, and it is internationally recognised as a violation of children’s rights, particularly freedom from discrimination, right to be protected from all forms of mental and physical violence and maltreatment, the right to the highest attainable standard of health and freedom from torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
This is why the End FGM European Network is very pleased to see that preventing harmful practices, among which female genital mutilation (FGM) is prioritised when looking at protecting children from violence within the European Union.
In particular, we appreciate that over the next years the EU will:
- seek to address domestic and gender-based violence, and harmful practices, through new proposed legislative tools;
- strengthen integrated child protection systems in EU Member States;
- establish a EU Network for Children’s Rights
- address all types of violence against children in humanitarian contexts and emergencies
We thank the European Commission for having presented the Strategy on the Rights of the Child that will guide the European Union’s action for the next five years and we stand ready to support and monitor its implementation.