Traditional or customary practices affecting the health of women and girls

Welcomes the appointment of a special ambassador of the UN Population Fund for the elimination of female genital mutilation; emphasizes the need for Governments to analyse, from a gender perspective, all policies and programmes particularly those relating to poverty, health and violence against women, and the necessity of involving public opinion leaders, educators, religious leaders, medical practitioners, women's health and family planning organizations and the media in publicity campaigns, with a view to promoting a collective and individual awareness of the human rights of women and girls and of how harmful traditional or customary practices violate those rights; calls upon all States to include specific information on measures taken to eliminate traditional or customary practices harmful to the health of women and girls in their reports to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women and to the Committee on the Rights of the Child, and to develop and implement national legislation and policies prohibiting such practices.

Adopted without vote, 70th meeting

5 p.

Adopted at the 70th plenary meeting, 12 Dec. 1997.