As Nigeria joins the rest of the world to commemorates the Day of zero Tolerance for the Practice of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) recalls the outcome of various researches which has revealed numerous protection and supervisory gaps in national and international frameworks, as it affects the survivors of FGM.
The Executive Secretary of the Commission, Tony Ojukwu (SAN) who made this disclosure in Abuja weekend to mark the 2022 World Day of Zero Tolerance for the practice of FGM said the Commission has always taken the lead in efforts targeted at eradicating the ugly, unhealthy, harmful and degrading practice of FGM over the years.
The Chief Custodian of Human Rights in Nigeria stated that the NHRC with the collaboration of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and Civil Resource Documentation Development Centre (CIRDDOC) produced a training Manual on human rights and other related issues of FGM in Nigeria.
According to Ojukwu, the Manual which was developed in 2017 has continued to be a source of reference material to academia, development partners and the public across the globe.
“The Manual provides a general background analysis of women’s human rights and Female Genital Mutilation, which is a type of violence against women and girls. The Manual also provides a guide for reporting FGM in line with the prescribed standard”, the Chief Human Rights Officer added.
Similarly, the NHRC Boss disclosed that with the support of UNFPA/UNICEF, the Commission undertook a joint programme on elimination of FGM, conducted training of stakeholders on the use of the developed Manual in five programme focal states namely- Imo, Ebonyi, Osun, Oyo and Ekiti and available statistics have indicated positive changes geared towards eliminating FGM in the country.
“The participants at the training in the aforesaid states were drawn from relevant MDAs, CBOs, FBOs, Media, Security Agents, Traditional Rulers and CSOs/NGOs and at the end of the exercise, thereafter participants prepared independent and shadow reports”, the Executive Secretary stated.
Lastly, he called on well-meaning individuals and organisations to join the Commission in its resolve to do more in matters concerning zero tolerance for FGM in the country.
February 6 is earmarked as the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation is a United Nations-sponsored annual awareness day that takes place on February 6 as part of the UN’s efforts to eradicate female genital mutilation. It was first introduced in 2003.
