Exhibition "Couper la rose"

Ambassador Doualeh
Ms. Harper,
Mr. Williams-Okorodus,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen;

It is my distinct pleasure to address you today as Officer-in-Charge of the United Nations Office at Geneva, and on behalf of the Acting Director-General Michael Møller, in support of this powerful exhibition, on the occasion of the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation, paying tribute to the inspiring Ghanaian-British campaigner against female genital mutilation, Efua Dorkenoo, who sadly passed away last October.

My most sincere thanks go to Ambassador Rücker and the Permanent Mission of Germany, and to Ambassador Doualeh and the Permanent Mission of Djibouti, together with UNAIDS and the Global Alliance against Female Genital Mutilation for the organization of this event.

Female genital mutilation is strongly condemned by the United Nations and is internationally recognized as a serious human rights violation. UNFPA and UNICEF are leading the world’s largest programme to fight FGM, and here in Geneva, as the capital of human rights, organizations are working year-round to promote and protect numerous fundamental human rights for women and girls, from the right to health and security, the right to be free from discrimination, to the right to life, and the right to freedom from torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

As recently as December 2014, the General Assembly adopted a new resolution calling upon member states to intensify global efforts for the elimination of FGM. Great progress has been made, but this abhorrent practice continues to persist in 29 countries, affecting the lives of more than 130 million women and girls.

In my former capacity of Minister of Development Cooperation for Denmark, I heard the heartbreaking stories from some of these girls and women on how they were left with brutal scars on their body and their dignity.

Raising awareness, though exhibitions such as this one, is key to ending this terrible practice. However, this message needs to come from both women and men. It is thus particularly symbolic that this exhibition showcases the work of male African artists, who are standing up against FGM in their own right, and speaking out against this practice to protect the lives and the dignity of millions of women and girls, worldwide

By drawing on the collective strengths of the international community, governments and civil society, female genital mutilation can be eliminated within a generation. Let us work together to ensure that women and girls, regardless of their background or culture, have access to core human rights and to a life in dignity.

This important exhibition is a fine expression of this vision.

Thank you.