Mr. Speaker, today is the international day for the elimination of female genital mutilation. FGM/C is a violation of human rights, affecting more than 200 million women and girls worldwide.
In 1997 the Liberal government criminalized FGM in Canada. Now we are engaging with other nations, donors, UN organizations and civil society to take action to eliminate FGM globally. Canada has co-sponsored the African Union's UN General Assembly resolution entitled “Intensifying global efforts for the elimination of female genital mutilation”. We currently fund projects in Benin, Nigeria, Ethiopia and Iraq through community-based education and awareness campaigns.
More needs to be done. Ending FGM requires governments to act with legislation to protect the human rights of women and girls, with policies that empower them and, most importantly, in this year of Beijing+25, to remember that women's rights are human rights.