WELCOMING REMARKS BY AMBASSADOR SEBASTIANO CARDI, PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF ITALY TO THE UNITED NATIONS, AT THE 58TH COMMISSION ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN HIGH-LEVEL MINISTERIAL SIDE-EVENT ON “EMPOWERING YOUNG PEOPLE TO END FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATIONS: THE ROLE OF GOVERNMENTS AND CIVIL SOCIETY” (March 11, 2014) 

Excellencies, Distinguished Ministers, Dear Friends,

I am honored to welcome you today to this high-level Ministerial side event on Female Genital Mutilations, organized by Italy together with Burkina Faso, Somalia, UNFPA, UNICEF and UNESCO.

I am particularly thankful to Ms. Chantale Compaoré – First Lady of Burkina Faso, Goodwill Ambassador of the Inter-African Committee on harmful traditional practices and Coordinator of the International Campaign for the Worldwide Ban of FGM – for agreeing to be lead speaker. We all know her strong personal commitment in the battle toward the eradication of FGM.

I am also particularly glad to have here the Undersecretary of Labor, the Honorable Teresa Bellanova, who is here on her first mission abroad since her appointment to the new Italian Government a few days ago. Her presence sends a clear signal that the fight against Female Genital Mutilations remains a high priority on Italy’s human rights’ Agenda, as it has been ever since the inception of the campaign.
I can definitely say with pride that Italy is doing its part, both on a national level (where we have endowed ourselves with specific preventive and punitive measures specifically intended to criminalize this practice) and on an international level, with bilateral and multilateral initiatives. Within the UN framework, Italy is among the main supporters of the joint initiative with UNFPA and UNICEF.

Today’s event is one of a series of dedicated appointments that we have been promoting over the years to keep attention to this issue high on the international agenda. It is part of our longstanding commitment in the campaign, standing firm by the side of African Countries and of all engaged parties who share the dream of finally overcoming this challenge.
Each of these awareness-raising events brings out new elements and represents further small steps toward the ultimate target.
The added value of today’s initiative is twofold.

First, we want to focus on young people. It is through education that we can change the way people think, and today’s young people are the ones who will decide the fate of millions of girls worldwide tomorrow.

Second, we have put together a panel that is not only highly qualified but also very composite, with Ministers, representatives of Governments and international organization, experts, civil society exponents and young activists from different parts of the world, meeting here together in pursuit of the same goal.

This collaboration, which brings together diverse voices in synergy, is the key to success. As in the past, collaboration among governments and activists was the engine that led to the success of the campaign that culminated in the 2012 adoption of Resolution 67/146.

As we approach the beginning of the Campaign for the adoption of the new Resolution at the 69 UN General Assembly, we must continue to foster and strengthen this collaboration between Governments and all the stakeholders. Only in this way can we assure that all the remarkable efforts and achievements of the past were not in vain, since only together can we change – and we will change – the fate of millions of girls around the world.

Have a fruitful discussion!