Solemn Appeal against Female Genital Mutilation

We have decided to speak and to act, aware that silence is the best ally of a terrible practice that still affects millions of women

List of the promoters

*Mary Banotti, MEP; UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador, Ireland

*Emma Bonino, MEP, Italy

*Chantal Compaore, First Lady; Inter-African Committee on Traditional Practices Goodwill Ambassador - IAC, Burkina Faso

*Rashida Al Hamadani, Director General, Administration of the National Women's Committee, Yemen

*Edna Adan Ismail, Minister of Family Affairs and Social Development, Somaliland

*Anna Karamanou, MEP; President, Committee on Women's Rights and Equal Opportunities, Greece

*Mama Bassine Niang, Human Rights Commissioner, Senegal

*Stella Obasanjo, First Lady, Nigeria

*Ayo Obe, President, Civil Liberties Organisation, Nigeria

*Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Founder of the International Institute for Women in Political Leadership, Liberia

*Elena Valenciano, MEP, Spain

List of the signatories

AFRICA

*Mariam Lamizana, Minister of Social Action and National Solidarity, Burkina Faso

*Moushira Khattab, Ambassador; Secretary General, National Council for Childhood and Motherhood, Egypt

*Fatou Secka, Assocacion de Mujeres Africanes contra la Mutilacion, Gambia

*Fatoumata Sidibeh, BAFROW, Gambia

*Angela Dwamena-Aboagye, Executive Director, The Ark Foundation, Ghana

*Betty Mould Iddrissu, Chief State Attorney, Ministry of Justice, Ghana

*Ami Koita, Artist, Mali

*Coumba Toure, President, GAMS, Mali/France

*J.O. Onaiyekan, Reverent, Nigeria

*Abdul Oroh, Executive Director, Civil Liberties Organisation, Nigeria

*Sidiki Kaba, lawyer; President, FIDH, Senegal

*Aoua Bocar Ly, Sociologist; Founder-President, "Reseau des Femmes Africaines Horizon 2015", Senegal/Canada

*Laurel Bangura, Director, "FGM" Association; Advocacy, Sierra Leone

*Olayinka Koso Thomas, President, IAC National Committee, Sierra Leone

*Saida Ahmed Ali, Legal consultant, Somalia

*Asili Barre-Dirie, Vice Chair Forward Germany, Somalia/Germany

*Jamila Said Musse, Association for Integration and Development, Somalia/Sweden

*Hassan Said Shamsa, Co-ordinator, Sexual and Reproductive Rights and FGM, Somalia/Netherlands

*Amna Abdul Hassan, Director, IAC National Committee, Sudan

*Sihem Bensedrine, Conseil National pour les Libertes, Tunisia

*Alya Cherif Chamari, Lawyer; "Collectif 95 Egalite Maghreb", Tunisia

*Mokhtar Trifi, President , Human Rights League, Tunisia

EUROPE

*Madeleine Petrovic, MP, Austria

*Christa Prets, MEP, Austria

*Nathalie Gilson, President, "Femmes Reformatrices Liberales", Belgium

*Laurette Onkelinx, Vice Prime Minister, Minister of Labour, Belgium

*Miet Smet, State Minister; MEP, Belgium

*Anne Vauthier, PAG-ASA Director, Belgium

*Violaine de Villers, Film and documentaries Director, Belgium

*Olga Zrihen, MEP, Belgium

*Dijana Plestina, Advisor to the Minister for Mine Action, MP, Croatia

*Hanna Onwen, Project Manager, Finland

*Leila Rasanen, Ministerial Adviser - Gender Equality Unit - Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, Finland

*Astrid Thors, MEP, Finland

*Sophie Bessis, Journalist, France

*Marc Gentilini, President, French Red Cross, France

*Isabelle Gillette-Faye, Sociologist; "Groupe Femmes pour l'Abolition des Mutialtions Sexuelles", France

*Khady Koita, President, European Network for the Elimination of the Harmful Practices, France

*Sirkis Luce, Honour President, GAMS, France

*Linda Weil-Curiel, Lawyer, "Commission pour l' Abolition Mutilations Sexuelles", France

*Mairead Corrigan Maguire, Nobel Peace Laureate, Ireland

*Liz McManus, MP, Labour Deputy, Ireland

*Monica Frassoni, MEP, Italy

*Rita Levi-Montalcini, Medicine Nobel Price, Italy

*Elsa Peretti, Philanthropist, Italy

*Kathalijne Buitenweg, MEP, Netherlands

*Femke Halsema, MP, Netherlands

*Frauke Heldring, Ghanaian Association of Women 's Welfare, IAC, Netherlands

*Lousewies van der Laan, MEP, Netherlands

*Elly Plooij, MEP, Netherlands

*Mabel Wisse Smit, Director, Open Society Institute-Brussels, Netherlands

*Ana Botella, Spain

*Adriana Kaplan, Professor of Social Anthropology, Universidad Autonoma de Barcelona, Spain

*Micaela Navarro Garzon, Secretary, Igualdad-Comision Ejecutiva Federal PSOE, Spain

*Carmen Romero, MP, Spain

*Fernando Savater, Philosopher, Spain

*Sara Torres, artist, Spain/Nicaragua

*Cecilia Malmstrom, MEP, Sweden

*Maureen Natasha Donkor, Solicitor, United Kingdom

ASIA

*Soraya Rahim Sobhrang, Deputy Minister of Women Affairs, Afghanistan

*Saumura Tioulong, MP, Cambodia

*Sonia Gandhi, MP and Leader of Opposition, India

*HRH Princess Sarvath El Hassan, Princess, Educator, Jordan

*Hoda Barakat, Writer; Information Director "Radio Orient", Lebanon/France

*Pelpina Sahureka, Representative of the Molucian People in the Netherlands

*Cristina Rosello Gates, Secretary General, Centre for Restorative Justice in Asia, Philippines

*Bi-khim Hsiao, MP, Taiwan

LATIN AMERICA

*Marta Frayde, President, Comite Cubano pro Derechos Humanos, Cuba

*Yolanda Gonzalez H, MP, Mexico

OCEANIA

*Nikki Denholm, Project Manager, New Zealand

INTERNATIONAL ISTITUTIONS

*Antonio Vigilante, Resident Co-ordinator, United Nations - Resident Representative, UNDP, Egypt

Letter to Bikhim Hsiao from the organizers of the STOP FGM 2002/2003 International Campaign

Ms Bi-Khim Hsiao

Member of Parliament

Taiwan

Brussels, 10 January 2003

Dear Madam,

On behalf of the promoters, we would like to thank you very much for having accepted to sign the International Appeal on Female Genital Mutilation. We sincerely appreciate your personal support to the initiative and your interest in our Campaign "Stop FGM".

Due to your personal commitment on issues related to the respect of human dignity, we are sure that your signature will give a larger and a more decisive impact to the Appeal.

We are also pleased to inform you that the Appeal has been launched during the "Stop Female Genital Mutilation" Conference held in Brussels, at the European Parliament, on 10 and 11 December last. On this occasion, the Appeal and the list of the first signatories have been published on the international newspaper "Le Monde".

Today, it is fundamental to continue the fight, in particular by mobilising the public opinion and the governments of the concerned countries to be able to put an end to the practice of FGM. At this respect, we are convinced that the Appeal will be a precious tool in the achievement of this objective.

In the meanwhile, we intend to continue collecting other signatures in order to launch officially the Appeal on the African continent during a conference in Cairo, to be held most probably in June 2003.

Please find attached the list of the other personalities who have signed the Appeal until now.

We will keep you informed of the progress of this initiative.

Thank you again for your attention and your interest in this campaign.

With our warmest regards,

Michela Beati

No Peace Without Justice

Stop FGM Project Director

Laetitia Palleva

No Peace Without Justice

Stop FGM Project Assistant

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