United Nations human rights experts have called for stronger measures to prevent the practice of female genital mutilation (FGM) in Sierra Leone.

The UN experts made the call following criminal proceedings about the death of a 21-year-old student who was subject to the brutal practice in the Bonthe District of the West African country.

FGM, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), involves the partial or total removal of external female genitalia or other injuries to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons.

According to reports, the criminal proceedings against one of the perpetrators charged with FGM that led to the death of the student have been impeded by the systemic failure to protect women and girls.

‘The lack of a dedicated and enforceable legislation that expressly criminalises and punishes female genital mutilation is hindering judicial or other investigation into and persecution of these harmful practices and unlawful killings’, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said in a statement.

‘Laws and policies need to provide clear accountability frameworks and disciplinary sanctions with respect to female genital mutilation’.

The UN experts urged the government of Sierra Leone to establish a comprehensive set of legal prohibitions, including amending the Child Rights Act, to explicitly prohibit the FGM practice.

‘Sierra Leone is taking concrete and meaningful steps towards advancing human rights, including through the recent abolition of capital punishment. The government’s response to female genital mutilation will be a testament to whether such commitment can extend to women’s rights’, they added.

Sierra Leone has one of the highest FGM prevalence rates in Africa, with 83 percent of women and girls aged between 15 and 49 having undergone the procedure, according to the 2019 Demographic Health Survey.

Photo source: OHCHR