FGM

Gambia: Operational Guidance Note

Published by on June 21, 2013

UK Home Office 21 June 2013 Introduction 1.1 This document provides UK Border Agency (UKBA) caseworkers with guidance on the nature and handling of the most common types of claims received from nationals/residents of the Gambia, including whether claims are or are not likely to justify the granting of asylum, Humanitarian Protection or Discretionary Leave. Caseworkers must refer to the relevant Asylum Instructions for further details of the policy on these areas. 1.2 Caseworkers must not base decisions on the country of origin information in this guidance; it is included to provide context only and does not purport to be Read the full article…

Kenya: Country of Origin Information Report

Published by on May 22, 2013

UK Home Office 22 May 2013 The main text of this COI Report contains the most up to date publicly available information as at 22 April 2013. ‘The most serious human rights problems were abuses by the security forces, including unlawful killings, forced disappearances, torture, rape, and use of excessive force; interethnic violence; and widespread corruption and impunity throughout the government. ‘Other human rights problems included police corruption; harsh and life-threatening prison conditions; arbitrary arrest and detention; prolonged pretrial detention; some judicial corruption; arbitrary interference with the home and infringement on citizens’ privacy; restrictions on freedom of speech, press, and Read the full article…

Senegal: 2012 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices

Published by on April 19, 2013

United States Department of State 19 April 2013 Senegal is a moderately decentralized republic dominated by a strong executive branch. On March 25, voters elected Macky Sall president for a seven-year term in an election viewed as largely free and fair. On July 1, Sall’s Benno Bokk Yakaar coalition won the majority of seats in National Assembly elections. Security forces reported to civilian authorities. In the run-up to the two rounds of the presidential election in February and March, the country experienced significant unrest, including clashes between police and protesters who questioned the constitutionality of incumbent president Abdoulaye Wade’s decision Read the full article…

Niger: 2012 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices

Published by on April 19, 2013

United States Department of State 19 April 2013 Niger is a multiparty republic. In March 2011 voters elected opposition leader Issoufou Mahamadou president in a poll characterized by international observers as generally free and fair. Observers also considered the 2011 National Assembly elections free and fair. Security forces reported to civilian authorities. The most serious human rights problems in the country included harsh and life-threatening prison and detention center conditions, discrimination and violence against women and children, and forced labor and caste-based slavery among some groups. Other human rights problems included attacks by armed groups that resulted in deaths. Arbitrary Read the full article…

Kenya: 2012 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices

Published by on April 19, 2013

US Department of State 19 April 2013 Kenya is a republic with an institutionally strong president and a prime minister with unclearly defined executive powers. There is a unicameral national assembly. In 2010 citizens approved a new constitution in a national referendum, widely considered to be free and fair. The new constitution includes significant institutional and structural changes to the government, including the transition to a bicameral legislature, the abolition of the post of prime minister, and the devolution of fiscal and administrative authority from the central government to 47 newly created county governments. The new constitution stipulates the creation Read the full article…

Iraq: new link shown between FGM and mental disorders

Published by on January 13, 2012

IRIN 13 January 2012 New data out of Iraq shows what many psychologists suspected though little research has confirmed: Girls who have undergone female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) are more prone to mental disorders, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Results of the research - conducted by Jan Ilhan Kizilhan of the University of Freiburg, an expert in psychotraumatology (psychotherapy for people who have suffered extreme trauma) - were published in the April-June 2011 edition of the European Journal of Psychiatry. Kizilhan found “alarmingly high rates” of PTSD (44 percent), depression (34 percent), anxiety (46 percent) and somatic disturbances (mental disorders whose Read the full article…

Indonesia: FGM/C regulations mistaken as endorsement, experts fear

Published by on September 1, 2011

IRIN News 1 September 2011 Guidelines on how to perform female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) issued by the Indonesian Ministry of Health could cause an increase in the practice, medical experts and rights groups fear. “This will give doctors a new motivation to circumcise [girls] because now they can say the Ministry of Health approves of this, and the Indonesian Ulamas’ Council approves of it,” Jurnalis Uddin, doctor and lecturer at Yarsi University in Jakarta, told IRIN. Though FGM/C was banned in 2006, two of Indonesia’s Muslim organizations, including the largest and mostly moderate Nahdlatul Ulama, ultimately condone the practice advising Read the full article…

Kenya: Legislation failing to curb FGM/C

Published by on June 2, 2011

IRIN, UN News Service, 2 June 2011 At her grandmother’s home in the western Kenyan village of Nyamataro, 14-year-old Ruth* lies on a mat surrounded by visitors, all congratulating her on becoming a woman; the previous week, Ruth was one of 10 girls to undergo female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C). “When people see me and I smile at them, they think I like what I went through… [but] I wish I could run away,” she told IRIN. “My grandmother said I must be cut so I can be a good girl in future. “I was afraid to go, but they forced Read the full article…