A/HRC/27/36 I. Introduction 1. In its decision 24/117, the Human Rights Council decided to organize a high-level panel discussion at its twenty-sixth session on the identification of good practices in combating female genital mutilations so that an exchange of views could be held on the progress made, good practices and challenges and obstacles encountered in the effort to combat this practice, as well as the initiatives undertaken at the national, regional and international levels with a view to its eradication. 2. The high-level panel discussion was held on 16 June 2014. The panel was composed of the First Lady of Burkina Faso, Chantal Compaoré; the President of the Inter-African Committee on traditional practices affecting the health of women and children, Mariam Lamizana; the Coordinator of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)/United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Joint Programme on Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting, Nafissatou J. Diop; the Vice-Chairperson of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, Hiranthi Wijemanne; the Policy Director of the Department for International Development of the United Kingdom, Liz Ditchburn; and the Director of the Department of Reproductive Health Research of the World Health Organization (WHO), Marleen Temmerman. The panel was chaired by Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Togo to the United Nations at Geneva, Nakpa Polo. 3. In its decision 24/117, the Human Rights Council also called upon the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to prepare a summary report on the high-level panel discussion. The present report is submitted pursuant to that request. II. Statement by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights 4. In her opening remarks, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights pointed out that female genital mutilation was a form of gender-based discrimination and violence; a harmful and degrading practice that infringed on the rights of women and girls to physical and mental integrity, the rights to the highest attainable standard of health, including sexual and reproductive health, the right to freedom from torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and, when it resulted in death, the right to life. Furthermore, because it was almost always practiced on young children, female genital mutilation was also a violation of the rights of the child. 5. The High Commissioner noted that as many as 30 million girls were at risk of undergoing this practice in the next decade, if current trends persisted. She stated that female genital mutilation had no health benefits and was rather a way to exercise control over women and to perpetuate harmful gender roles. The practice was in fact traditionally considered necessary in order to raise a girl with characteristics of a “proper” wife, given that female genital mutilation was believed to preserve virginity or to restrain sexual desire. The High Commissioner highlighted the fact that economic factors also played a significant role, given that the families of girls who had been mutilated often received a higher bride price. 6. The High Commissioner highlighted some of the steps taken at the national, regional and international levels to combat female genital mutilation, in particular General Assembly resolution 67/146 on intensifying global efforts for the elimination of female genital mutilations, Human Rights Council decision 24/117, by which the Council decided to organize the high-level panel discussion, the work of the Commission on the Status of 3