A/HRC/29/20 Plan International has found that community dialogue and discussion is crucial for greater ownership of the project by the community. 17 36. UNHCR has established an advocacy group called “Men against female genital mutilation” comprising 300 men in the Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya. The group members undertake peer education activities, acts as role models and work in close cooperation with the police and other agencies. 37. In the Sudan, and later in Somalia and Egypt, the “Saleema” initiative promoted the association of positive values with women who have not undergone female genital mutilation. Saleema is an Arabic word that means, inter alia, “unharmed”. One of the key objectives of the initiative was to model and popularize the use of the world Saleema itself as a positive terminology for describing women and girls who have not undergone the practice. In 2014 alone, over 340 communities in the Sudan participated in community dialogue activities as part of the Saleema initiative, and approximately 95 communities organized public declarations for the abolishment of the practice using the initiative “Saleema Al Taga”. F. Political leadership 38. The Inter-African Committee on Traditional Practices Affecting the Health of Women and Children has identified political will as “the centre of achieving zero tolerance to female genital mutilation.” Evidence shows that statements by politicians condemning female genital mutilation are essential to challenging support for the practice and that, in many countries, they have led to greater engagement of religious, tribal and community leaders against it, as well as an increase in human and financial resources allocated for this purpose.18 Throughout 2014, Guinea-Bissau saw strong statements of support for the abandonment of the practice by political parties, the Government and influential leaders. In addition, the country has appointed a national ambassador for the abandonment of female genital mutilation, and has mobilized key national musicians and media figures to participate in cultural events to advocate for its abandonment. Senegal’s national action plan provides for an active role for parliamentarians, in particular female parliamentarians, in terms of speaking out against the practice in their constituencies and working with religious leaders. G. Promoting alternative rites of passage 39. Women who undergo female genital mutilation have reported feelings of empowerment and social acceptance and those who have refused report feelings of exclusion, shame, stigmatization and loss of honour and social position. 19 Alternative rites of passage are important to address these feelings and perceptions. 40. In Kenya, the UNFPA-UNICEF Joint Programme supported alternative rites of passage among practicing communities, who viewed the new practice as culturally acceptable and marking a girl’s entry into adulthood. The alternative rites of passage involved community participatory education on local culture, life skills, communication 17 18 19 Plan International submission. See http://plan-international.org/where-we-work/africa/egypt/what-wedo/reduction-of-harmful-traditional-practices-htp. United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), “Implementation of the International and Regional Human Rights Framework for the Elimination of Female Genital Mutilation” (New York, 2014). Available from www.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub-pdf/FGMC-humanrights.pdf. Human Rights Watch submission. 11