The letter from Members of the European Parliament expresses concern regarding the case of Oumou Fadil Sow, a Guinean national living in Belgium who feared deportation and allowed her family to complete female genital mutilation on her. The European Court of Human Rights ruled that deporting her to Guinea would not violate her human rights and that authorities there could ensure her safety, despite the genital mutilation being validated. However, the Court did find some issues with how Belgian authorities informed her of her rights. The MEPs call on the Prime Minister to strengthen Belgium's commitment to human rights and women's rights by improving their approach to victims of FGM and ratifying the Istanbul Convention.

1. Brussels, 16 February 2016
Dear Prime Minister Charles Michel,
We write to you as Members of the European Parliament, who are committed to values of
democracy, human rights, and freedom of expression, to convey our deep concern regarding the
global threat posed by Female Genital Mutilation, as fiercely exemplified in the Oumou Fadil
Sow case, a Guinean national who lives in Brussels (Belgium). Oumou Fadil feared deportation
from Belgium and therefore permitted her family to complete the mutilation of her genitals.
Oumou has recently lost a human rights complaint against the country’s authorities, and against
the European Court of Human Rights. The European Court did not consider her case to be a
violation of Article 3 so as to deport Sow to Guinea, nor did they find a violation of article 13.
The ECHR has ruled that national authorities in Guinea are competent to guarantee her security,
though the genital mutilation was proved and validated by the mentioned Courts.
Nevertheless, the European Court of Human Rights has accepted some concerns in terms of the
Belgian administration, regarding the right to choose a different destination out of Belgium when
being repatriated, or the right to be informed about the choice of a location according to article 3
of the Convention. The Court stated " Enfin, tel que l’a relevé la requérante, il apparaît que celle-
ci ne dispose d’aucun droit de séjour dans un autre pays que le sien et qu’à aucun moment les
autorités belges n’ont indiqué à la requérante qu’elle avait un quelconque choix dans sa
destination. Dans ces circonstances, l’argument du Gouvernement est mal venu et la Cour rejette
également cette exception". The approach taken by the General Belgian Commissioner for
Refugees and Stateless Persons (CGRA), shows a lack of sensitiveness when dealing with a
victim of genital mutilation, as is mentioned within the verdict "l’audition au CGRA qui dura
près de quatre heures démontre que la requérante n’a pas été laconique dans ses réponses comme
cela lui avait été reproché par les instances belges et elle avait répondu à toutes les questions qui
lui étaient posées".
We are convinced that the Belgium authorities are fully engaged with their commitment to
combat FGM, we would therefore like to warn their national administration and authorities about
this case and the need to improve their approach when dealing with victims of FGM. In this
regard, we would like to insist on the need to develop their engagement with human rights, thus
to proceed with the ratification of the Council of Europe's Convention on Preventing and
Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (Istanbul Convention) the first
treaty to recognize that FGM needs to be systematically addressed. It entails obligations to offer
protection and support when women and girls at risk need it most – and makes sure that their
needs and their safety always come first. As politicians we call on you to respect human rights
and to protect women and girls from the torture they undergo through FGM. We call on you to be
brave and determined in upholding a solid legal and political framework to promote and advance
women’s rights and to bring member states closer to de facto protection of the most vulnerable
persons.

2. The case of Oumou Fadil Sow provides you with a wonderful opportunity to strengthen the
values of human rights and social justice and to be a beacon of hope for those at risk. We urge
you to react before it is too late. We sincerely hope that you will listen to our call to defend our
common values of freedom, justice and democracy. And that you will send the message that
Oumou's story is being heard.
MEPs CO-SIGNERS:
Yours sincerely,
Beatriz Becerra Basterrechea
Brando Benifei
Izaskun Bilbao
Vilija Blinkeviciute
Anneliese Dodds
Eleonora Forenza
Julie Girling
Ana Gomes
Mary Honeyball
Clare Moody
Javier Nart
Maria Noichl
Ricardo Serrão Santos
Ivo Vajgl
Hilde Vautmans
Julie Ward