UN Authority Figures

UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) Executive Board: Burkina Faso

There are worries about a resurgence of the practice of female genital mutilation in the chaos that has followed the overthrow of Burkina Faso's President Compaore in 2014. Photo: А traditional surgeon holding razor blades used to carry out female genital mutilation
Source: Voice of America, October 15, 2015

Mission of the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF): "UNICEF is mandated by the UN General Assembly to advocate for the protection of children's rights, to help meet their basic needs and to expand their opportunities to reach their full potential. UNICEF is guided by the Convention on the Rights of the Child and strives to establish children's rights as enduring ethical principles and international standards of behaviour towards children. UNICEF mobilizes political will and material resources to help countries, particularly developing countries, ensure a "first call for children" and to build their capacity to form appropriate policies and deliver services for children and their families. UNICEF is committed to ensuring special protection for the most disadvantaged children - victims of war, disasters, extreme poverty, all forms of violence and exploitation and those with disabilities. UNICEF responds in emergencies to protect the rights of children. In everything it does, the most disadvantaged children and the countries in greatest need have priority." (UN Children's Fund website, "UNICEF's Mission Statement")

Term of office: 2015-2017

Burkina Faso's Record on Children:
"The most significant human rights problems included ... violence and discrimination against ... children, including female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C)... child marriage was a problem. Almost 50 percent of girls were married before the age of 18. According to a 2010 government survey, 23.5 percent of girls between the ages of 15 and 19 were married... FGM/C ... was practiced widely, particularly in rural areas, and usually performed at an early age... 76 percent of girls and women between the ages of 15 and 49 and 13 percent of girls under the age of 15 reported being subjected to FGM/C..." (US State Department's Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2014, Burkina Faso)

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