CAT/C/66/D/757/2016 6.2 The State party refers to the above-mentioned demographic study, according to which the prevalence among girls under 15 years of age is even lower, as only one out of nine girls (11 per cent) has undergone female genital mutilation.14 It also refers to a study published by the French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons, in which it is written that the power of money has inverted certain traditional hierarchies and that the economic power of the younger generations thus represents a strong opposition to the authority of their elders. 15 The successful prosecutions by the Government of Côte d’Ivoire in some female genital mutilation cases in 2017 may also have played a role in the decline. 16 The State party concludes that although the prevalence of female genital mutilation is high among the ethnic group to which the mother of the complainant belongs,17 the percentage of women who have undergone such mutilation is in fact falling. Moreover, the majority of the population is opposed to continuing this tradition. The report published by 28 Too Many shows that girls and women who say they fear being subjected to female genital mutilation have public opinion on their side: 81.5 per cent of women and 82.1 per cent of men aged 15–49 believe that female genital mutilation should be stopped.18 6.3 With regard to the complainant’s assertion regarding her mother’s decision not to submit an application to defer departure on medical grounds on the basis of section 64 of the Aliens Act 2000, the State party notes that if an alien who does not hold a residence permit submits an application on the basis of section 64 of the Aliens Act 2000, the application is taken into consideration and assessed on its merits. In connection with such an application, a medical adviser at the Immigration and Naturalization Service assesses, on the basis of the medical information about the state of health of the alien or one of his or her family members provided by the attending physician, whether it would be inadvisable for him or her to travel, in which case expulsion should not take place. If the right conditions are met, the application is granted and the alien acquires right of residence. An alien who has held right of residence on those grounds for one year can then submit an application for a regular residence permit subject to restrictions on temporary humanitarian grounds and the need for medical treatment. The State party submits that the complainant’s mother has repeatedly been asked to provide medical information to support the complaints she has submitted, which shows that the Government takes medical issues seriously and that it was and remains prepared to assess the merits of an application. However, the complainant’s mother has failed to respond to the Government’s request and has not presented the medical information requested. 6.4 With regard to the complainant’s mother’s suicide attempts, the State party notes that it is aware of two such attempts, both of which took place in the summer of 2015. On the first occasion, the mother swallowed the contents of a bottle of disinfectant hand gel and on the second occasion she took three sleeping pills. On both occasions medical assistance was called for and on both occasions an ambulance left after the paramedics had examined the mother at the scene. Since 2015, no further incidents have been reported. Issues and proceedings before the Committee Consideration of admissibility 7.1 Before considering any complaint submitted in a communication, the Committee must decide whether the communication is admissible under article 22 of the Convention. The Committee has ascertained, as it is required to do under article 22 (5) (a) of the Convention, that the same matter has not been and is not being examined under another procedure of international investigation or settlement. 14 15 16 17 18 8 Ibid., p. 333. France, Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons, “Les mutilations génitales féminines (MGF) en Côte d’Ivoire” (21 February 2017), p. 9. United States of America, Department of State, “Country reports on human rights practices for 2017 – Côte d’Ivoire”, p. 18. The Malinke are one of the ethnic groups belonging to the larger linguistic family of the Mandé peoples. 28 Too Many, “Côte d’Ivoire: the law and FGM” (August 2018).