FGM is illegal in most of the countries where it happens. However, these laws are often ignored. Since the 1970s, many countries have tried to stop FGM. In 2012, the United Nations General Assembly said that FGM is a human rights problem, and voted to try harder to stop it. The World Health Organization and the "Maputo Protocol" to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights also say that FGM must be stopped.