“Harmful Practice”: Ireland and Germany sternly reprimanded by UN-CEDAW for Intersex Genital Mutilations – again!

Photo: UNHRC UPR #14, Geneva 20.10.2012

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Press Release by StopIGM.org, 06.03.2017:

During its 66th Session the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) examined Intersex Genital Mutilations (IGM) in Ireland and Germany.

Today the Committee issued stern reprimands to both countries, explicitly recognising IGM as a “harmful practice” and calling for “legislative provisions”:

>>> Germany: CEDAW/C/DEU/CO/7-8, on intersex: paras 23-24 (PDF)
>>> Ireland:
CEDAW/C/IRL/CO/6-7, on intersex: paras 24-25 (PDF)

StopIGM.org warmly welcomes these renewed clear verdicts, marking
  • 22 UN reprimands for IGM practices so far
  •
already the 3rd reprimand for Germany
  •
already the 2nd reprimand for Ireland
  •
now 5 reprimands by CEDAW
  •
the 2nd time that CEDAW reprimanded more than one state in one session
  • 14 countries reprimanded
in Europe, South America, Asia, Oceania and Africa.

We particularly appreciate the Committee specifically obliging Germany to
  • “adopt clear legislative provisions explicitly prohibiting” IGM practices
  • “ensure effective access to justice, including by amending the statute of limitations”
 
  “provide families with intersex children with adequate counselling and support”,
as well as obliging Ireland to
  • “develop and implement an appropriate rights-based health-care protocol for intersex children.

THANK YOU to everybody who contributed to this extraordinary success!

The binding CEDAW66 intersex recommendations in full + session transcripts + NGO reports:

2016-CEDAW-Swiss-Intersex-IGM

IGM Practices in Germany: 2017 CEDAW Report
Human Rights Violations Of Children With Variations Of Sex Anatomy
IGM in Germany  Complicity of the State  Harmful Practice
>>> Download as PDF (519 kb)

>>> CEDAW66: Germany questioned over Intersex Genital Mutilatons
>>> CEDAW66 > Joint NGO Briefing on Intersex Genital Mutilations in Germany 
>>> UN Press Release 20.02.2017: “Intersex Genital Mutilation in Germany”
>>> “Germany: The Practice of Intersex Genital Mutilation” – UN Press Release 21.02.2017

CEDAW66: Binding Intersex Recommendations for Germany:

>>> CEDAW/C/DEU/CO/7-8, on intersex: paras 23-24 (PDF)

“Harmful practices

23.  The Committee welcomes the adoption of legislative and other measures to combat harmful practices, including the 47th Criminal Law Amendment Act of 2013 prohibiting female genital mutilation and the establishment of the Inter-Ministerial Working Group on Intersexuality/Transexuality (IMAG). However, the Committee is concerned about:

[…]

(d)  The lack of clear legislative provisions prohibiting unnecessary medical procedures to be performed on infants and children with indeterminate sex until they reach an age when they are able to provide their free, prior and informed consent;

(e)  Inadequate support and lack of effective remedies for intersex persons, who have undergone medically unnecessary surgical procedures, at a very early age, often with irreversible consequences, resulting in long term physical and psychological suffering..

24.  In light of the joint general recommendation/general comment No. 31 of the Committee and No. 18 of the Committee of the Rights of the Child on harmful practices (2014), the Committee recommends that the State party:

[…]

(b)  Systematically collect disaggregated data on the incidence of harmful practices in the State party and continue to strengthen preventive and protection measures to eliminate female genital mutilation;

[…]

(d)  Adopt clear legislative provisions explicitly prohibiting the performance of unnecessary surgical or other medical treatment on intersex children until they reach an age when they can provide  their free, prior and informed consent; provide families with intersex children with adequate counselling and support; and ensure that the German Medical Association provides information to medical professionals on the legal prohibition of unnecessary surgical or other medical interventions for intersex children;

(e)  Ensure effective access to justice, including by amending the statute of limitations, for intersex persons who have undergone unnecessary surgical or other medical treatment without their free, prior and informed consent and consider the proposal by the German Ethics Council to establish a state compensation fund.
     

2016-CEDAW-Swiss-Intersex-IGM

IGM Practices in Ireland: 2017 CEDAW Report
Human Rights Violations Of Children With Variations Of Sex Anatomy
IGM in Ireland  Complicity of the State  Harmful Practice
>>> Download as PDF (248 kb)

>>> CEDAW66: Ireland questioned over IGM
>>>
CEDAW66 > NGO Briefing on Intersex Genital Mutilations in Ireland
>>>
UN Press Release on Review of Ireland mentions “Intersex Genital Mutilation”
>>>
Communiqué de l’ONU > Mutilations Genitales Intersexes en Irlande

CEDAW66: Binding Intersex Recommendations for Ireland:

>>> CEDAW/C/IRL/CO/6-7, on intersex: paras 24-25 (PDF)

“Stereotypes and harmful practices

24.  The Committee welcomes the State party’s efforts to combat discriminatory gender stereotypes and harmful practices such as female genital mutilation following the adoption of the Criminal Justice (Female Genital Mutilation) Act in April 2012. The Committee is, however, concerned that:

[…]

(b)  Medically irreversible and unnecessary sex-assignment surgery and other treatments are performed on intersex children.

25.  The Committee recommends that the State party: 

[…]

(b)  Develop and implement an appropriate rights-based health-care protocol for intersex children, which ensures that children and their parents are properly informed of all options and that children are, to the greatest extent possible, involved in decision-making about medical interventions and that their choices are fully respected.    
  

See also:
UN Committee for the Rights of the Child (CRC): IGM = Harmful Practice + Violence
UN Committee against Torture (CAT): IGM = Inhuman Treatment or Torture
UN Women’s Rights Committee (CEDAW): IGM = Harmful Practice
UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD): Violation of Integrity
UN Human Rights Committee (HRCttee) to examine IGM Practices
CAT 2011: Germany must investigate IGM practices and compensate survivors!

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Intersex Genital Mutilations • 17 Most Common Forms
Human Rights Violations Of Children With Variations Of Sex Anatomy
IGM – Historical Overview  What is Intersex?  How Common are IGMs?
>>> Download PDF (3.65 MB)     >>> Table of Contents

IGM as a Harmful Practice: UN-CRC Briefing
• IGM: A Survivor’s Perspective • Intersex Movement History
• What are Variations of Sex Anatomy?  • What are IGM Practices?
• IGM and Human Rights  • Conclusion: IGM as a Harmful Practice
>>> Download PDF (3.14 MB)     >>> Table of Contents

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Eliminating IGM practices by holding the perpetrators accountable via well-established applicable human rights frameworks, including Inhuman Treatment and Harmful Practices – Presentation @ UN expert meeting on Intersex Human Rights in Geneva 26.–27.10.2015
>>> Download PDF (831kb) 

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