LIVE > South Africa Questioned Over Intersex Genital Mutilations by UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) – Gov Acknowledges!

UN-CRC 73rd Session @ Palais Wilson, Geneva 19.09.2016, 09:55h CET:
Waiting for the South African Delegation …

Zwischengeschlecht.org on FacebookAfter NZ’s embarrassing flat-out denial (“no surgery from 2006”) despite evidence to the contrary, today it’s the turn of South Africa to be questioned over Intersex Genital Mutilations at the 73rd Session of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) on Mon 19 September 10–13h + 15–18h CET     >>> watch online!
StopIGM.org is reporting LIVE
from Palais Wilson in Geneva, expecting tough questions also for ZA, and both South Africa and New Zealand to be reprimanded by 30 September (or soon after).

Session 1, Mon 19.09.2016 10:00–13:00h CET

10:05h: Session has started, the livestream is on. Head of South African Delegation, Deputy Minister of the Department of Social Development, Ms Hendrietta Ipeleng Bogopane-Zulu’s opening remarks.

10:16h: First round of questions by CRC ZA task force members, CRC Vice Chairperson Sara de Jesús Oviedo Fierro starting. Asks about continuation of actin plan, lack of data collection and implementation, lack of support for civil society … participation and children’s right to be heard, regarding the childhood act …

10:32h: CRC task force member Jorge Cardona Llorens (of CRC71 France fame) now on, aks on measures adopted and budgetary measures to promote chidren’s rights … best interest of the child … non-discrimination … right to life …

10:41h: CRC task force member Olga Khazova asking about married children …

10:44h: CRC task force member Maria Rita Parsi continuing with question on violence against children … corporal punishment … bullying in school … barriers to accessing justice … cultural and traditional prejucide … forced marriage … male circumcision …loss of genitals after initiation … virginity tests … genital mutilation … polygamy … no intersex children …

10:55h: 10 minutes pause …

10:16h: Session resumes with first round of responses … Head of Delegation reponds on action plan, children with disabilities, indigenous children … budget … accountability … cultural issues … circumcison … ukuthwala … convictions against circumcisers …

11:32h: First round of follow-up questions, CRC task force member Sara de Jesús Oviedo Fierro

11:34h: CRC member Kirsten Sandberg (of CRC68 Switzerland, CRC 72 UK + Nepal fame!) follows up on harmful practice on intersex children, still undergoing surgery in South Africa when too young to give consent, are you aware of the practice? What measures are you taking? YAY!! 🙂 Unofficial Transcription:

« While we are talking about harmful practices, I wonder about intersex children. As far as I could hear that issue was not raised, and we know that intersex children are still undergoing surgery in your country, when they are, well, just newborns and also later too small to give their consent or to have their autonomy respected in that regard. So I wonder, are you aware of this practice on intersex children, who would be born with, well you could call it unclear gender, unclear genitals, and so there’s been this medical practice of assigning them a gender or a sex, from the very beginning, which has been seen to be harmful to children in the long run. So I would like to hear your views and what measures are you taking in that regard. »

11:35h: Kirsten Sandberg also aks about measures to protect children with albinism from violence?

11:36h: CRC task force member Olga Khazova follows up on medical circumcision in school …

11:37h: CRC member Oussuma also follows up on circumcision in schools, and lack of response on virginy tests …

11:38h: Head of South African Delegation, Deputy Minister, Department of Social Development Ms Hendrietta Ipeleng Bogopane-Zulu answers that no circumcision are happening in schools, only in hospitals. Answers on virginty testing … violence on children with albinism … intersex children will be answered by Mr Dangor when he’ll get the floor … hate speech …

11:48h: CRC task force member Olga Khazova follows up on legal age of 12 for sexual consent …

11:51h: South African Delegatin member Mr Zane-Udien Dangor (Deputy Minister’s Special Advisor, Department of Social Development) replies to intersex children now … admits that being intersexed is a sexual characteristic, not a medical conditionthat harmful practices are done to intersex children … engaging with university clinics, but only in early stages … IMPRESSIVE!! 😮 Unofficial Transcription:

« [Undiscernible] is the issue raised I think by Madame Sandberg around intersex children, and [undiscernible] essentially harmful practices linked to that. I think as a government we do regognise that being intersex is a sexual characteristic and not a medical condition, but at the same time we recognise that there are still practices where newborns and young children are being, surgeries are performed on them which are harmful. So we are now beginning a process in its early stages, to acknowledging that it’s happening, to engage with universities, particularly the university children’s clinics and other medical practitioners around the fact that this is not a medical condition, that surgeries performed at a very young stage are harmful and that it needs to stop. So we will be engaging with all the relevant stakeholders on that. »

11:56h: Answer on ukuthwala: is a practice protected by constitution, but abuses are punished severely …

12:06h: Corporal punishment in school is abolished and a criminal offense, corporal punishment at home is planned to be discussed in parliament …

12:07h: Kirsten Sandberg follows up on corporal punishment at home …

12:15h: Answers on social media and protections for children in films …

12:31h: Second round of questions by CRC task force members …

12:42h: Children in prison … armed conflict …

12:53h: Refugee children …

13:01h: Session going overtime, follow-up questions on drugs, drinking, HIV/AIDS …

13:05h: Session closed, to be continued 15:00h.

After the session: I briefly spoke with Mr Zane-Udien Dangor, expressing appreciation for his open and straightforward answer, and suggesting legislation might help to convince hesitant doctors, which he agreed with. He stated the Department would work together with local NGOs, and that he’d read our NGO report as well and that it contained valuable research on South African university clinics. So let’s hope after his good answer the South African Government will follow-up with similar policy, as well as with implementation, enforcement and acces to redress for survivors …

Session 2, Mon 19.09.2016 15:00–18:00h CET

15:05h: Session resumed. Answers by Head of Delegation on schools … circumcision …

15:17h: Answers and follow-up questions on the Human Rights Commisssion … independant follow-up mechanism …

15:24h: Witchcraft and related violence on children, Muti mutilations, a number of people have been persecuted … hazardous substances …

15:32h: Teenage pregnancies, death in childbirth … Data collection measures and tools … foster care … families and care givers …

15:54h: Orphans with HIV/AIDS … disclosure to child required, to family only “when needed” … answers on adoptions … (direct) maintenance payments … enforcement of maintenance payments …

16:21h: Answers on children with disabilities … white paper … 7.5% of South African population are people with disabilities …

16:35h: 10 min pause …

16:50h: Children with disabilities continued … children in prison … naturalisation of children of foreign parents born in ZA …

17:16h: Follow-up questions on high number children in pre-trial detention … are there no children’s courts, youth courts?

17:26h: Answers on measures against sexual violence in schools …

17:35h: Answers on children and drugs … cut short because …

17:37h: 1st round of questions re: OP-SC (Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography) now, for tomorrows OP-SC session …

18:02h: Session closed …

>>> Last Week @ CRC73: New Zealand “not aware” of ongoing Mutilations

Intersex Genital Mutilations in ZA: 2016 UN-CRC Report 
Human Rights Violations Of Persons With Variations Of Sex Anatomy
IGM in ZA  Infanticide of intersex newborns  A Harmful Practice
>
>>  Download (PDF 929 kb)

See also:
UN Committee for the Rights of the Child (CRC): IGM = Harmful Practice + Violence
UN Committee against Torture (CAT) 2015: IGM = Inhuman Treatment or Torture
UN Women’s Rights Committee (CEDAW): IGM = Harmful Practice
UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD): Inhuman Treatment
UN Human Rights Committee (HRCttee) to examine IGM Practices 

Zwischengeschlecht.org on Facebook

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

Zwischengeschlecht.org on Facebook

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

>>> Download PDF (831kb)  

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