On June 1, 2015, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights issued a report on human rights violations against individuals based on their sexual orientation and gender identity. The report, titled, Discrimination and violence against individuals based on their sexual orientation or gender identity, is the second ever official UN report on the subject – was requested by the Human Rights Council in a resolution adopted in September 2014.

The report features several findings and recommendations which expressly address intersex people, including a call for a ban on medically unnecessary surgeries on intersex infants and minors, a.k.a. Interex Genital Mutilation (IGM). See intersex-specific findings and recommendations below.

Key Findings

* “Everyday discrimination”, fuelled by entrenched discriminatory attitudes and facilitated by lack of effective anti-discrimination laws, affects LGBT and intersex people everywhere – including in education, healthcare, employment, housing, and within families.

* States are legally bound by international human rights law to respect, protect and fulfil the human rights of all persons within their jurisdiction – including those who are LGBT and intersex.

Key Recommendations

* Enact effective anti-discrimination laws that protect LGBT and intersex persons from discrimination, and work to end negative stereotypes, including through public education campaigns.

* Ban forced and involuntary treatment and medical procedures on LGBT and intersex people.
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* Make sure everyone has access to legal identity documents that reflect their self-identified gender, without abusive requirements such as sterilization, forced treatment or divorce.

* Make sure that no one fleeing persecution because they are LGBT or intersex is returned to a territory where his or her life or freedom would be threatened.

* Consult LGBT and intersex people and civil society when making laws and policies that impact their rights.

We thank and commend the UN OHCHR for their inclusion of intersex people’s human rights issues in their work, and for their continued assistance advocating on behalf of the intersex community! Read the full report here.

#intersex #StopIGM

 Ban forced and involuntary treatment and medical procedures on LGBT and intersex people.