Helmut Melzer
At its 83rd meeting in Geneva on January 30 and 31, 2020, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) examined Austria's human rights record. The organization between gender previously submitted a shadow report criticizing gross human rights violations.
UN calls for ban on IGM
The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child criticized unnecessary treatments for intersex children as a “harmful practice” and called on Austria to refrain from intersex genital mutilation (IGM) and other unnecessary and non-consensual treatments. Austria was reprimanded for IGM practices back in 2015. The UN Committee against Torture (CAT) classified them as cruel, inhuman and degrading treatments.
"We hope that this renewed, very clear complaint will be taken up by the Austrian government and will finally lead to a ban on IGM," said Luan Pertl from the Intersex Austria platform and the Association of Intersex People Austria (VIMÖ).
Intersex genital mutilation:
Missing data and protection
“The recommendations of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child make it clear that the recommendations from the Ministry of Health from 2019 do not provide sufficient protection against non-consensual and non-vital treatments. Even clearer provisions are needed. "
Tobias Humer, VIMO
In Austria there is hardly any data on the medical treatments carried out on children and adolescents with variations in gender characteristics. The UN Children's Rights Committee is now calling on Austria to collect the relevant data in order to effectively protect intersex children from unnecessary interventions.
“The recommendations of the UN Children's Rights Committee make it clear that the recommendations from the Ministry of Health of 2019 do not provide adequate protection against non-consensual and non-vital treatments. Clearer regulations are needed, ”explains Tobias Humer from VIMÖ.
"Austria must finally take care to guarantee the physical integrity of intersex children," said Gabriele Rothuber, intersex representative at HOSI Salzburg, on intersex genital mutilation.
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