For the first time, the United Nations Human Rights Council has passed a resolution affirming the rights of intersex persons.
The resolution, titled “Combating Discrimination, Violence and Harmful Practices Against Intersex Persons,” recognizes that intersex people exist in every society and that they “may face multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination in all areas of life, such as access to education, health, employment, sports, and social security, as well as restrictions on the exercise of legal capacity and in access to remedies and justice.”
This document conveys a “grave concern” regarding harmful practices, such as “medically unnecessary or deferrable interventions, which may be irreversible, concerning sex characteristics, performed without the full, free and informed consent of the person, and in the case of children without complying with the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.”
It requests that the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights compile a report detailing the prevalence, nature, and consequences of intersex people’s experiences of discrimination, violence, and harmful behaviors, as well as recommendations for improving their lives. In September 2025, the Human Rights Council will review the report. Further, it calls on countries “to work to realise the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health for persons with innate variations in sex characteristics.”
Intersex trait refers to a variation in sex traits which impacts approximately 1.7% of the population, as pointed out by Human Rights Watch. A group news release states that surgeons have been performing “normalising” procedures on these individuals since the 1950s. The announcement adds that these treatments “are irreversible, risky, and medically unnecessary.”
“Despite growing consensus that these surgeries should end and global progress on banning medically unnecessary intersex surgeries, some parents continue to face pressure from surgeons to choose these operations for their children who are too young to participate in the decision,” HRW relates.
The resolution “is an opportunity to correct myths and ensure that children born perfectly healthy — just a little different — are free to grow up and make decisions about their own bodies,” HRW concludes.
In a joint statement, 35 international civil society organizations lauded the decision. A further milestone in the way international organizations are considering the rights of intersex persons has been reached with this resolution, according to the statement.
“Over the years, the work of civil society and States alike has built tremendous momentum, but things could take an even more decisive turn this time. Thanks to this vote, the first-ever official United Nations report to address the human rights situation of persons with innate variations in sex characteristics will raise awareness of the issue in a way that States can no longer ignore, and will have to act upon,” the statement adds.
The resolution was put forward by Australia, Finland, South Africa, and Chile. The United States and most other states voted in favour of it, with no states voting against it.
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