There we go (2): France condemns “mutilations of intersex children”, proposes “prohibition”

Heidi Walcutt (1997): 'STOP Intersex Genital Mutilation'

Hear, hear! In December 2016, the French “Interministerial delegation on combatting racism, anti-semitism and anti-LGBT hatred (DILCRAH)” published a “Mobilisation plan against anti-LGBT hatred and discrimination” (PDF, french), which on p. 25 also included a strong statement on Intersex Genital Mutilations, referring to the recent UN reprimands to France secured in collaboration by StopIGM.org and French intersex advocates Vincent Guillot and Nadine Coquet (our translation):

«Stopping the surgeries and mutilations of intersex children

In 2016, France has been reprimanded three times for this issue by the UN: In January by the Committee on the Rights of the Child, in May by the Committee against Torture, and in July by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. Unless they are not imperative for medical reasons, these surgeries are mutilations and must stop.»

And when presenting the Mobilisation plan at the French government palace on 17 March, outgoing French president François Hollande did even one better by openly proposing a legal ban of IGM, earning him the biggest spontaneous applause of the whole presentation (video in french @ 12:09, our translation):

«I’m also thinking of the prohibition of surgical operations that intersex children are submitted to today, and which around the world are largely considered as mutilations.»

This strong statement by president Hollande was also highlighted in the French media, for example by “Yagg” (in french), and “Libération” even put it in the headline of their report (in french).

These are wonderful news from France! StopIGM.org extends a heartfelt thank-you to everyone who made this possible, to all who put their hands together for the remarkable applause during Hollande’s presentation, and to  Benjamin Moron-Puech for impeccably chronicling these developments (in french: one | two)!

Unfortunately, this still doesn’t mean all is well for intersex children in France: So far these strong statements are only words on paper and video still waiting to be translated into actual legislation, while the daily mutilations still continue. And there are also less positive official statements emerging from France, for example by the French Human Rights Defender (“Défenseur des droits”), who in a recent statement proposed (of all things!) the IGM perpetrators themselves should be tasked to investigate the situation (StopIGM.org reported, in french), or the lengthy recent report by the French “Senate delegation on women’s rights”, which leaves open a lot of questions (some of them addressed here in french) and regrettably seems to go down the same road as the German Ethics Council who in the end blocked out IGM survivors and their organisations in favour of IGM perpetrators and organised parents hellbent on submitting their intersex children to IGM … How much longer?!

“Let me give you a word of the philosophy of reform. The whole history of the progress of human liberty shows that all concessions yet made to her august claims have been born of earnest struggle. […] If there is no struggle there is no progress. Those who profess to favor freedom and yet deprecate agitation are men who want crops without plowing up the ground; they want rain without thunder and lightning. […] Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will.
– Frederick Douglass
, abolitionist and former slave, 3 August 1857

>>> There we go (1): EU condemns IGM, calls “to prevent, ban and prosecute”

See also:

23 UN Reprimands for IGM – and counting …
“Harmful Medical Practice”: UN, COE, ACHPR, IACHR condem IGM
UN Committee for the Rights of the Child (CRC) 2015: IGM = Harmful Practice
UN Committee against Torture (CAT) 2015: IGM = Inhuman Treatment or Torture
UN Human Rights Committee (HRCttee) to examine IGM Practices
UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) condemns IGM
56th Session of Committee against Torture reprimands 4 Governments for IGM
CAT 2011: Germany must investigate IGM practices and compensate survivors!

Intersex Genital Mutilations in France: 2015 CRC Report 
Human Rights Violations Of Children With Variations Of Sex Anatomy
IGM – Most Common Forms  What is Intersex?  Harmful Practice
>>>  Download (PDF 3.41 MB)

UN-CRC réprimande la France: MGI = “Pratique Préjudiciable” + “Violence”
 La Ministre Bloque et Detourne – Transcriptions des Questions et Réponses MGI  

Intersex Genital Mutilations in France: 2016 CAT Report 
Human Rights Violations Of Persons With Variations Of Sex Anatomy
IGM – Most Common Forms  What is Intersex?  Inhuman Treatment
>>>  Download (PDF 3.71 MB)

UN-CAT réprimande la France: MGI = “Traitement Inhumain” + “Torture”
Le Comité de l’ ONU contre la Torture questionne la France sur les MGI – Transcriptions

2016 CEDAW France NGO Intersex IGMIGM Practices in France: 2016 CEDAW Report 
Human Rights Violations Of Persons With Variations Of Sex Anatomy
IGM – Most Common Forms  What is Intersex?  Harmful Practice
>>>  Download (PDF 2.69 MB)

UN-CEDAW réprimande la France – pour la 3e fois: MGI = “Pratique préjudiciable”
Transcription: La France questionnée sur les Mutilations Génitales Intersexes par CEDAW

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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

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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

>>> Download PDF (831kb)

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