United Nations adopts historic, first-ever resolution on rights of intersex people

The United Nations’ Human Rights Council has adopted a resolution supporting the rights of intersex people, the first time it has done so.

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.”

It expresses “grave concern” about harmful practices, including “medically unnecessary or deferrable interventions, which may be irreversible, with respect to 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 asks the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights to prepare a report on the discrimination, violence, and harmful practices to which intersex people are subjected, their root causes, and what best practices would be for this population. The report will be discussed at the Human Rights Council in September 2025. It also encourages nations “to work to realize the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health for persons with innate variations in sex characteristics.”

About 1.7 percent of people are born with variations in sex characteristics, known as intersex trait, Human Rights Watch notes. Since the 1950s, doctors have performed “normalizing” surgeries on these people, which “are irreversible, risky, and medically unnecessary,” says a press release from the group.

“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.

A coalition of 35 civil society organizations from around the world issued a statement praising the resolution. “This resolution marks yet another milestone in how international bodies are looking at the rights of intersex persons,” the statement says. “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 resolution was brought by Finland, South Africa, Chile, and Australia. A majority of states, including the U.S., voted for it, and none voted against it.