Print
See related documents
Resolution 1952 (2013) Final version
Children’s right to physical integrity
1. Many legislative and policy measures
have been taken by Council of Europe member States in recent decades
to improve the well-being of children and their protection against
any form of violence. Nevertheless, children continue to be harmed
in many different contexts.
2. The Parliamentary Assembly is particularly worried about a
category of violation of the physical integrity of children, which
supporters of the procedures tend to present as beneficial to the
children themselves despite clear evidence to the contrary. This
includes, among others, female genital mutilation, the circumcision
of young boys for religious reasons, early childhood medical interventions
in the case of intersex children, and the submission to, or coercion
of, children into piercings, tattoos or plastic surgery.
3. According to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of
the Child (UNCRC), in all actions concerning children, comprising
every person under 18, “whether undertaken by public or private
social welfare institutions, courts of law, administrative authorities
or legislative bodies, the best interests of the child shall be a
primary consideration” (Article 3) and States are required to take
“all appropriate ... measures to protect the child from all forms
of physical or mental violence, injury or abuse ... while in the
care of parent(s), legal guardian(s) or any other person who has
the care of the child” (Article 19).
4. The Council of Europe has been actively promoting children's
rights and child protection since 2006 through its Strategy for
the Rights of the Child, in which “Eliminating all forms of violence
against children” is one of four strategic objectives.
5. The Assembly itself has adopted numerous texts drawing attention
to various forms of violence inflicted upon children in bad faith
(sexual violence in different contexts, violence in schools, domestic
violence, etc.). It continues to fight against different forms of
violence inflicted upon children via different promotional activities and
campaigns (domestic violence, sexual violence). However, it has
never looked into the category of non-medically justified violations
of children’s physical integrity which may have a long-lasting impact
on their lives.
6. The Assembly strongly recommends that member States promote
further awareness in their societies of the potential risks that
some of the above-mentioned procedures may have on children's physical
and mental health, and take legislative and policy measures that
help reinforce child protection in this context.
7. The Assembly therefore calls on member States to:
7.1. examine the prevalence of different
categories of non-medically justified operations and interventions
impacting on the physical integrity of children in their respective
countries, as well as the specific practices related to them, and
to carefully consider them in light of the best interests of the
child in order to define specific lines of action for each of them;
7.2. initiate focused awareness-raising measures for each of
these categories of violation of the physical integrity of children,
to be carried out in the specific contexts where information may
best be conveyed to families, such as the medical sector (hospitals
and individual practitioners), schools, religious communities or
service providers;
7.3. provide specific training, including on the risks of and
alternatives to certain procedures, as well as the medical reasons
and minimum sanitary conditions that should be fulfilled when performing
them, to various professionals involved, in particular medical and
educational staff, but also, on a voluntary basis, religious representatives;
7.4. initiate a public debate, including intercultural and
interreligious dialogue, aimed at reaching a large consensus on
the rights of children to protection against violations of their
physical integrity according to human rights standards;
7.5. take the following measures with regard to specific categories
of violation of children’s physical integrity:
7.5.1. publicly
condemn the most harmful practices, such as female genital mutilation,
and pass legislation banning these, thus providing public authorities
with the mechanisms to prevent and effectively fight these practices,
including through the application of extraterritorial “legislative or
other measures to establish jurisdiction” for cases where nationals
are submitted to female genital mutilation abroad, as specified
in Article 44 of the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing
and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (CETS
No. 210);
7.5.2. clearly define the medical, sanitary and other conditions
to be ensured for practices which are today widely carried out in
certain religious communities, such as the non-medically justified
circumcision of young boys;
7.5.3. undertake further research to increase knowledge about
the specific situation of intersex people, ensure that no-one is
subjected to unnecessary medical or surgical treatment that is cosmetic
rather than vital for health during infancy or childhood, guarantee
bodily integrity, autonomy and self-determination to persons concerned,
and provide families with intersex children with adequate counselling
and support;
7.6. promote interdisciplinary dialogue between representatives
of various professions, including medical doctors and religious
representatives, so as to overcome some of the prevailing traditional methods
which do not take into consideration the best interest of the child
and the latest medical techniques.
7.7. raise awareness about the need to ensure the participation
of children in decisions concerning their physical integrity wherever
appropriate and possible, and to adopt specific legal provisions
to ensure that certain operations and practices will not be carried
out before a child is old enough to be consulted.