Editing Circumcision and law (section)

== International law ==
=== Council of Europe ===
On 1 October 2013, the [[Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe]] adopted a non-binding resolution in which they state they are "particularly worried about a category of violation of the physical integrity of children", and included in this category "circumcision of young boys for religious reasons".<ref>Parliamentary Assembly, Council of Europe. [http://assembly.coe.int/nw/xml/XRef/X2H-Xref-ViewPDF.asp?FileID=20174&lang=en Children's Right to Physical Integrity] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131010015941/http://assembly.coe.int/nw/xml/XRef/X2H-Xref-ViewPDF.asp?FileID=20174&lang=en |date=10 October 2013 }}, Resolution 1952., Adopted at Strasbourg, Tuesday, 1 October 2013.</ref> On 7 October, [[Israel]]'s president [[Shimon Peres]] wrote a personal missive to the [[Secretary General of the Council of Europe]], [[Thorbjørn Jagland]], to stop the "ban",<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Winer |first1=Stuart |last2=staff |first2=T. O. I. |title=Peres appeals European threat to circumcision |url=http://www.timesofisrael.com/peres-appeals-european-threat-to-circumcision/ |access-date=2022-06-02 |website=www.timesofisrael.com |language=en-US}}</ref> arguing: "The Jewish communities across Europe would be greatly afflicted to see their cultural and religious freedom impeded upon by the Council of Europe, an institution devoted to the protection of these very rights." Two days later, Jagland clarified that the resolution was non-binding and that "Nothing in the body of our legally binding standards would lead us to put on equal footing the issue of female genital mutilation and the circumcision of young boys for religious reasons."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Lazar Berman and Elhanan Miller |date=9 October 2013 |title=Circumcision won't be banned in Europe, officials say |work=The Times of Israel |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/circumcision-wont-be-banned-in-europe-officials-say/ |url-status=live |access-date=25 February 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180225211030/https://www.timesofisrael.com/circumcision-wont-be-banned-in-europe-officials-say/ |archive-date=25 February 2018}}</ref>

=== European Union ===  
A study commissioned by the [[European Parliament Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs]] published in February 2013 stated that "Male circumcision for non-therapeutic reasons appears to be practiced with relative regularity and frequency throughout Europe," and said it was "the only scenario, among the topics discussed in the present chapter, in which the outcome of the balancing between the right to physical integrity and religious freedom is in favour of the latter." The study recommended that "the best interests of children should be paramount, while acknowledging the relevance of this practice for Muslims and Jews. Member States should ensure that circumcision of underage children is performed according to the medical profession's art and under conditions that do not put the health of minors at risk. The introduction of regulations by the Member States in order to set the conditions and the appropriate medical training for those called to perform it is warranted."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Arnaiz |display-authors=et al |date=February 2013 |title=Religious practice and observance in the EU Member States |url=http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/etudes/join/2013/474399/IPOL-LIBE_ET(2013)474399_EN.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171031210532/http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/etudes/join/2013/474399/IPOL-LIBE_ET(2013)474399_EN.pdf |archive-date=31 October 2017 |access-date=25 February 2018 |publisher=[[Secretariat of the European Parliament#Internal Policies|Directorate-General for Internal Policies]]}}</ref>

=== 2013 Nordic ombudsmen statement ===
On 30 September 2013, the children's ombudsmen of all five [[Nordic countries]] – [[Denmark]], [[Finland]], [[Iceland]], [[Norway]], and [[Sweden]] – together with the children's spokesperson from [[Greenland]] and representatives of associations of Nordic paediatricians and paediatric surgeons, gathered in [[Oslo]] to discuss the issue,<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.thelocal.se/20130928/50496/ |title='Circumcision breaches human rights of the child' |author= |work=The Local Sweden |date=28 September 2013 |access-date=12 October 2022}}</ref> and released a joint declaration proposing a ban on non-therapeutic circumcision of male minors:<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/is-male-circumcision-a-form-of-genital-mutilation/ |title=Is Male Circumcision a Form of Genital Mutilation? |author=Nadja Sayej |work=Vice |date=4 November 2013 |access-date=12 October 2022}}</ref><ref name="Nordic Ombudsmen 1">{{cite web | author=Nordic Association of Children's Ombudsmen |work=crin.org |title=Let the boys decide for themselves | url=https://www.crin.org/en/library/news-archive/male-circumcision-nordic-ombudspersons-seek-ban-non-therapeutic-male |date=30 September 2013 |access-date=27 October 2013 |archive-date=19 February 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140219031326/http://www.crin.org/en/library/news-archive/male-circumcision-nordic-ombudspersons-seek-ban-non-therapeutic-male }}</ref><ref name="Nordic Ombudsmen 2">{{Cite web |url=http://www.vl.no/samfunn/vil-la-gutter-bestemme-omskjaring-selv/ |title=Vil la gutter bestemme omskjæring selv |author=Lise Marit Kalstad |work=[[Vårt Land (Norwegian newspaper)|Vårt Land]] |date=2 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131004224140/http://www.vl.no/samfunn/vil-la-gutter-bestemme-omskjaring-selv/ |archive-date=4 October 2013 |lang=no}}</ref>

{{blockquote|'''Let boys decide for themselves whether or not they want to be circumcised'''
Circumcision without a medical indication on a person unable to provide informed consent conflicts with basic principles of medical ethics, particularly because the operation is irreversible, painful and may cause serious complications. There are no health-related reasons to circumcise young boys in the Nordic countries. Arguments that may argue in favour of circumcision in adult men are of little relevance to children in the Nordic area. Boys can make up their own minds about the operation when they get old enough to provide informed consent.

As ombudsmen for children and experts in children's health we consider circumcision of underage boys without a medical indication to be in conflict with the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child, article 12, about children's right to express their views about their own matters, and article 24, pt. 3, which says that children must be protected against traditional rituals that may be harmful to their health.

In 2013, the UN Human Rights Council has urged all states to end operations that compromise the integrity and dignity of children and are prejudicial to the health of both girls and boys. We consider it central that parental rights in this matter do not have precedence over children's right to bodily integrity. What is in children's best interest must always come first, even if this may limit an adult's right to carry out their religious or traditional rituals.

The Nordic ombudsmen for children and experts in children's health therefore want to work towards a situation, where a circumcision can only be performed, if a boy, who has reached the age and level of maturity required to understand necessary medical information, consents to the operation. We wish a respectful dialogue among all parties involved about how to best ensure boys' self determination with respect to circumcision. We also urge our governments to inform about children's rights and health-related risks and consequences of the operation. We ask the Nordic governments to take the necessary steps towards ensuring that boys get the right to decide for themselves whether or not they want to be circumcised.|author='Signed by Anne Lindboe, Norwegian ombudswoman for children; Fredrik Malmberg, Swedish ombudsman for children; Maria Kaisa Aula, Finnish ombudswoman for children; Per Larsen, Chairman of the Danish Children's Council; Margrét Maria Sigurdardóttir, Icelandic ombudswoman for children; Anja Chemnitz Larsen, Greenlandic Children's spokesperson, as well as by representatives of Nordic associations of pediatricians and pediatric surgeons.'}}