Human rights: Difference between revisions

The practice of non-therapeutic [[circumcision]], which is rooted in antiquity, predates recorded history, and was re-instituted in the 19th century for alleged medical reasons, predates the inauguration of the human rights era in 1945. The advent of and recognition of human rights for all (including patients) has profoundly altered medical ethics and the acceptability of non-therapeutic child circumcision.<ref>{{REFweb

Children, unlike adults, possess two sets of human rights.<ref>{{REFjournal

}}</ref> [[UNICEF]] says:

  |publisher=[[UNICEF]]

The General Assembly of the United Nations, acting to fulfill its obligations under the Charter, adopted the ''[[Universal Declaration of Human Rights]]'' (UDHR) in 1948.<ref name="udhr1948">{{REFdocument

The General Assembly adopted the ''[[International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights]]'' (ICCPR) in 1967.<ref name="iccpr1967">{{REFdocument

The General Assembly adopted the ''Convention on the Rights of the Child'' ([[UN-CRC]]) in 1989 (Twenty-two years later). The [[UN-CRC]] does not include certain rights of children that were already protected by the [[ICCPR]].

== Application of the ICCPR to non-therapeutic circumcision of children ==

''See [[International_Covenant_on_Civil_and_Political_Rights#Application_of_the_ICCPR_to_non-therapeutic_circumcision_of_children|ICCPR: Application of the ICCPR to non-therapeutic circumcision of children]].''

The General Assembly of the United Nations adopted the ''Convention on the Rights of the Child'' ([[UN-CRC]]) on 20 November 1989.<ref name="crc1989">{{REFdocument

}}</ref> The [[UN-CRC]] does not replace the [[ICCPR]], which had been previously adopted by the General Assembly. The [[ICCPR]] already provides certain rights to children. The [[UN-CRC]] adds additional rights that children need for protection due to their immaturity and vulnerability. The two documents must be read together to receive the complete picture. Unfortunately, many seem to believe that rights provided by the [[UN-CRC]] are the only human rights of children, but that view is incorrect.

Male circumcision always results in the permanent and irreversible loss of the [[foreskin]], a structure with protective, immunological, sexual, and sensory functions. The  loss of the protective and immunological functions are harmful to physical health. The loss of the sensory and sexual functions are harmful to [[https://en.intactiwiki.org/index.php/Sexual_effects_of_circumcision| sexual]] and [[Psychological issues of male circumcision| mental]] health. We have long known that non-therapeutic circumcision of children sometimes results in [[death]]. [[Douglas Gairdner]] (1949) reported circumcision caused  nineteen deaths in England and Wales in 1946.<ref name="fate1949">{{GairdnerDM 1949}}</ref> Bollinger (2010) estimated the circumcision-related mortality rate of 0.9/100,000 circumcisions (more than 100 deaths) per year in the United States.<ref name="bollinger2010">{{BollingerD 2010}}</ref>

In addition to possible death, [[bleeding]], infection, and surgical misadventure that may result in various injuries, including loss of the penis are more common occurences.

The religious rights of the child are often overlooked. The religious rights of the child are enunciated by Article 18 of the [[ICCPR]] and also by the [[UN-CRC]] Article 14. The right to modify or not modify one's body in accordance with one's religious views is a human right. That right belongs to the individual and no one else. A decision by a parent to circumcise a child tramples on the child's religious rights, so no decision should be taken until the child is of age to decide for himself.

The Congress of the United States of America, therefore, historically has been protective of the sovereign rights of the United States and reluctant to surrender them by treaty. The [[ICCPR]] and the [[UN-CRC]] are multi-lateral treaties.

The United States Senate ratified the [[ICCPR]] in 1992, but it doing so, it took an extraordinary number of reservations, understandings, and declarations. With these reservations, the [[ICCPR]] does not provide a cause for action in United States courts.<ref>{{REFdocument

  |publisher={{UNI|Northwestern University|NWU}} Journal of International Human Rights

}}</ref> The effect is to render the [[ICCPR]] toothless in the United States.

Madeleine Albright, then ambassador to the United Nations, signed the [[UN-CRC]] on behalf of the United States on 16 February 1995. The [[UN-CRC]], however, is at variance with United States law, so it has never been submitted to the Senate of the United States for ratification. The [[United States of America]] is the only country in the world that is not a state-party to the [[UN-CRC]], so the [[UN-CRC]] has only moral authority in the United States.

The [[Declaration of Helsinki (2012)]] declared the ''right of [[genital autonomy]]'', which derives from the right of every human being to ''security of person''.  Svoboda (2015) reports there now is an emerging consensus that a decision to perform a non-therapeutic circumcision should be deferred until the child is of age and can decide for himself about having an [[amputation]] of his [[foreskin]].<ref name="svoboda2015">{{REFjournal

* [http://semantic-pace.net/tools/pdf.aspxdoc=aHR0cDovL2Fzc2VtYmx5LmNvZS5pbnQvbncveG1sL1hSZWYvWDJILURXLWV4dHIuYXNwP2ZpbGVpZD0yMDE3NCZsYW5nPUVO&xsl=aHR0cDovL2Fzc2VtYmx5LmNvZS5pbnQvbncveG1sL3hzbC1mby9QZGYvWFJlZi1XRC1BVC1YTUwyUERGLnhzbA==&xsltparams=ZmlsZWlkPTIwMTc0 Children's Right to Physical Integrity (2013)], Resolution 1952 of the Council of Europe.

  |publisher=[[Doctors Opposing Circumcision (D.O.C.)]]

[[de:Menschenrechte]]