10.01.2013 - The Parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) condemns sexual mutilation including male circumcision (updated 10.21.2015)

After consulting specialists of circumcision, the Parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe took the following Resolution on "Children's right to physical integrity:

http://www.assembly.coe.int/nw/xml/XRef/Xref-DocDetails-EN.asp?FileID=20174&lang=EN

Paragraph 2 says:

"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, amongst others, female genital mutilation, the circumcision of young boys for religious reasons,..."

The Assembly having no power, pagragraph 7 states:

"The Assembly therefore calls on member States to:...

7.5. take the following measures with regard to specific categories of violation of children’s physical

integrity:..."

and 7.5.2 says: "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..."