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7 recommendations from intersex advocates to guide inclusive change
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April 16, 2025
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Reflecting on the landmark Human Rights Council resolution and the work it took to get there, intersex advocates share lessons learnt that can guide social justice movements pushing for change
In April 2024, something truly transformative happened at the United Nations: the Human Rights Council adopted its first-ever resolution specifically addressing discrimination, violence, and harmful practices against persons with innate variations in sex characteristics.
Getting to this point hasn’t been easy. It took ten years of constant advocacy work for civil society to go from a two-day conference hosted by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in 2015 to the first internationally agreed document defining what is meant by the term “intersex”.
And still, as they were close to this historic milestone, activists had to sit through difficult conversations with representatives from a few UN member states telling them that their bodies are “not an appropriate issue to be addressed at the Human Rights Council.”
Luckily, and most appropriately, the intergovernmental human rights body of the United Nations thought otherwise.
The intersex resolution
The resolution – brought by Finland, South Africa, Chile, and Australia, and passed with no one voting against it – encouraged States to “work to realise the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health” for intersex people. It also requested the Office of the High Commissioner to prepare a report – to be discussed at the Human Rights Council in September 2025 – examining “discriminatory laws and policies, acts of violence and harmful practices, in all regions of the world,” and looking at “best practices including legal protection and remedies” for persons with innate variations in sex characteristics.
The role of civil society in the intersex resolution
While not legally binding, Human Rights Council resolutions build on the findings of expert-led mechanisms and advance international human rights standards. Often, these advances would not happen without the tireless work of human rights organisations, speaking up from the grassroots to the United Nations.
The States of the Core Group, which presented the intersex resolution, commended civil society's role and the open and frank dialogue it provided throughout the process.
“The contacts with intersex defenders cross-regionally were an essential part in assuring that the resolution addresses the challenges intersex persons face,” they said. “The Core Group sees the resolution adopted in April 2024 as a landmark step in advancing the rights of intersex persons and raising awareness worldwide. The excellent vote result, with no state voting against the resolution, gives a solid base nationally, regionally, and globally to continue the work against discrimination and violence that intersex persons face. The report commissioned by the resolution will be a key milestone to further deepen understanding and combat human rights violations that intersex persons are subject to.”
A report to look back and guide steps ahead
One year after this historic resolution, organisations worldwide have released a new report summarising ten years of advocacy on intersex people’s human rights in United Nations spaces and explaining what steps lie ahead.
The publication contains practical recommendations and examples on how this resolution can inform the work of activists both at the national level and in global fora. This is especially relevant at a time when the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights is preparing the first-ever official United Nations publication to address the human rights situation of persons with innate variations in sex characteristics, which will be presented in September 2025.
In this report, organisations address how
- to navigate polarisation in multilateral spaces
- civil society can engage with UN missions and bodies
- civil society participation is hampered by structural barriers
and recommend UN member States, donors, and civil society to
- enhance multilateral dialogue and cooperation
- protect civic space and civil society access to the UN, including by hybrid modalities
- commit to sustained human rights advocacy
- invest in strategies to engage with States having divergent views
- increase funding for civil society organisations
- boost cross-movement and intersectional support
- promote hybrid modalities for participation
These recommendations are relevant not only to intersex activists and organisations, but also for every social justice movement that continues pushing for change — especially during such polarising and contentious times.
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