UK adopts Council of Europe Recommendation for intersex people

5th November 2025

A step forward for intersex rights 

The UK is one of the 46 member States of the Council of Europe, which has adopted a new Recommendation to member states on equal rights for intersex persons (Recommendation CM/Rec(2025)7). Organisation Intersex International Europe (OII Europe) have described this as a watershed moment for intersex equality, as "the most comprehensive framework to date for protecting the human rights of intersex people across Europe".

The Recommendation provides clear guidance to governments in establishing laws and policies that prohibit non-consensual medical interventions and ensuring that any interventions on intersex children are postponed until they can decide for themselves. It also recommends providing equitable access to healthcare, as well as preventing violence, discrimination and exclusion of intersex persons across all areas of life.

We welcome that there is a specific recommendation for sport. Challenges identified in this area include exclusion and discrimination, breaches of bodily integrity, and a lack of effective remedy. Recommendation 23 deals with sport directly:  

Member States should, in consultation with civil society organisations, including intersex-led organisations, take effective measures to ensure that intersex persons can participate in sport at all levels, as appropriate, including professional sport, without any additional requirements, such as specific examinations or medical interventions on their sex characteristics. Member States can achieve this by:

a. ensuring that the framework conditions and, where appropriate, legal requirements necessary for the development of sports comply with human rights principles;

b. working with sports bodies to ensure their regulations comply with human rights principles, norms and standards, including when adopting and implementing eligibility rules for sports; and

c. ensuring that athletes have access to effective, human rights-compliant and accessible remedy mechanisms.