The United Nations Human Rights Committee in Geneva has requested that the Irish government address current areas of inaction on human rights issues. In total, 19 recommendations have been included in the committee's concluding observations to ensure that Ireland is compliant with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Prominent among these was the call to introduce a regime controlling suspected rendition flights through Irish airports. While noting the establishment of the Crisis Pregnancy Agency, the Committee expressed concern with the highly restrictive circumstances under which women can have an abortion in the State.
While many might argue that the recommendations by the Committee are an attempt to interfere in the sovereignty of the State, by and large they were quite sensible. However, one recommendation that I still find difficulty wrapping my head around is the criticism that the State does not allow for revised birth certificates following a change of gender by transgender persons. The recommendation for a change would see a person born of either gender being given the right to change the gender recorded on their birth certificate, indicating that they had in fact been born of the opposite gender!
Surely, a birth certificate should never be modified as it records that individual as they are when born. A man may feel like a woman all his/her/their life but does not change the fact that he/she/they were born a man. It is, in essence, rewriting history! A transgender person has the opportunity to chart an unwritten future upon their gender transformation having left behind their previous gender. But to imagine the past has never existed is wishful thinking at best.
There are times when I feel that certain proponents of 'liberal' thinking are perhaps pushing the boundaries of sanity, at least 'sensible' thinking (whatever that might be!).
In a day of bizarre stories concerning childhood's one may wish to forget, Talula Does The Hula provides us with just one more story.
Friday, July 25, 2008
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3 comments:
The UN is a defunct organization and countries would be better advised just to ignore it. I agree that the proposal you point out is just plain dumb. This takes us beyond the point of individual rights into the realm of stupidity.
The reason that transgender want to have the right to change their gender on their birth cert is simple. If applying for a job/morgage etc, and these documents are requested, you should nothave to disclose that you were born a different gender. it is a way to protect themselves from prejudice that will more ofen than not, be shown in this country. In for a penny, in for a pound, if you're going to recognise gender change, then you should let them make a complete change and move on with their lives. Its not harming anyone and it makes thier life easier.
That being said, i think the UN should be focusing less on irish gender politics and more on the blatent, disgusting violation of human right in Zimbabwe. At most, 100 people here are effected by this birth cert thing, as opposed to MILLIONS of people in zimbabwe, beaten, raped and murdered all so a dictator can claim a legitimate presidency.
Transgender is a ridiculous issue, it has no bearing on human rights. You are born what you are born. Its just the way it is. If you are transgender you do not change from being a man or a woman. A bigger issue would be abortion, the right to choose. Bigger still would be the social issues that affect Ireland's poor, Homeless people on streets, child abuse and drug addiction. Ireland needs to look at itself before it looks to help other countries. However insular that sounds, it makes sense. With economic downturn looming we need to look after our own before we start looking to help the need yof the world.
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