Strasbourg, 29/01/2014 (Agence Europe) - A hearing was held at the Council of Europe on the subject of circumcision, following the debates in the wake of the report on “Children's right to physical integrity”. Eventually, a report on the issue of the limits of the freedom of religion could be considered.
It is an understatement to say that the resolution and recommendation on “Children's right to physical integrity” adopted by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in October of last year has made waves (see EUROPE 10934). This is due to the text's reference to circumcision under the same heading as female genital mutilation or piercing. The affair gave rise to protests, mainly from Jewish communities, and a letter from the Israeli president, Shimon Peres, to the secretary general of the Strasbourg-based institution, Thorbjorn Jagland.
The matter is not over and a hearing was held on Tuesday 20 January by the committee on social affairs, health and sustainable development of the PACE. Expert scientists, Jewish and Muslim religious authorities and members of civil society gave their views at a session attended by the rapporteur on the text, Marlene Rupprecht. She stuck to the letter of what was adopted: a ban on circumcision has by no means been called for, it is a matter of raising the question of children's rights in these circumstances. “In any case”, she concluded, “we are awaiting the reaction of the committee of ministers”. Eventually, although this was not raised during the debates, the PACE is planning to launch another report, which would raise the more general question of the freedom of religion in the context of other liberties. Does it feed into potential conflicts? Where does it stop? The bureau of the PACE must determine whether there is the need for such a report to be written. If it is in favour, the procedure will take a number of months and will not conclude until the end of next year at the earliest. Between now and then, there are no indications that feelings will run less high, as the matter has travelled as far as the European Parliament, where Françoise Grossetête (EPP, France) expressed concern at the amalgamation between European Union and Council of Europe in the minds of the citizens. “The European Parliament has nothing to do with the unacceptable attacks made upon the practice of circumcision!”, she clarified, calling upon representatives of the Jewish community to acknowledge this. (VL/transl.fl)