Alexander Bachl, Speaker of the working group of men affected by circumcision within MOGiS e.V.:
We, the negatively affected by circumcision, celebrate the anniversary of the ground-breaking judgement by the cologne regional court as an appeal for inalienable rights of all children worldwide to bodily and sexual self-determination. This naturally includes the right to unharmed, intact genitalia. Children's right are to be protected - instead, they are degraded to serve as political negotiation items. No adult is to utilize children's genitalia as means to fulfil their own needs - noone, never and for no reason at all.
Christa Müller, Chairwoman of (I)ntact - International Action against the circumcision of girls and women e.V.:
Forced male circumcision is, like female genital mutilation, a violation of the right to bodily integrity. Being a human right, it has to apply to boys and girls worldwide without exemptions. Neither religious, nor social or cultural convictions may justify the amputation of the male foreskin or the female clitoris or labia. The newly introduced German statutory offense regarding female genital mutilation suggests a treacherous security! As long as comparable forms of amputation of male children's genital parts are legal and even integrated into personal custody, the protection of girls will remain assailable and unrealisable as a worldwide standard. Children's right are only to be had applying universally, and not separated by gender.
Dr. Wolfram Hartmann, President of the professional association of paediatricians (BVKJ):
This debate is solely about the basic rights of all children to physical and psychological integrity, as stated in the United Nations convention on the rights of the child. Also, the doctor's declaration of Geneva prohibits non-medically indicated intervention on minors. Removal of the foreskin is irreversible and, despite the claims of the advocates of an early circumcision, there are men that suffer from the late-effects of circumcision, both physically and psychologically. There are, as has been thoroughly documented, complications in circumcisions on a regular basis, even if they were performed lege artis by medical doctors.
John V. Geisheker, J.D., LL.M., Attorney at Law, Executive Director & General Counsel, DoctorsOpposingCircumcision.org, Seattle, Washington, USA:
„I extend the greetings and heartfelt thanks of the world-wide members of *DoctorsOpposing Circumcision*. We enthusiastically salute your celebration of the anniversary of the *Cologne* decision, an early and much needed judicial voice favoring the rights of the child to an intact body and his own religious preference. We are delighted to see that our European colleagues continue to campaign to protect children from prejudicial traditional practices and medical greed. Perhaps in our lifetimes we will know a moment when every male child, like every female, is able to keep normal, healthy, functional genitalia, without interference.Your work helps to invigorate the movement for child rights in the USA, where there are still ONE MILLION boy-victims of genital reduction each year. We need your help over here!“
Marilyn Fayre Milos, RN Executive Director, National Organization of Circumcision Information Resource Centers (NOCIRC) Co-founder, International Symposia on Genital Autonomy and Children's Rights www.nocirc.org www.GenitalAutonomy.org www.IntactAmerica.org
„I am honored to have been invited by MOGIS e.V. and Pro-familia Nordrhein-Westfalen to attend Genitale Autonomie on 6 May and the 2nd Anniversary of the Cologne Judgment on Worldwide Day of Genital Autonomy on 7 May. The ruling clearly acknowledged the harm of male genital cutting and the right of all children to self-determination about their own bodies, regardless of parental personal, cultural, or religious preferences. While I cannot attend your important celebration, I shall be with you in spirit and applaud your efforts from afar! Your acknowledgment of the ruling will continue to educate people about the importance of respecting the genital autonomy rights of infants and children worldwide. You have my best wishes for a successful event.“
Victor Schiering, working group of men affected by circumcision within MOGiS e.V.:
The cologne judges have made it clear that boys and men also have a right to intact, unharmed sexual organs. The genital discrimination passed as a law by the German Bundestag however demonstrates a paternalistic view of the man, based on tabooing of fear, compulsion and the endurance of injury and pain. Those negatively affected instantly need to be granted the right to enforce legal action against those responsible for the execution of the operation, should they suffer from the late-effects of a non-medically indicated foreskin amputation without their consent later in life. The final goal, however, can only be the equal protection of all children's bodily and sexual integrity alike, as stated in the UN convention on the rights of the child.
Dr. Jerome Segal (University Vienna and Paris-Sorbonne)
Unfortunately, in the name of alleged tolerance and cosmopolitanism, one willingly put universal children's rights in jeopardy. The necessary commemoration of unspeakable crimes committed in the name of Germany may never be done at the price of the rights of today's children.
Dr. Christoph Kupferschmid - Board Member of BVKJ - professional association of paediatricians - and DAKJ - German academy for child and youth medicine
The foreskin fulfils bodily functions, that are irreversibly lost after circumcision. Parents should not be allowed to decide about this without medical indication. Each year, in Germany as elsewhere, little boys are subjected to danger or permanently injured by circumcisions that are not necessary.