Gender identities
In Liechtenstein, it is currently not possible to enter a third gender that differs from the binary gender categories (male/female) in official documents and forms. This violates the human rights of non-binary and intersex persons. The VMR therefore calls for the legal requirements to be created for the introduction of a third gender category "diverse" in the Central Register of Persons and in all other registers and documents with gender information. This requires amendments to personal and company law as well as the introduction of a modern civil status law.
Transpersons who wish to change their gender entry currently only have limited legal options. Back in 2020, the VMR submitted recommendations to the government to strengthen the rights of LGBTIQA+, including the creation of a modern civil status law to ensure legal certainty for gender reassignment. Following a joint initiative by the VMR and the Flay association, the civil status office developed a guideline that ensures a uniform and human rights-compliant procedure, facilitates the application for a change of gender entry and makes the regulation more transparent. However, a legal basis is still required to ensure complete legal certainty for trans people.
Introduce a modern civil status law that makes it possible to enter a third gender category in the civil register and other official documents.
There is no data on children born intersex [refers to people who are born with physical sex characteristics (chromosomes, hormones, internal or external sex organs) that do not correspond to the medical or social norms of "male" or "female"]. Neither the number nor the availability of standardized medical advice for parents or treatment. International human rights bodies such as the UN Committee against Torture (CAT) and the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) criticize gender reassignment surgery that is carried out without medical necessity and without the free, informed consent of the persons concerned - including minors - as a serious interference with physical integrity and the right to self-determination. Such interventions violate, among other things, Art. 3 and Art. 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights and Art. 12 and 16 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. In order to assess the situation and develop human rights-compliant standards, the study on the situation of LGBTQIA+ in Liechtenstein recommended by the Council of Europe's Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) since 2018 should be urgently implemented and explicitly include the treatment of intersex people.
Prohibit sex reassignment surgery for children born intersex without medical necessity and without an informed decision and investigate the medical counseling and treatment practice of children born intersex as part of the planned study on the situation of LGBTIQA+.
