ABSTRACT
United Nations (UN) officials recognize the importance of community involvement, and advocate including disabled persons in decision-making processes regarding community policy and programming. Community activists with The Intersex Society of North America (ISNA) and the Accord Alliance, along with supportive researchers and medical providers, have worked tirelessly to raise awareness regarding the concerns and experiences of intersex individuals. This chapter offers an assessment of the benefits and drawbacks of applying the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) to intersex human rights violations, and of framing intersex issues as disability issues. It concludes with a comparative consideration of disability, gender, and sexuality-based approaches to advancing intersex human rights. The UN has drawn attention to the mistreatment of intersex persons elsewhere, citing widespread "discrimination and medically unnecessary surgery" as well as hate violence against intersex rights activists. Intersex issues might alternatively be framed as issues of sex and gender.
