that contradicts reports made to the Human Rights Commission. In October 2016, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child issued observations on practices in New Zealand, including recommendations to ensure "that no one is subjected to unnecessary medical or surgical treatment during infancy or childhood, guaranteeing the rights of children to bodily integrity, autonomy and self-determination". A 2016 Intersex Roundtable by the Human Rights Commission on genital "normalizing" surgeries found that there was a lack of political will to address surgeries, concerns with service delivery to parents and families, the development of legislative safeguards, and a need to test the right to bodily autonomy against the Bill of Rights Act. In March 2017, an Australian and Aotearoa/New Zealand community statement called for acknowledgement, an apology, and compensation for intersex people who have been subjected to "involuntary or coercive medical interventions". In July 2018, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women issued concluding observations on harmful practices, recommending that New Zealand adopt "clear legislative provisions explicitly prohibiting the performance of unnecessary surgical or other medical treatment on intersex children before they reach the legal age of consent". The Committee also called for the provision of redress, and counselling and support to families. Protection from discrimination The New Zealand Human Rights Commission noted in its 2004 report on the status of human rights in New Zealand that intersex people in New Zealand face discrimination in several aspects of their lives, however the law is unclear on the legal status of discrimination based on sex characteristics or intersex status. Currently, the Commission believes that the Human Rights Act 1993 may protect intersex persons under the laws preventing discrimination on the basis of sex, and the Bill of Rights Act 1990 may adequately recognize rights to bodily autonomy and refusal of medical treatment, but this has not been tested. Identification documents New Zealand passports are available with 'M', 'F' and 'X' sex descriptors for applicants of indeterminate sex. Passports with an 'X' descriptor were originally introduced for people transitioning gender. Birth certificates are available at birth showing "indeterminate" sex if it is not possible to assign a sex. In March 2017, an Australian and Aotearoa/New Zealand community statement called for an end to legal classification of sex, stating that legal third classifications, like binary classifications, were based on structural violence and failed to respect diversity and a "right to