16 Dec. 2021 10:44 p.m.
A British activist lost a lawsuit in the UK Supreme Court on Wednesday against the government’s decision not to allow gender-neutral passports. Now the activist wants to go to the European Court of Human Rights.
British activist Christie Elan-Cane lost a trial in the UK’s highest court. Elan-Cane wanted to take action against the British government’s decision not to allow gender-neutral passports. The activist argued that the requirement that passport applicants state whether they are male or female was against human rights.
Elan-Cane, who has been campaigning for legal and social recognition for British people who want to identify as non-binary for years, said there should be an “X” option for applicants who do not identify as purely female or male .
However, a panel of judges unanimously dismissed this, stating that the gender of passport applicants was “a biographical detail that can be used to confirm their identity by comparing it with the submitted birth, adoption or gender recognition certificates and other official documents” .
the President of the Supreme Court Robert Reed said:
“It is therefore the gender recognized for legal purposes and recorded in these documents that is relevant.”
Reed added that no UK law recognizes a non-gender category and allowing such passport changes would leave the government without a coherent approach on the matter.
Some countries – including the United States, Canada, and Denmark – are already issuing or planning to allow passports with non-binary gender characteristics to accommodate those who consider themselves gender atypical.
Elan-Cane said the UK was “on the wrong side of history” and the case would now be brought to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.
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