ensure that the child is protected against all forms of discrimination or punishment on the basis of the status, activities, expressed opinions, or beliefs of the child's parents, legal guardians, or family members”. This article may be invoked in respect of both the discrimination faced by children and that faced by their lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender parents. In addition to the State’s obligation to respect and protect the rights of all citizens, the ACJ noted in particular the obligation of States under the Convention on the Rights of the Child with regard to health, education, participation and information. With regard to the former, Article 24 requires that States develop preventive health care, guidance for parents and family planning education and services. The obligation extends to the provision of health related information on sex and sexuality. 95 In considering the ‘best interests of the child’ in that context, the CRC has expressly referred to the State’s obligation to provide adequate information and support to homosexual and transsexual young people. 96 A further issue of particular concern to transgender and intersex children is that of formal recognition of gender identity. In this regard, the Yogyakarta Principles requires States to “take all necessary legislative, administrative and other measures to ensure that no child’s body is irreversibly altered by medical procedures in an attempt to impose a gender identity without the full, free and informed consent of the child in accordance with the age and maturity of the child and guided by the principle that in all actions concerning children, the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration”. 97 Such an approach has been evident in recent judgements from the Americas, which have supported the child’s right to self-determine their gender identity and prohibited the imposition of irreversible medical procedures in the absence of the child’s consent. 98 95 General Comment No.3 of the Committee on the Rights of the Child’s states: effective HIV/AIDS prevention requires States to refrain from censoring, withholding or intentionally misrepresenting health-related information, including sexual education and information, and that, consistent with their obligations to ensure the right to life, survival and development of the child (art. 6), States parties must ensure that children have the ability to acquire the knowledge and skills to protect themselves and others as they begin to express their sexuality. 96 Concluding observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. 09/10/2002. CRC/C/15/Add.188. Para 43 – 44 97 Yogyakarta Principles, Principle 18.2. Available at: www.yogyakartaprinciples.org/ Last accessed 14 June 2010. 98 An Argentinean court recognised a minor’s right to change her sexual identity, ruling in favour of a minor’s wish to have a sex change operation and to amend her identity card and birth certificate accordingly. In October 2008, the Constitutional Court of Colombia protected the right of a five-year-old hermaphrodite to decide his/her sex. The judgment was made against the family’s wish to submit the child to an operation which would remove the child’s genitalia. Reported at: www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=19896. Last accessed 25 August 2010. ACJ Report: Human Rights, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity 31