‘’Religious communities should be able to exercise the right to freedom of religion without impediment and without discrimination and to practise their faith publicly and freely in accordance with their own rites,’’ said the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in Strasbourg in a resolution that drops the idea of banning ritual male circumcision.

PACE is one of the two statutory organs of the Council of Europe, an international organisation dedicated to upholding human rights, democracy and the rule of law.It is made up of 318 parliamentarians from the national parliaments of the Council of Europe's 47 member states.It meets four times a year in Strasbourg.

Where circumcision of young boys is concerned, the Assembly stressed that “the child’s interest must be considered the first priority” and recommended that it must be practised by “a person with the requisite training and skill, in appropriate medical and health conditions”.

The resolution was adopted on the basis of a report by a parliamentarian from Azerbaidjan, Rafael Huseynov.

The resolution states that the parents ‘’must be informed of any potential medical risk or possible contraindications and take these into account.’’

In the text, the parliamentarians say they believe that legislation prohibiting ritual slaughter ‘’is not really necessary, or the most effective way of ensuring the protection of animals.’’

The resolution mentions the example of France and Germany, where legislation which imposes strict requirements reconciles the concern to protect animals from unjustified suffering with respect for the right to freedom of religion.

In 2013, PACE’s Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development Committee approved a resolution by German rapporteur Marlene Rupperecht stating that ritual circumcision, in addition to piercings, tattoos, plastic surgery, medical intervention in cases of possibly transgender children and female genital mutilation, violates children’s right to protect their physical integrity.

It also recommended that laws be passed “to ensure that certain operations and practices will not be carried out before a child is old enough to be consulted.” Jews perform ritual circumcision on boys when they are eight days old, and Muslims do so at the age of 13.

According to The Jerusalem Post, since the anti-circumcision resolution was passed, the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, has sent delegations of its members, Jewish and Muslim, to PACE and to the Council of Europe member states to enlist their European colleagues from other countries in the battle against the decision to ban ritual circumcision.