Argentina creates a national identity document for non-binary people

President ArgentinaAnd the Alberto FernandezOn Wednesday (21) announced a new National Identity Card (DNI) for non-binary people.

She said the goal of the DNI is to guarantee the right to a gender identity for people who do not recognize themselves as women or men.

“There are other identities besides men and women that must be respected,” Fernandez said during a press conference at the Casa Rosada Museum in Buenos Aires.

The new document defines the terms “x” in the gender field in the DNI and passports.

Fernandez said there are a thousand ways to love, to be loved and to be happy.

“What does it matter for a state to know the sexual orientation of its citizens?” He wondered, though, that gender identity and sexual orientation are two different things.

Minister for Women, Gender and Diversity Elizabeth Gomez Alcorta and Minister of the Interior Eduardo de Pedro and Fernandez handed over the first three non-bilateral documents during the event.

Gómez Alcorta said that implementing a non-binary DNI is “a measure aimed at building a more equal society, but also a more inclusive one”.

According to a statement from the presidential office, Argentina is the first country in Latin America to allow a different “gender” option in the DNI.

The statement said the new measure is in line with changes to identity documents in other countries, such as Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

The US State Department recently said it is working to add a non-binary gender option to passports.

Argentine citizens can correct their identity documents at the headquarters of the National Register of Persons or at any civil registry office. They must bring their birth certificate and current DNI.

Foreigners residing in Argentina can change their identity at the National Immigration Office.

(translated text, click here and read the original text in English).