A/HRC/47/27
Preamble
1.
The activities carried out by the Independent Expert in the period from 1 May 2020
to 30 April 2021, which include dozens of consultations, hundreds of virtual events and
thousands of interactions with States, civil society organizations, global and regional entities
and persons with lived experiences, are included as annex 1 to the present report.
2.
All the activities described, as well as the present thematic report, have been carried
out under the omnipresent shadow of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, which
at the time of writing has taken more than 3 million human lives and impacted all of
humankind. If we are to learn the lessons as we build back better, one thing that we must do
is not to pretend that any of this work has been carried out under business as usual: the
Independent Expert wishes to place on record that the extraordinary support of all
stakeholders speaks to the vital relevance of the issue addressed by this mandate and to the
dedication of Member States and civil society to addressing violence and discrimination on
the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. Every meeting, conversation and
submission has been considered with the understanding that behind their preparation there
was a human being who, in addition to the already taxing task of defence and promotion of
human rights, likely faced exhaustion and anguish resulting, among other things, from
employment and financial uncertainty, health concerns, and the loss of loved ones. The same
applies to the dedicated teams supporting the mandate at the Office of the United Nations
High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and supporting the Independent Expert at
the Harvard Law School Human Rights Program, as well as to OHCHR and United Nations
administrative personnel, editors, translators, experts and managers; it is only thanks to the
strength of their resolve that this work has continued. The Independent Expert is indebted to
all of them for their significant contribution throughout these most challenging of times.
I. Introduction
3.
The notion that there is a gender norm, from which identities and expressions vary or
depart, is based on a series of preconceptions that must be challenged if all humankind is to
enjoy human rights. Among these misconceptions is the idea that it is a legitimate societal
objective that persons adopt roles, forms of expression and behaviours that are considered
entitlements or burdens according to their sex assigned at birth. Only by acknowledging the
stereotypes, power asymmetries, inequality and fundamental violence that lies at the
foundation of this system does the State comply with its obligation to address the violence
and discrimination that it fuels, with its harrowing impact on women and girls in every corner
of the world, including lesbian, bisexual and trans women; on gay, bisexual and trans persons;
on other gender-diverse persons; and on intersex persons.
4.
The thematic work on gender theory carried out under the mandate is thus an integral
part of the Independent Expert’s research agenda under Human Rights Council resolutions
32/2 and 41/18. This research process included a literature review, and a call for inputs, in
response to which 529 submissions were received, including 42 submissions from State
entities, from all regions, and 484 contributions from non-State stakeholders, including 202
from organizations and 282 from individuals.1 The Independent Expert is humbled by this
highly participatory process: in total, he received specific information concerning 88 United
Nations Member States, covering all geographic regions and a significant proportion of the
populations, cultures, legal traditions and religions of the world. All receivable and nonconfidential submissions will be published on the web page for the mandate.2
5.
A comparatively small number of other submissions were hateful or contained hate
speech and were excluded ad portas. They will not be part of any publication sponsored by
the mandate holder.
1
2
2
Statistical information is available at
www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/SexualOrientationGender/Pages/ReportGenderTheory.aspx.
Submissions to the Independent Expert will be available at
www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/SexualOrientationGender/Pages/ReportGenderTheory.aspx.