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Implementation of article 2 by States parties 2008, para. 21
- Paragraph text
- The protection of certain minority or marginalized individuals or populations especially at risk of torture is a part of the obligation to prevent torture or ill-treatment. States parties must ensure that, insofar as the obligations arising under the Convention are concerned, their laws are in practice applied to all persons, regardless of race, colour, ethnicity, age, religious belief or affiliation, political or other opinion, national or social origin, gender, sexual orientation, transgender identity, mental or other disability, health status, economic or indigenous status, reason for which the person is detained, including persons accused of political offences or terrorist acts, asylum-seekers, refugees or others under international protection, or any other status or adverse distinction. States parties should, therefore, ensure the protection of members of groups especially at risk of being tortured, by fully prosecuting and punishing all acts of violence and abuse against these individuals and ensuring implementation of other positive measures of prevention and protection, including but not limited to those outlined above.
- Body
- Committee against Torture
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- LGBTQI+
- Year
- 2008
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Article 9: Liberty and security of person 2014, para. 3
- Paragraph text
- Liberty of person concerns freedom from confinement of the body, not a general freedom of action. Security of person concerns freedom from injury to the body and the mind, or bodily and mental integrity, as further discussed in paragraph 9 below. Article 9 guarantees those rights to everyone. "Everyone" includes, among others, girls and boys, soldiers, persons with disabilities, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons, aliens, refugees and asylum seekers, stateless persons, migrant workers, persons convicted of crime, and persons who have engaged in terrorist activity.
- Body
- Human Rights Committee
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Girls
- LGBTQI+
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Gender perspectives on torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment 2016, para. 38
- Paragraph text
- Adequate and effective complaint and oversight mechanisms are critical sources of protection for at-risk groups that experience abuses in detention. All too often proper safeguards are absent or lacking in independence and impartiality, while fear of reprisals and the stigma associated with reporting sexual violence and other humiliating practices discourage women, girls, and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons from reporting. In many cases, the vulnerability and isolation of women and girls is compounded by limited access to legal representation, inability to pay fees or bail as a result of poverty, dependence on male relatives for financial support and fewer family visits.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Poverty
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- LGBTQI+
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Gender perspectives on torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment 2016, para. 70e
- Paragraph text
- [With regard to women, girls, and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons in detention, the Special Rapporteur calls on all States to:] Divert women and girls away from the criminal justice system and towards appropriate services and programmes, whenever appropriate, and implement alternatives to detention such as absolute or conditional discharge, verbal sanctions, arbitrated settlements, restitution to the victim or a compensation order, community service orders, victim-offender mediation, family group conferences, sentencing circles, drug rehabilitation programmes and other restorative processes, services and programmes;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- LGBTQI+
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Challenges faced by groups most at risk when exercising or seeking to exercise the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and/or of association 2014, para. 18
- Paragraph text
- [Various international law instruments point to particular principles and measures that States should adopt in order to achieve non-discrimination and equality. For example, States should:] Protect people from homophobic and transphobic violence, prevent torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity and also prohibit discrimination on those grounds, repeal laws criminalizing homosexuality, safeguard the freedoms of expression, association and peaceful assembly for LGBTI people and recognize the rights of LGBTI people to enjoy or exercise, on an equal basis with others, all human rights and fundamental freedoms (A/HRC/19/41);
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- LGBTQI+
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Challenges faced by groups most at risk when exercising or seeking to exercise the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and/or of association 2014, para. 30
- Paragraph text
- Some of the most prominent examples include "public morality" laws that have been used selectively against those promoting LGBTI rights. In June 2013, the President of the Russian Federation signed legislation banning "propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations" among minors. There is no legal definition in the Russian law of what constitutes non-traditional sexual relations, but it is widely acknowledged to be code for homosexual relations. While legislators have argued that the main purpose of the law is to protect children, the Committee on the Rights of the Child expressed concern at the law and recommended its repeal, as it found that it encouraged the stigmatization and discrimination of LGBTI children and the targeting and persecution of the LGBTI community (CRC/C/RUS/CO/4-5, para. 25).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- LGBTQI+
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Right to health and criminalization of same-sex conduct and sexual orientation, sex-work and HIV transmission 2010, para. 11
- Paragraph text
- The European Court of Human Rights has held that discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity is in violation of human rights. In 1981, in Dudgeon v. United Kingdom, the European Court of Human Rights determined that the criminalization of private homosexual acts constituted an unjustified interference with the right to privacy enshrined within article 8 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. The United Nations Human Rights Committee in Toonen v. Australia subsequently ruled that "sex" discrimination includes discrimination based upon sexual orientation, noting that criminalization was not a reasonable measure to prevent spread of HIV/AIDS. In S.L. v. Austria, the European Court of Human Rights also held that differences in the treatment of heterosexual and homosexual populations based on age of consent had no objective and reasonable justification, and was therefore discriminatory.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- LGBTQI+
- Year
- 2010
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Right to health and criminalization of same-sex conduct and sexual orientation, sex-work and HIV transmission 2010, para. 12
- Paragraph text
- A number of States now prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, following judicial decisions or the introduction of legislation concerning this issue. In the landmark 1998 case National Coalition for Gay and Lesbian Equality and another v. Minister of Justice and others, the South African Constitutional Court struck down three separate sodomy laws, noting the right of all people to dignity and equality in concluding that discrimination based on sexual orientation was prohibited under the South African Constitution. The Supreme Court of the United States declared Texan sodomy laws unconstitutional in the case of Lawrence v. Texas, on the basis that it infringed on the liberty protected under the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution through the criminalization of intimate, consensual sexual conduct.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- LGBTQI+
- Year
- 2010
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Right to health and criminalization of same-sex conduct and sexual orientation, sex-work and HIV transmission 2010, para. 15
- Paragraph text
- Despite these recent developments in decriminalization, bringing many States into conformity with international human rights obligations, a significant number of countries maintain criminal penalties for consensual same-sex conduct. Some States have taken steps to broaden the application of existing laws, or to impose harsher penalties for same-sex conduct. Section 365A of the penal code of Sri Lanka formerly prohibited male homosexual acts, but was subsequently amended to be "gender-neutral", resulting in the criminalization of female same-sex conduct. The Parliament of Uganda introduced a bill in October 2009 that would allow for the death penalty as punishment for the violation of certain provisions of the anti-sodomy statute. Uganda, praised by HIV/AIDS activists for its treatment programme and policies, will put its campaign to eliminate HIV in great danger should this bill pass.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- LGBTQI+
- Year
- 2010
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Women human rights defenders and those working on women’s rights or gender issues 2011, para. 42
- Paragraph text
- The 28 communications sent regarding defenders working on women's rights or gender issues in Europe and Central Asia predominantly concerned LGBT activists in East and Central European countries including Poland, Moldova, Serbia, and the Russian Federation, as well as women's rights activists operating in Uzbekistan and Belarus. Alleged violations against LGBT activists in this region generally related to freedom of assembly or association, such as denial of permits for peaceful rallies or refusal to register an organization. Other reported violations against women's rights defenders were again largely judicial by nature, including arrests, detentions, judicial harassment, and conviction.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Activists
- LGBTQI+
- Women
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Women human rights defenders and those working on women’s rights or gender issues 2011, para. 58
- Paragraph text
- The human rights activities carried out by those subjected to threats and death threats in the Americas region ranged very widely. Among the groups which appear to be most at risk are women defenders working to fight impunity for alleged human rights violations, particularly in Brazil, Colombia, Guatemala, Mexico, and Peru. Moreover, those working on indigenous rights also appear to be at risk, particularly in Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, and Honduras; trade unionists, particularly in Colombia and Guatemala; and women's rights and/or LGBT defenders in the region.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Activists
- Ethnic minorities
- LGBTQI+
- Women
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Global trends in risks and threats facing human rights defenders 2015, para. 66
- Paragraph text
- The lack of any protection under the law or in practice exacerbates the vulnerability of defenders of the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons. Neither the security forces nor judges are trained in regard to respect for the rights of these persons, which leads to major deficiencies in the registering of complaints, prosecuting those responsible for human rights violations and bring them to justice. The defenders also mentioned the lack of resources to enable them to seek legal assistance in cases of discrimination and aggression against them.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Activists
- LGBTQI+
- Year
- 2015
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The World Bank and human rights 2015, para. 44
- Paragraph text
- The President sought to make the case that serious institutional discrimination had economic costs that the Bank could legitimately take into account, but the same argument applies to equally problematic forms of discrimination against different groups in a large number of countries in which the Bank continues to operate, and in response to which no action has been taken. No convincing justification was put forward by the Bank as to why Uganda alone was singled out among the various countries that have laws that criminalize homosexuality. No explanation was given as to why discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex communities was the trigger for action, rather than often deeply entrenched official discrimination against various other groups. Nor was the action based on any policy document that had previously been elaborated. And finally, if the Bank itself had been directly implicated in the issue at hand, urgent remedial action would have been much more readily defensible, but it was not.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- LGBTQI+
- Year
- 2015
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Gender perspectives on torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment 2016, para. 70a
- Paragraph text
- [With regard to women, girls, and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons in detention, the Special Rapporteur calls on all States to:] Fully and expeditiously implement the Bangkok Rules and establish appropriate gender-specific conditions of detention;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- LGBTQI+
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Review of the standard minimum rules for the treatment of prisoners 2013, para. 67
- Paragraph text
- Ensuring non-discrimination and special protection for vulnerable groups and individuals is a critical component of the obligation to prevent torture and other ill treatment. The Special Rapporteur recognizes that while all people deprived of their liberty are vulnerable to neglect, abuse and mistreatment, for certain marginalized groups that vulnerability is heightened. These groups include, in addition to those identified in Rule 6 (see para. 28 above), particular categories of detainees or prisoners (e.g. sex workers, drug users, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons, prisoners who have tuberculosis or terminal illnesses and people living with HIV/AIDS) (see A/HRC/13/39/Add.5, paras. 231 and 257).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- LGBTQI+
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Gender perspectives on torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment 2016, para. 70w
- Paragraph text
- [With regard to women, girls, and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons in detention, the Special Rapporteur calls on all States to:] Set up operational protocols, codes of conduct, regulations and training modules for the ongoing monitoring and analysis of discrimination against women, girls, and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons with regard to access to all services and rehabilitation programmes in detention; and document, investigate, sanction and redress complaints of imbalance and direct or indirect discrimination in accessing services and complaint mechanisms;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- LGBTQI+
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Gender-related killings of women 2012, para. 93
- Paragraph text
- The Committee against Torture has stated that the definition of torture includes the principle of non-discrimination on any grounds, including gender, sexual orientation and transgender identity. Thus, States are obliged to protect certain minority or marginalized individuals or populations especially at risk of torture, and should ensure such protection by fully prosecuting and punishing all acts of violence and abuse and ensuring implementation of other positive measures of prevention and protection. The Human Rights Council, in its resolution 17/19, requested the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to present a study documenting discriminatory laws and practices and acts of violence against individuals based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- LGBTQI+
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Diversity in humanity, humanity in diversity 2017, para. 21
- Paragraph text
- Other provisions (e.g. article 7 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and article 26 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights) reaffirm the right to equality before the law and equal protection of the law without discrimination. The stricture against discrimination was deliberated upon by the Human Rights Committee in regard to a seminal case, Toonen v. Australia, that concerned the presence of a local law that prohibited same-sex relations. The Committee found that the local law in question violated article 17 of the Covenant in regard to the right to privacy, and that the reference to “sex” in article 2 (1) (as well as in art. 26) covered sexual orientation.
- Body
- Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- LGBTQI+
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Diversity in humanity, humanity in diversity 2017, para. 24
- Paragraph text
- As evidenced by the wide range of international human rights treaties that are in force, international human rights bodies and procedures — ranging from the human rights treaty bodies, with their general comments and recommendations, to the universal periodic review, to the special procedures’ coverage of sexual orientation and gender identity-related violations, to resolutions and studies — the international human rights system has been strengthening the promotion and protection of human rights without distinction. The protection of persons based on their sexual orientation and gender identity, and the mandate of the Independent Expert, are based on international law, complemented and supplemented by State practice.
- Body
- Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- LGBTQI+
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Diversity in humanity, humanity in diversity 2017, para. 27
- Paragraph text
- The inter-American system has offered many contributions to action against violence and discrimination. In addition to its important range of human rights-related declarations and conventions and its regional human rights court and commission, it has appointed a regional rapporteur specifically to cover the issue of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons. The General Assembly of the Organization of American States recently approved two treaties which refer to sexual orientation and gender identity directly as grounds on which discrimination must be prohibited: namely the Inter-American Convention Against All Forms of Discrimination and Intolerance and the Inter-American Convention on Protecting the Human Rights of Older Persons.
- Body
- Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- LGBTQI+
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Diversity in humanity, humanity in diversity 2017, para. 29
- Paragraph text
- Interregional cooperation bore fruit when the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the United Nations held a joint dialogue in 2016, calling for more mainstreaming of regional and international norms to counter violence and discrimination, interlinking with the opportunities offered by the Sustainable Development Goals. The joint dialogue acknowledged positive steps from the African region, as follows: African States are almost all characterized by great diversity in their populations, with ethnic, religious and cultural diversity being the common denominator. In line with article 28 of the Charter, which calls on every individual “to respect and consider his fellow beings without discrimination, and to maintain relations aimed at promoting, safeguarding and reinforcing mutual respect and tolerance”, the Commission may advocate for the rights of all persons, including LGBT and intersex persons. In this respect, it can build on positive examples of State action in Africa and elsewhere to respect diversity and protect the human rights of all persons, irrespective of sexual orientation and gender identity. Participants noted that at least 19 African States do not criminalize consensual same-sex relations between adults in their legal systems, that Mozambique in 2014 removed criminal sanctions for such conduct, that Rwanda and other States have resisted recent attempts to introduce such laws into their legal system, that seven States prohibit discrimination in employment on the basis of sexual orientation, that courts in Botswana and Kenya, among others, recently declared the refusal to register LGBT associations to be unconstitutional, and that a number of national human rights institutions (including in Kenya, Uganda and South Africa) have expressed themselves against human rights violations based on sexual orientation or gender identity.
- Body
- Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- LGBTQI+
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Diversity in humanity, humanity in diversity 2017, para. 32
- Paragraph text
- A sample of recent constructive practices can be cited. A number of countries on every continent have seen reforms of antiquated and obstructive laws and policies, even though the progress is not always universal. Many South Asian countries and countries in other regions uphold the rights of transgender people, even where they have difficulty in accepting the rights of gays, lesbians and bisexuals. Same-sex couples are now allowed to marry officially in a number of countries, such as Canada, the United States of America, and a range of countries in Europe and Latin America. In 2016, a top court in Belize declared an old law, which had prohibited same-sex relations, to be unconstitutional. Seychelles reformed its law similarly on this front. In 2017, New Zealand agreed to expunge the criminal record of persons criminalized by the colonial law which had forbidden same-sex relations (the law itself having been abrogated a while ago). Germany also moved to annul Nazi-era homosexuality convictions (about 42,000 such convictions had been made under the Third Reich, under an old provision of the Penal Code (art. 175)) and to offer compensation.
- Body
- Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- LGBTQI+
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Diversity in humanity, humanity in diversity 2017, para. 46
- Paragraph text
- UNDP has a large number of programmes worldwide on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex issues, and the outreach is both to the pillars of the State (the executive, legislative and judicial branches) and to pillars of the community, such as national human rights institutions, non-governmental organizations and human rights defenders, including platforms for dialogue with local governments. Pursuant to the Sustainable Development Goals, UNDP is working on a lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex inclusion index to help generate more data, which will also contribute to policy formulation and programming. Some of the activities are on strengthening HIV responses for men who have sex with men and transgender people, and access to health care, while others are more directly on the legal and social environment for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons and civil society in a number of countries.
- Body
- Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- LGBTQI+
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Diversity in humanity, humanity in diversity 2017, para. 52
- Paragraph text
- Laws and policies that criminalize consensual same-sex relations are part of the background environment that leads to violence and discrimination. Some 70 countries criminalize same-sex relations, with a particular impact on men who have sex with men. Some 40 countries criminalize same-sex relations in regard to women who have sex with women. The death penalty awaits in some countries. There are other laws and policies of a more indirect nature, which might also be negatively applied against certain groups and persons in relation to sexual orientation and gender identity. They include laws based on public decency, public health and security, at times in the guise of local criminal laws and regulations. There are equally challenging implications from various religious laws when applied strictly. Some countries also criminalize cross-dressing, such as where men dress up as women and vice versa, even the criminalization violates the person’s self-identified gender.
- Body
- Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- LGBTQI+
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Diversity in humanity, humanity in diversity 2017, para. 53
- Paragraph text
- As noted in a recent UNHCR study: The majority of laws criminalizing same-sex sexual activity were noted by respondents in countries in Africa, Asia-Pacific, and the Middle East and North Africa region, with a few offices also highlighting similar laws targeting transgender identity. While many respondents in the Americas and Europe reported significant progress to ensure adequate legal protection of the human rights of LGBTI persons, there nonetheless remain some countries in these regions with laws that criminalize core aspects of LGBTI expression … While laws targeting LGBTI persons may be written to criminalize specific sexual acts rather than the broader identities of persons with a diverse sexual orientation or gender identity, some offices noted that such laws may nonetheless be used to prosecute individuals who identify as LGBTI. A respondent in a country in the Middle East and North Africa region reported, for instance, that “some LGBTI people have been convicted by the authorities solely for their presumed sexual orientation”, despite the fact that only same-sex activity, rather than LGBTI identity, is criminalized in the country of operation.
- Body
- Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- LGBTQI+
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Diversity in humanity, humanity in diversity 2017, para. 66i
- Paragraph text
- The role of the United Nations, including the Human Rights Council and the General Assembly, is pivotal in order to raise the issue of violence and discrimination and to address it through comprehensive and holistic measures, with due regard for the recommendations of the Independent Expert as an impetus for follow-up action. United Nations human rights presences are important and need to be bolstered in countries and regions where there are major gaps in human rights protection; this is certainly also the case in regard to sexual orientation and gender identity. This should be complemented by the catalytic role of United Nations country teams and inter-agency cooperation to integrate sexual orientation and gender identity issues into programming and practices on the basis of no “protection deficit” and no “protection vacuum”.
- Body
- Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- LGBTQI+
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Embrace diversity and energize humanity 2017, para. 17
- Paragraph text
- The initiatives of regional organizations have added constructive developments. The European human rights system, the inter-American human rights system, the African human rights system, the Arab Charter on Human Rights and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Human Rights Declaration all uphold the right to be free from discrimination and have provisions countering violence to human life that can bolster the protection of persons under the rubric of sexual orientation and gender identity. Importantly, the European Court of Human Rights in 2017 found that forced sterilization (particularly affecting transgender people who wish to have their self-perceived gender identity recognized by the State) was in contravention of human rights; another case found that a local law constraining free speech in relation to sexual orientation was in breach of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.
- Body
- Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- LGBTQI+
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Embrace diversity and energize humanity 2017, para. 18
- Paragraph text
- The inter-American system has made many contributions to action against violence and discrimination. In addition to its important range of human rights-related declarations and conventions, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights Court and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the inter-American system has appointed a regional rapporteur to cover the issue of LGBTI persons specifically. Resolution 275 of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, entitled “Protection against violence and other human rights violations against persons on the basis of their real or imputed sexual orientation or gender identity”, resonates with the message of non-violence and equality.
- Body
- Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- LGBTQI+
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Embrace diversity and energize humanity 2017, para. 26
- Paragraph text
- The joint submission of non-governmental organizations (see para. 25) echoes similar appeals made to States by a variety of United Nations entities and regional bodies. United Nations programmes already deal with the issue of sexual orientation and gender identity in many parts of the world, which is most welcome. The work of OHCHR on sexual orientation and gender identity continues apace, and a new version of the publication Born Free and Equal is due soon. OHCHR support for linkage between international and regional human rights mechanisms was a key input for a meeting between the Inter-American and African systems in 2015, and it is hoped that the linkage will be further strengthened in the future, perhaps to reach out to the Arab and ASEAN systems and other Asian initiatives, such as from South Asia, with lessons learned from other regional systems. Various parts of the global geography need more coverage and capacity-building, including Central and North Asia and the Pacific islands. A variety of research is being carried out to provide more data and analysis of the situation.
- Body
- Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- LGBTQI+
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
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Embrace diversity and energize humanity 2017, para. 29
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- In the past 20 years, approximately 25 countries from all regions have taken steps to decriminalize same-sex relationships between consenting adults. Some of the most recent countries to undertake decriminalization are Belize, Mozambique, Nauru, Palau, Sao Tome and Principe and Seychelles. In some countries the judiciary has opened the way for decriminalization through landmark decisions on specific cases, whereas in other countries decriminalization of same-sex relations has materialized by the actions of the parliament and/or the executive branch through the review of their penal code.
- Body
- Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- LGBTQI+
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
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