A/79/151 political and public life”. 21 Although discrimination and barriers to political participation faced by persons on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity remain of serious concern, positive efforts by some States to overcome these obstacles have been noted in United Nations reports. 22 11. The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women has systematically invoked State obligations to respect rights linked to eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life, in line with articles 7 and 8 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, notably stressing that the lack of equal and inclusive representation of women is exacerbated by inequality and discrimination, including for lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex women. 23,24 The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination has expressed concern over threats, hate speech (including online), harassment and violence towards women seeking or holding political office, “particularly those seen as LGBTQI+ women”, 25 based simultaneously on gender and race. The Working Group on discrimination against women and girls has further noted that “[w]omen who belong to vulnerable groups”, including due to sexual orientation and gender identity, “are effectively barred from political and public life based on multiple stereotyping”. 26 12. Regional human rights bodies across the globe have increasingly recognized core protections against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, including the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, 27 the Organization of American States (OAS) General Assembly 28 and the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights. 29 The European Court of Human Rights has held that sexual orientation and gender identity are covered under the non-discrimination provision in article 14 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (European Convention on Human Rights). 30 III. Key constraints on electoral participation 13. In 2020, there were only 230 openly LGBT members of parliament in 50 countries. Notably, and reflecting the gender dimension of underrepresentation in public life, 81 per cent were gay men. 31 In several submissions, increases in LGBT political representation in recent elections were noted. 32 In a 2023 report, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) noted that “LGBTI+ political figures are often __________________ 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 6/25 Human Rights and Elections, para. 36. See, for example, A/74/285, para. 34. See, for example, Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, general recommendation no. 28 (2010) on the core obligations of States parties under article 2 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, para. 18; and general recommendation No. 35 (2017) on gender-based violence against women, updating general recommendation No. 19, para. 29. See CEDAW/C/81/D/134/2018. CERD/C/BRA/CO/18-20, para. 26 (e). A/HRC/23/50, para. 70. See Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Advances and Challenges towards the Recognition of the Rights of LGBTI Persons in the Americas (2018). See OAS General Assembly resolution AG/RES. 2863 (XLIV-O/14), available at www.oas.org/en/iachr/lgtbi/docs/ag-res2863-xliv-o-14eng.pdf. See African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights resolution ACHPR/Res.275(LV)2014. See Council of Europe, European Court of Human Rights, Guide on Article 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights and Article 1 of Protocol No. 12 to the Convention: Prohibition of Discrimination (2021). Gilad Greenwald, Sharon Haleva-Amir and Amit Kama, “‘An out gay man in the parliament’: new aspects in the study of LGBTQ politicians’ media coverage ”, Media, Culture and Society, vol. 46, No. 1 (January 2024). Submissions by Caribe Afirmativo, p. 3, and by the Office of the Ombudsperson of Argentina. 24-12964