The IDAHO Committee welcomes the publication on Dec 15th by the Office of the UN’s High Commissioner for Human Rights, of the first ever report in UN history dedicated to those whose human rights are violated because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
The report documents in detail the violence and systematic discrimination and stigma suffered worldwide by people on ground of their sexual orientation or gender expression.
It analyzes in detail how protecting the rights of sexual and gender minorities is one of the obligations which UN Member States have signed on to through the various covenants, treaties and conventions.
The report calls on states to implement a series of recommendations, which include the decriminalization of homosexual acts between consenting adults, the obligation to provide asylum to people persecuted because of their sexual orientation and / or gender identity, the right of expression and assembly and the abolition of any discrimination in access on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
"While the report does not lead to any binding obligation to States at this stage, it is a historic step towards the adoption hopefully in the near future of a United Nations resolution that will create legal obligations on States "says Louis Georges Tin, Chairperson of the IDAHO Committee. "Our association has been fighting for this purpose since its inception in 2005, alongside a broad international alliance uniting an ever growing number of Human Rights defense associations and movements. This process at the UN for the recognition of the Human Rights of sexual and gender minorities is a direct result of the global mobilization we have seen grow exponentially in recent years. "
According to Joel Bedos, who coordinates the International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia, which the IDAHO Committee established in 2005 and is now celebrated in 90 countries on all continents, this report marks a key step : "This is the first time in UN history that an official report is dedicated to this issue. For now, there were references in various reports of Special Procedures , various Statements issued by groups of States, and various declarations from High Level UN personalities, including Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, whose relentless commitment by our side we salute. But the report, which was called for by a resolution presented last June by South Africa at the Council of Human Rights, has a radically different scope: it requires UN Member States to consider that the issue of human rights violations against people because of their sexual orientation and / or gender identity is a legitimate political issue, not a matter of ’private life’, which depends on ‘cultural sensitivities’ of each country"
In a recent speech to the Council of Human Rights, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also recalled that the argument of ’cultural’ sovereignty can never justify the abuse of the fundamental rights of anyone".
Says Joel Bedos, "As such, this report inscribes permanently the issue of the rights of sexual and gender minorities in international politics. Its recommendations will be discussed formally in March during a special panel at the Council of Human Rights and these discussions will probably lead to a change in legislation in a number of countries, especially those which are already considering changing their homophobic and transphobic laws. These laws are often a legacy of colonial rule, especially from the time of the British Empire, emphasizing that it is homophobia, not homosexuality, as often claimed by conservative parties, that was ’imported from the West’. "
Media contact
Louis-Georges Tin, IDAHO Committee chairperson
+ 33 (0)6 19 45 45 52
lgtin@aol.com
Joel Bedos, International Coordinator, IDAHO Committee
+ 33 (0)6 64 71 59 21
jbedos@dayagainsthomophobia.org
The report can be accessed below, or directly on the OHCHR website.
The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has provided the following contacts for direct inquiries
Charles Radcliffe (OHCHR New York) radcliffe@ohchr.org. Tel. +1 212 963 4953
Fred Kirungi (OHCHR New York): kirungi@un.org. Tel. +1 917 367 3431
Rupert Colville (OHCHR Geneva): rcolville@ohchr.org. Tel. +41 22 917 9767
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