Transgender: An emerging human rights issue

Throughout the world, different cultures have different perceptions of gender and its expression. Individuals themselves express their gender identity in many different ways. Though a basic human right, the will to express one’s identity and/or attachment to a gender often leads to discrimination, suffering and all too often to physical aggression up to and including murder. It is the expressed desire of ILGA to remind the international community of the necessity to include gender identity in a UN resolution in order to protect the rights of transgender people.


Wednesday 4 October 2006 from 4 to 45 PM. Palais des Nations, 2nd session of the UN Human Rights Council Side Event

A panel organised by ILGA, the International Lesbian and Gay Association. In collaboration with the Swedish Association for Sexuality Education and RFSL, the Swedish Gay and Lesbian Federation

With the financial support of the Swedish Foreign Office


Chair
Alejandra Sarda, Argentina

Speakers
Click on their names to read the speeches (Audio material available).

More than 120 transgender activists from 21 European countries representing 66 different local organisations met last year in November (2005) in Vienna for the first European TransGender Council on Civil and Political Rights. It was the first such event. Considering the great number of activists, everybody agreed that it is about time to form an European transgender organisation.
Julia Ehrt, Transgender Euro-group, Germany

El concepto transgénero se contruye en la experiencia de la cultura de genero regentada por la normatividad heterosexual, que encasilla en dos modelos supuestamente complementarios la sexualidad.Básicamente la transgeneridad es el desacato, la subversión a la norma, no solo en pensamiento, sino tambien materialmente encarnado en nuestros cuerpos. Es la denuncia militante de nuestros cuerpos lo que determina una represalia discriminatoria tajante, aplastante.
Belissa Andia Perez, Instituto Runa, ILGA World Transgender Secretariat

All transgender and transexual people need to have access to a full range of best practise therapies available in the fields of transgender care and medicine. Best practise means all possible different ways and extents of transitioning or altering gender presentation, without any preconditions before access to any part of the services. Best practise includes as paramount, the patient's wishes.
Stephen Whittle, PFC, HBIGDA - Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association - Powerpoint presentation

Click here for an Audio recording of the presentation or copy the following link onto another window:
/historic/UNHRC/Stephen_Wittle_ILGA_Panel_Trans_Rights_UNHRC_Oct06.mpg

The one thing that all transgender people have in common, is that we do not fit into traditional gender categories. I am transgender. We’re taught that that a human being must behave, present themselves, dress and so on in only two ways…male or female. There are rules that govern genders, unfortunately.
Victor Juliet Mukasa, SMUG , Sexual Minorities Uganda

Aidan Dunn, Youth Transgender & Intersex Educational Services / San Francisco Pride - Audio recording of the presentation. You may also copy the following link onto another window:
/historic/UNHRC/Aidan_Dunn_ILGA_Panel_Trans_Rights_UNHRC_Oct06.mpg