HRC Session 25 (March 2014) - ILGA's engagement

Geneva, 3 – 28 March 2014

UN Links

ILGA’s involvement at the 25th session of the Human Rights Council (HRC):

Statements at the HRC

  • Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on Torture
  • Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Adequate Housing

UPR Adoption

  • Malaysia

Side Events

  • Intersex People and Human Rights: Violations, Voices and Visions
  • Intersectionality and Impunity: locating Sexual Orientation & Gender Identity in the Human Rights Discourse

Statements at the HRC

INTERACTIVE DIALOGUE WITH THE SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON TORTURE 

This statement, prepared by a coalition of intersex activists from around the world, thanks the Special Rapporteur for the historical decision of including intersex issues in his report on abuses in healthcare settings and calls on States to put an end to the human rights violations affecting intersex people.

 

INTERACTIVE DIALOGUE WITH THE SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON THE RIGHT TO ADEQUATE HOUSING 

This joint statement by ILGA, COC Netherlands, and Micro Rainbow International commends the Special Rapporteur for highlighting cases of discrimination in the private housing sector during her mission to Indonesia and strongly supports her recommendation to the government to repeal laws, policies, and practices which perpetuate discrimination in access to adequate housing of marginalized groups, such as LGBT people. 

UPR Report Adoption

The 25th session of the HRC included the adoption of reports from the 17th UPR session (countries included Saudi Arabia, Senegal, China, Nigeria, Mexico, Mauritius, Jordan, Malaysia, Central African Republic, Monaco, Belize, Chad, Israel, Congo, and Malta). ILGA worked with activists from Nigeria and Malaysia to prepare and help deliver statements during the UPR adoptions at the 25th HRC. Click here for the full report on the outcomes of the 17th UPR session final adoption of country reports at the 25th session of the UN Human Rights Council.

MALAYSIA

Rejected recommendations: Take legislative and practical steps to guarantee that LGBTI persons can enjoy all human rights without discrimination; Introduce legislation that will decriminalize sexual relations between consenting adults of the same sex; respect the fundamental rights of LGBT persons; Enact legislation prohibiting violence based on sexual orientation.

Side Events

  • ILGA organized the first ever side event exclusively dedicated to intersex issues, titled “Intersex People and Human Rights: Violations, Voices and Visions”. ILGA supported three intersex activists to attend for the side event mentioned below. The event was co-sponsored by ARC International, Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network, El Consorcio Latinoamericano de Trabajo sobre Intersexualidad, Global Action for Trans Equality (GATE), International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA), IntersexUK, Organization Intersex International (OII) Australia and Zwischengeschlecht.org, the panelists presented both powerful testimonials and analysis, urging States to fulfill their responsibilities to stop human rights abuses directed against intersex persons, including violations of rights to health, dignity, equality, bodily autonomy, and freedom from torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. For more information on the side event, please click here (or here for the flier).
  • A second side event entitled "Intersectionality and Impunity: locating Sexual Orientation & Gender Identity in the Human Rights Discourse" was co-sponsored by ILGA along with the Coalition of SOGI Malaysia, ICARH, ISHR, JSA Consulting Group, and the Sexual Rights Initiative. Panelists included human rights defenders from India, Malaysia, Nigeria, and Switzerland as well as a representative of OHCHR. The panel looked at the many intersecting root causes of human rights violations, the types of violations suffered and the ways of addressing them. 

The panel noted that violations are not perpetrated independently but are rather reinforced by cultures of impunity. The panel also highlighted that homophobic laws being promulgated in countries like Nigeria and Uganda, as well as state-sponsored homophobic activities in Russia, India and other parts of the world, are actually part of wider culture of hetero-normativity and gender-stereotyping, often seeking to impose rigid gender norms. This, coupled with a culture of impunity leaves LGBTI persons and other communities vulnerable to human rights violations.

The event can be viewed here in full in two parts: