Introduction to the Agenda 2030 for LGBTI advocates

Last month marked the 7th anniversary of this important achievement, in which world leaders started mobilizing efforts to implement the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that they agreed to in 2015.

In commemoration of this date, Guillermo Ricalde (ILGA World Consultant on Special Proceduresindependent human rights experts within the UN Human Rights Council with mandates to report and advise on human rights from a thematic or country-specific perspective. They are non-paid and elected for 3-year mandates that can be re-conducted for another three years. Special procedures can undertake country visits, and act on individual cases of reported violations by sending communications to States and others. They also engage in advocacy, raise public awareness, provide advice for technical cooperation, and contribute to the development of international human rights standards.
More and SDGs) and Aoife Burke (Junior Professional Consultant on Treaty Bodies, Special Procedures, and SDGs) have prepared the following article in which they briefly explore the importance of the Agenda 2030 for our LGBTIacronym for lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex people. Although this is not the acronym available to describe people of diverse sexual orientations, gender identities and expressions, and sex characteristics, it is the most commonly used in United Nations spaces and advocacy. More communities.

The Agenda 2030 and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals constitute the current international development framework. Historically, international development has focused on economic growth, particularly in low and middle-income countries. This framework is frequently considered as existing in parallel and alongside with human rights mechanisms and, specifically, allowing to overcome the latter’s weaknesses.

However, the SDGs are anchored in human rights and are grounded in the Universal Declaration on Human Rights (UDHR), the international human rights treaties, as well as other instruments such as the Declaration on the Right to Development. Thus, although the development framework works according to distinct methodologies, bodies, language and aims, it is mutually complementary to the human rights framework. For instance, in recent decades, and mostly after the creation of the Agenda 2030, there has been a stronger emphasis on achieving particular development outcomes on a global level, such as health, genderrefers to a social construct which places cultural and social expectations on individuals based on their assigned sex. More equality, education, and environmental sustainability, which reflect the content of many international human rights standards.

Read more about Agenda 2030 and its 17 SDGs, and why they are an important framework for LGBTI communities and advocates here.

How ILGA World can support you?

International LGBTI organisations such as the Swedish Federation for Lesbianadjective/noun to describe a woman whose enduring physical, romantic, and/or emotional attraction is to other women. Women and non-binary people may use this term to describe themselves. More, Gayadjective to describe people whose enduring physical, romantic, and/ or emotional
attractions are to people of the same gender. Men, women and non-binary people may use this
term to describe themselves. More, Bisexualadjective used to describe a person who has the capacity to form enduring physical, romantic, and/ or emotional attractions to those of the same gender or to those of other genders. More, Transgender, Queerpreviously used as a derogatory term to refer to LGBT individuals in the English language – and still perceived as offensive by some - queer has been reclaimed by people who identify beyond traditional gender categories and heteronormative social norms. Although not universally accepted, it is often used as a catch-all to include many people within the larger community of people with diverse sexual orientations, gender identities and expressions, and sex characteristics. More and Intersexan umbrella term for the spectrum of variations of sex characteristics that naturally occur within the human species. Intersex people are born with variations of sex characteristics (such as genitals, reproductive organs, hormonal and chromosomal patterns) that are more diverse than stereotypical definitions of male or female bodies. Up to 1.7% of the global population are born with such traits; yet, because their bodies are seen as different, intersex children and adults are often stigmatised and subject to harmful practices – including in medical settings - and discriminated against. More Rights (RFSL), Outright International, and COC Nederland have been leading the pathway for LGBTI advocates to engage with the SDGs framework since the creation of the Agenda 2030. ILGA World also has years of experience engaging with the UN in several areas, including the Human Rights Councilan inter-governmental body within the United Nations which has the responsibility to promote and protect human rights. It is comprised of 47 member States, each elected to 3-year terms by the 193 member States of the United Nations. More, Universal Periodic Review (UPR)a mechanism of the UN Human Rights Council which monitors and seeks to improve the human rights record of all 193 UN member States. Every member State is reviewed and receives recommendations to improve its human rights situation every five years. More, Treaty Bodies, Special Procedures, and now the SDGs. All these organisations, and many others, constitute the LGBTI stakeholder group and constantly work to make SOGIESCabbreviation standing for sexual orientation and gender identity & expression, and sex characteristics. More issues visible in the development forums.

There are several ways that ILGA World can offer support to LGBTI defenders seeking to engage with the Agenda 2030:

• We are constantly monitoring opportunities in the development framework for LGBTI advocates, and we are on our way to start producing new advocacy materials on SDGs.
• We collaborate with the LGBTI Stakeholder Group members and participate in the SDGs forums and other side events and strategic meetings.
• We develop statements aiming to impact the outcomes concerning LGBTI persons and influence the language related to SOGIESC in development spaces.
• We support activists to attend the HLPF and engage in the dialogue on their state’s VNR. In countries where governments are reluctant to communicate with LGBTI organisations, the HLPF can provide a unique opportunity for activists to establish contact with state representatives.
• Furthermore, ILGA assists advocates in increasing the visibility of LGBTI communities in development spaces by providing technical support to produce a spotlight report on SDGs and LGBTI people in their country.