INFO NOTE ON UN SPECIAL PROCEDURES – FEBRUARY 2021
Summary
This issue includes:
Call for inputs: Development; Freedom of opinion and expression; Indigenous peoples; Mercenaries; Older persons; Racism; Sexual orientationrefers to a person’s capacity for profound emotional, affectional and sexual attraction to - and intimate and sexual relations with - individuals of a different gender or the same gender or more than one gender. and gender identityrefers to a person’s deeply felt internal and individual experience of gender, which may or may not correspond with the sex assigned at birth.; Slavery; Toxics; Trafficking
Upcoming country visitsmissions carried out by UN Special Procedure mandate holders to assess the situation of human rights in a specific country. During their missions, they will meet with national and local authorities, national human rights institutions, as well as with NGOs, civil society, and survivors of human rights violations. Findings, conclusions and recommendations of such missions are published in reports to the Human Rights Council.: Kyrgyzstan, Mexico, Nepal, Paraguay, Singapore, Tunisia, Venezuela
New call by the independent expert on SOGI: gender, sexual orientation and gender identity
The UN Independent Expert on SOGIabbreviation standing for sexual orientation and gender identity, Victor Madrigal-Borloz, is preparing his next thematic report on the topic of genderrefers to a social construct which places cultural and social expectations on individuals based on their assigned sex., sexual orientationrefers to a person’s capacity for profound emotional, affectional and sexual attraction to - and intimate and sexual relations with - individuals of a different gender or the same gender or more than one gender. and gender identityrefers to a person’s deeply felt internal and individual experience of gender, which may or may not correspond with the sex assigned at birth.. The report will be presented in June 2021 to the UN 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..
In order to collect information on the topic, the IE on SOGIabbreviation standing for sexual orientation and gender identity is looking for information from civil society and other actors.
The report will cover violence and discriminationunequal or unfair treatment which can be based on a range of grounds - such as age, ethnic background, disability, and diverse sexual orientations, gender identities and expressions or sex characteristics, amongst others., sexual and reproductive rights, feminist thinking and comprehensive genderrefers to a social construct which places cultural and social expectations on individuals based on their assigned sex. theory, among other themes.
The call is available in English, Spanish and French. You can also access the IE on SOGI’s questionnaire in English, Spanish and French.
Deadline for submissions: 28 Feb 2021.
Language: English, Spanish and French | Format: Word
Email for contributions: [email protected]; [email protected]
If you want to participate in a joint submission coordinated by ILGA World, please contact Kseniya Kirichenko, ILGA World’s Programmes Coordinator ([email protected]).
Join ILGA WORLD in in submissions on 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. older persons and on 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. indigenous people
The Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples is preparing a report on Covid-19 recovery and indigenous peoples’ rights and looking for data on 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. indigenous peoples (deadline 28 Feb 2021).
The Independent Expert on older persons is collecting information on the situation of 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. older persons, particularly LBTI older women (deadline 22 Mar 2021).
You can find more information on the calls in a section below.
If you want to participate in joint submissions coordinated by ILGA World, please contact Kseniya Kirichenko, ILGA World’s Programmes Coordinator ([email protected])!
Call for inputs
| Mandate | Call | Deadline | Additional Info |
| NEW!!! Working Group on the use of mercenaries | Call for inputs: report on the provision of military and security cyber products and services by ‘cyber mercenaries’ and its human rights impact (to be presented to the 76th session of the General Assemblythe main deliberative and policy-making organ of the United Nations which makes decisions on international issues such as development and peace and security. All 193 member States are represented, and each has one vote. in Oct 2021) | 12 Feb 2021 | Read more |
| Special Rapporteur on trafficking | Call for inputs: report on the implementation of the non-punishment principle in the context of trafficking in persons (to be presented to the 47th session of 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., Jun 2021) | 14 Feb 2021 | Questionnaire EN | ES | FR |
| NEW!!! Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression | Call for inputs: report on the issue of disinformation and freedom of opinion and expression (to be presented to the 47th session of 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., Jun 2021) | 15 Feb 2021 | Read more |
| NEW!!! Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism | Call for inputs: report on the combating glorification of Nazism, neo-Nazism and other practices that contribute to fuelling contemporary forms of racism, racial discriminationunequal or unfair treatment which can be based on a range of grounds - such as age, ethnic background, disability, and diverse sexual orientations, gender identities and expressions or sex characteristics, amongst others., xenophobia and related intolerance (to be presented to a session of 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. in 2021) | 24 Feb 2021 | Read more |
| NEW!!! Independent Expert on sexual orientation and gender identityabbreviated form to refer to the IESOGI – a UN Special Procedures mandate specifically dedicated to addressing violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. | Call for inputs: report on genderrefers to a social construct which places cultural and social expectations on individuals based on their assigned sex., sexual orientationrefers to a person’s capacity for profound emotional, affectional and sexual attraction to - and intimate and sexual relations with - individuals of a different gender or the same gender or more than one gender. and gender identityrefers to a person’s deeply felt internal and individual experience of gender, which may or may not correspond with the sex assigned at birth. (to be presented to the 47th session of 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., June 2021) |
28 Feb 2021 | Read more EN | ES | FR |
| NEW!!! Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples | Call for inputs: report on Covid-19 recovery and indigenous peoples’ rights (to be presented to the 48th session of 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., Sep 2021) |
28 Feb 2021 | Read more |
| NEW!!! Special Rapporteur on the right to development | Call for inputs: report on the climate change related policies and projects from a right to development perspective (to be presented to 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. and the General Assemblythe main deliberative and policy-making organ of the United Nations which makes decisions on international issues such as development and peace and security. All 193 member States are represented, and each has one vote. in 2021) | 1 Mar 2021 | Read more |
| NEW!!! Working Group on the use of mercenaries | Call for inputs: report on the role of private military and security companies (PMSCs) in humanitarian action (to be presented to the 48th session of 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., Sep 2021) | 9 Mar 2021 | Read more |
| NEW!!! Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery | Call for inputs: report on the nexus between forced displacement and contemporary forms of slavery (to be presented to the 48th session of 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., Sep 2021) | 15 Mar 2021 | Read more EN | ES | FR |
| NEW!!! Special Rapporteur on toxics and human rights | Call for inputs: report on the right to benefit from scientific progress and its applications (to be presented to the 48th session of 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., Sep 2021) | 15 Mar 2021 | Read more |
| NEW!!! Independent Expert on older persons | Call for inputs: report on the causes, manifestations and prevalence of ageism and age discriminationunequal or unfair treatment which can be based on a range of grounds - such as age, ethnic background, disability, and diverse sexual orientations, gender identities and expressions or sex characteristics, amongst others. (to be presented to the 48th session of 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., Sep 2021) |
22 Mar 2021 | Read more EN | ES | FRQuestionnaire EN | ES | FR |
| NEW!!! Independent Expert on older persons | Call for inputs: report on the intersection between ageing and genderrefers to a social construct which places cultural and social expectations on individuals based on their assigned sex. and the specific human rights concerns and challenges faced by older women (to be presented to the 76th session of the General Assemblythe main deliberative and policy-making organ of the United Nations which makes decisions on international issues such as development and peace and security. All 193 member States are represented, and each has one vote., Sep 2021) |
22 Mar 2021 | Read more EN | ES | FRQuestionnaire EN | ES | FR |
| NEW!!! Special Rapporteur on toxics and human rights | Call for inputs: Impact analysis of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) (a series of meetings with the IMO in Dec 2020) | 31 Mar 2021 | Read more |
| NEW!!! Special Rapporteur on toxics and human rights | Call for inputs: report on the lifecycle of plastics and human rights (to be presented to the 76th session of the General Assemblythe main deliberative and policy-making organ of the United Nations which makes decisions on international issues such as development and peace and security. All 193 member States are represented, and each has one vote., Sep 2021) | 31 Mar 2021 | Read more |
: requests information on 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. persons
Country visits by the Independent Expert on SOGI
The UN Independent Expert on SOGIabbreviation standing for sexual orientation and gender identity, Victor Madrigal-Borloz, undertakes 1 to 3 fact-finding country visitsmissions carried out by UN Special Procedure mandate holders to assess the situation of human rights in a specific country. During their missions, they will meet with national and local authorities, national human rights institutions, as well as with NGOs, civil society, and survivors of human rights violations. Findings, conclusions and recommendations of such missions are published in reports to the Human Rights Council. per year.
He visited Ukraine in 2019, and Georgia and Mozambique in 2018. In 2017, his predecessor Prof. Vitit Muntarbhorn visited Argentina.
In March 2018, Victor Madrigal-Borloz made 12 country visit requests. On 4 July 2018 Malta invited the Independent Expert to visit their country. The Independent Expert also requested a visit to Japan (8 October 2019), Tunisia (19 November 2019), India and Colombia (both 7 January 2020), and Cambodia (28 March 2020).
In this section, you may find information about current status of the requests. Up-to-date information about country visitsmissions carried out by UN Special Procedure mandate holders to assess the situation of human rights in a specific country. During their missions, they will meet with national and local authorities, national human rights institutions, as well as with NGOs, civil society, and survivors of human rights violations. Findings, conclusions and recommendations of such missions are published in reports to the Human Rights Council. may be found here.
If your country is planned for the Independent Expert’s visit and you wish to engage with ILGA on this, please contact us ([email protected]).
| Country | Current status |
| Argentina* | Visit conducted on 1-10 Mar 2017. End of Mission Statement: English – Spanish Press Release: English – Spanish Country visit report: E / F / S / A / C / R |
| Armenia* | Request to postpone (17 Apr 2018) |
| Burkina Faso | Reminder visit request – for 2021 (17 Jan 2020) |
| NEW!!! Cambodia | Proposed dates September 2021 (14 Dec 2020) |
| Colombia* | Request to postpone (7 April 2020) |
| Georgia* | Visit conducted on 25 Sep to 5 Oct 2018. End of Mission Statement: English – Georgian Press Release: English – Georgian Country visit report: E / F / S / A / C / R |
| Ghana* | Reminder visit request – for 2021 (7 Jan 2020) |
| India* | Visit request (7 Jan 2020) |
| Japan* | Visit request for second half of 2020 (8 Oct 2019) |
| Kenya* | Reminder visit request – for 2021 (7 Jan 2020) |
| Malta* | Invitation Country Visit (4 Jul 2018) |
| Nepal | Reminder visit request – for 2020 (7 Jan 2020) |
| Mozambique* | Visit conducted on 3-10 Dec 2018. End of Mission Statement: English – Portuguese Press Release: English – Portuguese Country visit report: E / F / S / A / C / R |
| Poland* | Reminder visit request – for 2020 (7 Jan 2020) |
| Sri Lanka* | Request to postpone to 2020 (2 Oct 2019). Background note |
| Thailand* | Reminder visit request – for 2020 (7 Jan 2020) |
| NEW!!! Tunisia* | Proposed dates from 18 May 2021 to 28 May 2021 (15 Dec 2020) Call for inputs | Background note |
| Ukraine* | Visit conducted on 30 Apr to 10 May 2019. End of Mission Statement: English – Ukrainian Press Release: English – Russian – Ukrainian Country visit report: E / F / S / A / C / R |
* Countries with standing invitations. A standing invitation is an open invitation extended by a Government to all thematic 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.
. By extending a standing invitation States announce that they will always accept requests to visit from all 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.
.
Upcoming country visits by other mandates
This information is regularly updated by the OHCHR here.
To find outbeing open about their diverse sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or sex characteristics. how you can support the visits, please contact the respective mandate-holders at their e-mail addresses, available here.
| Country | Mandate | Dates |
| POSTPONED!!! Tunisia | Sexual orientationrefers to a person’s capacity for profound emotional, affectional and sexual attraction to - and intimate and sexual relations with - individuals of a different gender or the same gender or more than one gender. and genderrefers to a social construct which places cultural and social expectations on individuals based on their assigned sex. identity |
16-27 Nov 2020 |
| POSTPONED!!! Venezuela | Unilateral coercive measures | 1-12 Feb 2021 |
| Mexico | Internally displaced persons | 15 – 27 Mar 2021 |
| NEW!!! Finland | Older persons | 16-25 Mar 2021 |
| Singapore | Terrorism | 5-12 Apr 2021 |
| Kyrgyzstan | Extreme poverty |
17-28 May 2021 |
| POSTPONED!!! Paraguay | Minority Issues | 24 May – 4 June 2021 |
| NEW!!! Mauritania | Slavery | 22 June – 1 July 2021 |
| NEW!!! Botswana | Disability | 20-29 July 2021 |
| Nepal | Extreme poverty |
6-17 Sept 2021 |