TRANS ACTIVISTS AT THE UNITED NATIONS RAISE THEIR VOICES AGAINST THE ANTI-RIGHTS PUSHBACK

“States and global human rights mechanisms are increasingly aware that the ongoing attacks on the rights of transadjective/umbrella term to describe a person whose gender identity does not match the sex they were assigned at birth. More persons are rooted in the same growing pushback against genderrefers to a social construct which places cultural and social expectations on individuals based on their assigned sex. More equality at large,” said the organisers of the 2023 Trans Advocacy Week. “We are heartened to see a growing solidarity with our communities, and look forward to seeing it turn into concrete action.”

The United Nationsan international organisation comprising 193 member States. It has the mission of maintaining peace and security, protecting human rights, providing humanitarian aid and ensuring economic and social development across the globe. It is a network of many different bodies and agencies, each of which has a particular role and responsibility. More Trans Advocacy Week is a collective project by non-governmental organisations, offering trans activists a platform to make their voices heard on a global scale and in international human rights spaces. Since 2017, the initiative has been bringing trans and gender-diverse human rights defenders to Geneva, Switzerland, to take part in 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. More during the June/July session.

The 2023 edition marked the return to in-person advocacy after the event was held virtually for the past three years, due to the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic. During  Trans Advocacy Week participants attended meetings with UN human rights experts, UNAIDS and Global Fund representatives, States’ ambassadors and Special Envoys for the Rights 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. More persons.

Gathering from countries across Africa, Asia, Europe and Central Asia, and Latin America, they shared perspectives on the diverse ways the anti-gender movement is impacting their communities at the local level; they participated in interactive dialogues at the Human Rights Council and delivered numerous statements; and they celebrated Victor Madrigal-Borloz, the 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. More, as he presented his last report to the Council before the end of his tenure – a ground-breaking analysis dismantling the narratives arguing an opposition between freedom of religion and sexual and gender diversity.

Trans Advocacy Week delegates also welcomed country and civil society representatives to hear directly from them in a side event that highlighted the plight of trans people in many parts of the world, while also celebrating the recent progress made in UN spaces despite the growing presence of hostile narratives.

“Over the years, Trans Advocacy Week has continued to grow and radically changed the landscape of trans and gender diverse activism at the UN,” the organisers concluded. “It has contributed to introducing key issues affecting our communities worldwide, including the lack of legal gender recognitionlaws, administrative procedures or processes by which a person can change their sex/gender marker and names on official identity documents. More and the damages done by social exclusion and ‘conversion therapies’ among many others, while also solidifying allyship with feminist and other movements. To be seen and heard at the United Nations seemed unthinkable only a few decades ago, but there’s no turning back now, and we owe this progress to the tireless work of human rights defenders worldwide, including those who participated in this Trans Advocacy Week”.

Notes to editors:

• UN Trans Advocacy Week is co-organised by Asia Pacific Transgender Network (APTN), East Africa Trans Health and Advocacy Network (EATHAN), Global Action for Trans Equality (GATE), ILGA World, Swedish Federation for LGBTQ Rights (RFSL), and TGEU: Transgender Europe & Central Asia
• UN Trans Advocacy Week is a collective project by non-governmental organisations, which has been held on the occasion of June/July sessions of the UN Human Rights Council since 2017
• Participants in the 2023 editions came from Thailand, El Salvador, Portugal, Belgium, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Georgia, Lebanon, Mozambique, Indonesia, and Kenya
• Statements delivered by participants included those in response to
  • the report by the Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women on Custody, violence against women and children (read more)
  • the report by the Independent Expert on 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. More 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. More on Freedom of religion or belief and equality for LGBT persons ( statements 01 and 02)
  • the report of the Working Group on 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. More against Women, about gendered inequalities of poverty (read more)