ILGA World further strengthens support to LGBTI activists turning UN recommendations into real change
- ILGA World releases two companion publications to give 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 human rights defenders practical, hands-on tools for engaging 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 human rights system
- These publications are the fully revised 2026 edition of the SOGIESCabbreviation standing for sexual orientation and gender identity & expression, and sex characteristics. More UPR advocacy toolkit and the first ILGA World publication to bring together follow-up practices to UN recommendations
- Both publications also include ready-to-adapt templates, sample advocacy papers, and checklists that organisations can bring directly into their own national and regional advocacy planning
Geneva, 15 July 2026 — ILGA World today announced the launch of two companion publications built to give LGBTI human rights defenders practical, hands-on tools for engaging the United Nations human rights system: the fully revised 2026 edition of the SOGIESC UPR advocacy toolkit and the brand-new Good practices guide for follow-up on United Nations recommendations.
Together, the two guides cover the full arc of UN engagement — from preparing a first submission to the 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 to the often-overlooked, harder work of ensuring that, once a recommendation is made, it is actually implemented at home.
United Nations recommendations are powerful: when equipped with the right tools and know-how, activists can use them to bring about real change at the national level.
A toolkit built on nearly a decade of experience
First published in 2017 and developed with input from civil society organisations across all six ILGA regions, the SOGIESC UPR Advocacy Toolkit has guided activists worldwide through the UPR process for years.
ILGA World’s UPR programme developed this new edition, updating it to reflect developments and best practices that emerged during the fourth UPR cycle.
The guide takes human rights defenders step by step through building a roadmap of key deadlines, identifying partners, drafting a submission around specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound (S.M.A.R.T.) recommendations, engaging governments both in-country and in Geneva, following the working group sessions, and addressing 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 when the UPR outcomes are adopted.
Closing the implementation gap
SOGIESC recommendations have grown steadily across United Nations mechanisms over the past decade. However, obtaining a recommendation from the United Nations does not automatically translate into the change we want to see. The new Good practices guide for follow-up on United Nations recommendations takes on that gap directly.
It is ILGA World’s first publication to bring together follow-up practices across treaty bodies, the Universal Periodic Review, 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 the Sustainable Development Goals framework in a single resource, paired with real examples of what has worked (and what hasn’t) for LGBTI civil society across the world — from Mongolia to Ecuador, Kenya to South Korea.
The guide sets out how to engage strategically with governments, build coalitions and cross-sector alliances, use national human rights institutions as bridges in hostile political environments, connect litigation to international recommendations, push for permanent national follow-up mechanisms, and use or build recommendation-tracking databases to hold States accountable long after the international spotlight has turned off.
“Getting a recommendation adopted in Geneva and New York is only part of the work, never the end of it. These two guides exist because our movement kept telling us the same thing: the hardest part is usually ensuring that governments act after our realities are addressed in United Nations spaces.
Every organisation that has felt that gap, in any region and under any political circumstances, will find something useful in these pages. These guides serve as tools and inspiration in turning recommendations into change, which is a collective commitment to equality for all.”
Gurchaten Sandhu, Director of programmes at ILGA World
How to use these toolkits
ILGA World designed both guides for human rights defenders to use either independently or together, depending on where an organisation is in its advocacy journey:
- New to the UPR, or preparing a submission? Start with the Advocacy toolkit‘s roadmap and submission-drafting sections. They set out exactly what to include, where to find SOGIESC recommendations, and how to turn a general concern into a concrete, actionable recommendation a State is likely to adopt.
- Your country was just reviewed, or you have recommendations you are not sure what to do with? Go straight to the Good practices guide. It shows how to campaign for a “noted” recommendation back onto the agenda, how to translate a recommendation for officials who have never worked on SOGIESC issues, and how to make the case for a national mechanism that tracks implementation over time.
- Working with treaty bodies or Special Procedures? The Good practices guide explains the follow-up procedures specific to each mechanism — including word limits, deadlines and grading systems — so shadow reports and submissions land where they will have the most impact.
- Building a long-term strategy? Read both guides together. ILGA World designed these toolkits to reinforce one another throughout the full cycle of UN human rights mechanisms: a well-drafted recommendation, secured using the Advocacy toolkit, is only as strong as the follow-up strategy that follows it, mapped out in the Good practices guide.
Both publications also include ready-to-adapt templates, sample advocacy papers, and checklists that organisations can bring directly into their own national and regional advocacy planning.
Get involved
ILGA World member organisations and activists can also reach the UPR programme directly at upr (a) ilga (dot) org for guidance on drafting a submission, mapping potential allies, or joining the SOGIESC UPR Advocacy Week in Geneva.
ILGA World will also launch both toolkits during two online events: join us!
From UN recommendations to national advocacy: A members’ dialogue
Date: Monday 20 July 2026
Time: 3:00 – 4: 00 PM Central European Summer Time (what is the time where you’re based?)
Languages: English, with Spanish interpretation
Accessibility: automated live captioning in English
Safety: This meet-up is reserved for the ILGA membership. Member organisations will receive a registration link via email and on the membership platform.
Making human rights recommendations work: A practical guide for civil society advocacy
Date: Thursday 23 July 2026
Time: 3:00 – 4:00 PM Central European Summer Time (what is the time where you’re based?)
Languages: English, with Spanish interpretation
Accessibility: automated live captioning in English
