With our global LGBTI communities at the 62nd UN Human Rights Council (HRC62)

The 62nd session of the United Nations Human Rights Council begins today in Geneva.

ILGA World will be there for our LGBTI communities worldwide: our voice is in the room, and we will bring you along! These are the key areas we will focus on.

Lesbian, bisexual, and queer women in all their diversity are taking centre stage: the Independent Expert on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity will present his first report on the violence and discrimination they experience.

Based on the contributions of over 200 human rights defenders, civil society groups, national human rights institutions, and States across every region of the world, the report clearly names an issue with severe consequences: lesbian, bisexual, and queer women are structurally invisible in data, policy, and in the very systems designed to protect them. The report, however, also offers practical recommendations on how States can protect women’s autonomy and ensure their access to justice and the exercise of their rights. 

On this occasion, ILGA World, Outright, and RFSL will welcome at least 11 LBQ activists globally for a week of advocacy at the Human Rights Council!

We will also co-sponsor a side event, Addressing severe forms of discrimination against lesbian, bisexual, and queer (LBQ) Women: from invisibility to accountability, which will take place on Friday, 19 June (1:00 – 2 PM CEST) at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.

Trans Advocacy Week is a yearly initiative that amplifies trans activists’ activism in United Nations spaces. This year will see the tenth iteration of this initiative, which has supported more than 60 trans and gender-diverse activists since 2017, with a specific focus on freedom of association and democratic backsliding. Together with APTN, EATHAN, GATE, TGEU, and RFSL, we will welcome 18 activists from every region of the world!

Through the last decade, there has been significant progress as well as setbacks related to the rights of trans and gender diverse people. However, what has remained unchanged is the endurance of trans and gender-diverse people’s activism, our networks of support, and the commitment of our movements to securing a better future for all.

During the week, activists will receive training on United Nations advocacy, deliver statements to the Human Rights Council, connect with other trans and gender-diverse activists, and meet with representatives of United Nations member States to lobby directly on pressing issues that trans people face in their countries.

You are also invited to join our side event, Democratic backsliding: Through attacks on freedoms of expression, association and assembly, happening at the Palais des Nations in Geneva on Thursday, 18 June.

During this Human Rights Council session, 14 UN member States will hear the outcomes of their Universal Periodic Reviews. Micronesia, Lebanon, Mauritania, Nauru, Rwanda, Nepal, Saint Lucia, Oman, Austria, Australia, Georgia, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and São Tomé and Príncipe.

ILGA World will support activists taking the floor — encouraging their countries to implement the recommendations and voluntary commitments on the ground, and to ensure that LGBTI people can truly exercise their rights.

Throughout the Human Rights Council, ILGA World will be there for and with you, amplifying the voices of our global chosen family.

Follow our website and social media pages for real-time updates, watch the sessions live via UN Web TV, and engage with our advocacy team to learn more about what opportunities are available for you to raise your voice at the United Nations.

Together, we can turn diplomatic dialogue into decisive change!