HRC session 58 (February – April 2025) – ILGA World’s engagement
HRC session 58 – ILGA World’s engagement
On this page, you will find information about the work of ILGA World during the 58th session of the UN Human Rights Council, and about how the human rights of LGBTI people worldwide were addressed during the session.
Statements
Annual high-level panel discussion on human rights mainstreaming
During the 58th Human Rights Council, feminist organisations recalled how in 1995 feminist human rights defenders and activists — including LBTI women and gender diverse persons, sex workers, youth, human rights defenders and persons with disabilities — gathered to demand an equal and just future. They fought for recognition and inclusion in the struggle for gender equality, leaving a lasting mark on the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.
“Beijing ’95 was a landmark for women’s rights, especially through the recognition that the human rights of women include their right to have control over and decide freely on their sexuality, including sexual and reproductive health.”, they said. “Together, we have fought for the progress achieved over the last 30 years, and there should be no retrogression. We will continue to fight until gender equality is a reality for everyone.”
Watch the video below, and follow this link to access the joint statement
Interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion
and Belief
During the 58th UN Human Rights Council, we took part in the dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion and Belief, thanking her for meeting with LGBTI communities during her recent visit to Hungary.
On this occasion, we highlighted how religion is often instrumentalised against LGBTI people and their human rights are portrayed as threats to Hungary’s cultural and religious heritage, while progressive religious communities are systematically sidelined and made invisible.
Watch the video and read our statement – drafted in consultation with Háttér Society – in full.
Interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on Cultural Rights
We must avoid losing access to documents and testimonies that are fundamental to preserving and rebuilding our collective memory.
During the 58th UN Human Rights Council, we urged Chile to advance equitable access to culture and the construction of a memory that recognises the historic violence suffered by trans people – including during the dictatorship.
Watch this video and read our statement, drafted in consultation with OTD Chile
Panel discussion on the realisation of human rights in sustaining and increasing the gains made in the HIV response and leaving no one behind
Removing punitive legal and policy frameworks. Reducing stigma and discrimination. Addressing gender-based inequalities and gender-based violence. All these actions are central to an effective HIV response, and this is what States committed to do. However, all these targets are still largely unmet.
The global HIV response was already facing challenges. Now, with the funding freeze carried out by the US Government, lives are on the line.
During the 58th UN Human Rights Council, we asked States to honour their commitments towards a truly community-led HIV response.
Watch the video and read our joint statement in full.
Interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
Lesbian, bisexual, and trans women with disabilities, as well as intersex and gender diverse persons with disabilities, are disproportionately affected by issues including access to health care, social services, and legal protection while experiencing heightened vulnerability to gender based violence. They often face state denial of their legal capacity, which massively impacts their sexual rights and bodily autonomy.
During the 58th UN Human Rights Council, we raised awareness of these barriers, inviting States to put into practice the recommendations made by Treaty Bodies on the human rights of LBTI women with disabilities.
Watch the video and read our statement.
Item 8
To date, 3.3 billion people live in countries that spend more on interest payments than on education, health, or climate investment. Austerity measures disproportionately harm women, girls, and gender non-conforming people, especially those who experience intersecting inequalities.
During the 58th Human Rights Council, we joined Women Deliver, COC Nederland,Sexual Rights Initiative, Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, and International Planned Parenthood Federation to highlight how the structural reform of the unjust international financial architecture and the end of austerity measures is a human rights issue, a feminist issue, and an LGBTI issue.
Watch the video below and read our statement.
Side events
Monday 3 March: Addressing preventable maternal mortality and morbidity: An intersectional and systems-based approach
Join ILGA World and other 7 organisations for a side event at the 58th UN Human Rights Council to discuss the necessity of human rights-based approach to prevent and eliminate maternal mortality and morbidity. Dig deeper.
Location: Room XXV, Palais des Nations, Geneva, Switzerland
Event language(s): English
Date: Time: in Geneva: 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM Central European Time (time where you are based: see here)
Wednesday 5 March: Addressing preventable maternal mortality and morbidity: An intersectional and systems-based approach
Join ILGA World, Frontline AIDS, International Community of Women Living with HIV (ICW), and The Sexual Rights Initiative, with the support of the permanent missions of Colombia, Brazil, and Portugal, for a side event at the 58th UN Human Rights Council to outline a path forward for governments, UN agencies, and civil society in ensuring a human rights-based, sustainable HIV response. Dig deeper.
Location: Room XXII, Palais des Nations, Geneva, Switzerland
Event language(s): English
Date: Time: 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM Central European Time (time where you are based: see here)
Livestream: follow this link
Friday 7 March: Protection of defenders against new and emerging forms of technology-facilitated rights violations
Join ILGA World and other 14 organisations for a side event at the 58th UN Human Rights Council to discuss the reality and the challenges that human rights defenders face in the context of new and emerging technologies. Dig deeper.
Location: Palais des Nations, Geneva, Switzerland
Event language(s): English
Date: Time: 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM Central European Time (time where you are based: see here)
Add the event to your calendar: follow this link
Adoptions of UPR outcomes
Albania
During the adoption of the UPR outcomes of Albania, we welcomed the Government’s commitment to advancing LGBTI rights through the acceptance of key recommendations — including on same-sex unions and marriages, the further criminalisation of hate speech and hate crimes, the full implementation of anti-discrimination legislation, and the strengthening of the National Action Plan for LGBTI Persons.
Watch the video and read our statement — drafted in consultation with the Alliance Against Discrimination of LGBTI People in Albania.
Norway
During the adoption of the UPR outcomes of Norway, we urged the government to strengthen support for the LGBTQ+ community — both domestically and internationally.
Despite the positive developments, we also noted with concern the recent attempts to backtrack the human rights of the LGBTQ+ community — including a rejected proposal that sought to remove teaching about gender identity in schools.
Watch the video and read our statement — drafted in consultation with FRI, the Norwegian association for gender and sexual diversity
Costa Rica
During the adoption of the UPR outcomes of Costa Rica, we welcome the decision of the Government to support the recommendations aimed at strengthening the legal protection of LGBTQIA+ people. However, we noted with concern that the government has recently promoted reforms that negatively affect the community: given that many advances on our rights were achieved by decree and not by law, there are fears that the regression will continue.
Watch the video and read our statement — drafted in consultation with Asociación Mulabi/Grupo de Trabajo Latinoamericano por los Derechos Sexuales.
