INFO NOTE ON UN SPECIAL PROCEDURES – JULY 2020
This is the 33rd monthly info note by ILGA World on UN Special Procedures and sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and sex characteristics (SOGIESC).
This issue includes:
Call for inputs: Violence against Women
Upcoming country visits: Brazil, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Maldives, Mexico, Nepal, Paraguay, Qatar, Venezuela
IE on SOGI develops practical guidelines to help states in fulfilling their obligations to prevent and mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on LGBT persons
“The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated existing inequalities faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and gender diverse (LGBT) persons around the globe and has also exposed new vulnerabilities for the LGBT population. In recognition of Pride month, the UN Independent Expert on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (IE SOGI), Mr. Victor Madrigal-Borloz, launched new guidelines for states to ensure a COVID-19 response free from violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Guided by a unique mnemonic, ASPIRE, these guidelines will help ensure protection for LGBT persons who face direct and indirect risks from COVID-19 while working to include LGBT perspectives in building back better.
The ASPIRE guidelines build off a series of online consultations conducted by the Mandate earlier this spring with participation from civil society representatives, including over 400 people from all regions of the world. The input collected was used as the basis for the Mandate’s 2020 International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia (IDAHOBIT) statement to shed light on the different implications of the current pandemic on the LGBT community.”
Victor Madrigal-Borloz
Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination
based on sexual orientation and gender identity
Read the ASPIRE guidelines here
Read the full version of the guidelines here
Join ILGA WORLD in supporting LGBTI communities
The Special Rapporteur on violence against women has extended the deadline for her call for inputs on rape as a grave and systematic human rights violation against women (new deadline 31 Dec 2020)
ILGA World is collecting information on this topic from all over the world to submit joint reports to the Special Rapporteur.
If you have any data on rape and other forms of sexual violence against LBTI women/persons in your country – please reach out to us on [email protected]. We also encourage you to fill in our questionnaire available in English, Spanish and Russian. Let’s do it together!
Call for inputs
| Mandate | Call | Deadline | Additional Info |
| EXTENDED!!! Special Rapporteur on violence against women | Call for submissions: report on rape as a grave and systematic human rights violation and gender-based violence against women (to be presented to the Human Rights Council in June 2021) | 31 Dec 2020 | Read More |
: requests information on LGBTI persons
Country visits by the Independent Expert on SOGI
The UN Independent Expert on SOGI, Victor Madrigal-Borloz, undertakes 1 to 3 fact-finding country visits 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 visits 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 |
| Armenia* | Request to postpone (17 Apr 2018) |
| Burkina Faso | Reminder visit request – for 2021 (17 Jan 2020) |
| Cambodia | Request to postpone from 18 Jan to 29 Jan 2021 (7 April 2020) |
| Colombia* | Request to postpone (7 April 2020) |
| Georgia* | Visit conducted on 25 Sep to 5 Oct 2018.
End of Mission Statement: English – Georgian |
| 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 |
| Poland* | Reminder visit request – for 2020 (7 Jan 2020) |
| Sri Lanka* | Request to postpone to 2020 (2 Oct 2019). |
| Thailand* | Reminder visit request – for 2020 (7 Jan 2020) |
| Tunisia* | Visit request from 6-17 Apr 2020 (19 Nov 2019) |
| Ukraine* | Visit conducted on 30 Apr to 10 May 2019.
End of Mission Statement: English |
* Countries with standing invitations. A standing invitation is an open invitation extended by a Government to all thematic special procedures. By extending a standing invitation States announce that they will always accept requests to visit from all Special Procedures.
Upcoming country visits by other mandates
This information is regularly updated by the OHCHR here.
To find out how you can support the visits, please contact the respective mandate-holders at their e-mail addresses, available here.
| Country | Mandate | Dates |
| POSTPONED!!! Venezuela | Unilateral coercive measures | 3-14 Aug 2020 |
| POSTPONED!!! Paraguay | Minorities | 3-14 Aug 2020 |
| Mexico | Internally dispaced person | 5-13 Oct 2020 |
| Maldives | Torture |
1-10 Nov 2020 |
| NEW!!! Qatar | Unilateral coercive measures | 1-12 Nov 2020 |
| Lebanon | Independence of judges |
3-10 Nov 2020 |
| NEW!!! Brazil | Racism |
9-23 Nov 2020 |
| Kyrgyzstan | Extreme poverty |
17 May-4 Jun 2021 |
| NEW!!! Nepal | Extreme poverty |
6-17 Sept 2021 |
= Mandate frequently considers LGBTI issues.