INFO NOTE ON UN SPECIAL PROCEDURES – MARCH 2020
This is the 29th 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: African Descent; arbitrary detention; disability; freedom of expression; racism; slavery; water and Sanitation
Upcoming country visits: Costa Rica, Denmark and Greenland, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand
Call for inputs
| Mandate | Call | Deadline | Additional info |
| NEW!!! Working Group of Experts on people of African descent | Call for inputs: Mid-term review of the International Decade for people of African | 22 Mar 2020 | Read more |
| NEW!!! Special Rapporteur on slavery | Call for inputs: report on “addressing tomorrow’s slavery today” (to be presented to the 45th HRC session in September 2020) | 29 Mar 2020 | Read more |
| NEW!!! Special Rapporteur on water and sanitation | Call for inputs: a follow-up analysis on visit to India | 31 Mar 2020 | Read more |
| Working Group on Arbitrary Detention |  Call for inputs: a study on arbitrary detention relating to drug policies |
1 Apr 2020 | EN | FR | ES |
| NEW!!! UN Special Rapporteur on persons with disabilities | Call for input: report on disability-inclusive international cooperation (to be presented to the 75th GA session in October 2020) | 15 Apr 2020 | EN | FR | ES |
| NEW!!! Special Rapporteur on water and sanitation | Call for inputs: report on the progressive realization of the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation (to be presented to the 45th HRC session in September 2020) | 17 Apr 2020 | EN | FR | ES |
| Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression | Call for inputs: report on academic freedom and freedom of opinion and expression (to be presented to the 75th GA session in October 2020) | 30 Apr 2020 | Read more |
| NEW!!! Special Rapporteur on racism | Call for inputs: report on race, borders, and digital technologies (to be presented to the 74th GA session in August 2020) | 15 May 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).
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 World on this, please contact us ([email protected]).
| Country | Current status |
| Argentina* | Visit conducted on 1-10 Mar 2017. End of Mission Statement: English – Spanish Press Release: English – Spanish Country visit report: E / F / S / A / C / R |
| Armenia* | Request to postpone (17 Apr 2018) |
| Burkina Faso | NEW!!! Reminder visit request – for 2021 (17 Jan 2020) |
| Cambodia | Visit request (26 Mar 2018) |
| Colombia* | NEW!!! Visit request (7 Jan 2020) |
| Georgia* | Visit conducted on 25 Sep to 5 Oct 2018. End of Mission Statement: English – Georgian Press Release: English – Georgian Country visit report: E / F / S / A / C / R |
| Ghana* | NEW!!! Reminder visit request – for 2021 (7 Jan 2020) |
| India* | NEW!!! Visit request (7 Jan 2020) |
| Japan* | Visit request for second half of 2020 (8 Oct 2019) |
| Kenya* | NEW!!! Reminder visit request – for 2021 (7 Jan 2020) |
| Malta* | Invitation Country Visit (4 Jul 2018) |
| Nepal | NEW!!! 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 Country visit report: E / F / S / A / C / R |
| Poland* | NEW!!! Reminder visit request – for 2020 (7 Jan 2020) |
| Sri Lanka* | Request to postpone to 2020 (2 Oct 2019) Background note |
| Thailand* | NEW!!! 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 Press Release: English – Russian |
* 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-holder at their email, available here.
| Country | Mandate | Dates |
| Denmark and Greenland | Indigenous people | 10-19 Mar 2020 |
| POSTPONED! Costa Rica | International solidarity | 16-27 Mar 2020 |
| POSTPONED! New Zealand | Health |
24 Mar – 3 Apr 2020 |
| POSTPONED! Malaysia | Freedom of religion |
26 Mar – 8 Apr 2020 |
| NEW!!! Denmark | Cultural Rights |
24 Apr –7 May 2020 |
| Mexico | Trafficking | 11-19 May 2020 |
| Mexico | Internally dispaced person | 5-13 Oct 2020 |
= Mandate frequently considers LGBTI issues.