INFO NOTE ON UN SPECIAL PROCEDURES – MAY 2020
This is the 31st 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; Environment; Extreme Poverty; Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association; Freedom of Religion; Indigenous Peoples; Internally Displaced Persons; Minority Issues; Racism; Truth, Justice, Reparation & Guarantees on Non- recurrence; Unilateral Coercive Measures; Violence against Women; Water and Sanitation
Upcoming country visits: Cameroon, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Maldives, Mexico, Paraguay, Venezuela.
Joint statement by human rights experts on the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia
“Lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans-and gender-diverse people, who are disproportionately represented in the ranks of the poor, the homeless, and those without healthcare, will be deeply impacted by the pandemic and, unless we take urgent action, this impact will be felt over generations,” said the Independent Expert on SOGI, Victor Madrigal-Borloz, in a key Joint Statement signed by 96 United Nations and international human rights experts.
We therefore urge States and other stakeholders, on the eve of this 17 May 2020 and in times of COVID-19, to give visibility to and protect LGBT persons in the context of the pandemic. We call on States to pursue all means necessary – including conducting research, adopting legislation, public policy, and ensuring access to justice mechanisms – to ensure that this public health emergency will neither exacerbate existing misconceptions, prejudices, inequalities or structural barriers, nor lead to increased violence and discrimination against persons with diverse sexual orientations and gender identities.”
Victor Madrigal-Borloz
Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination
based on sexual orientation and gender identity
Read the news article in English, Spanish or French
Read the joint statement in English, Spanish or French.
Join ILGA World in supporting LGBTI communities
The Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice reparations and guarantees of non-recurrence published one new call for input:
- On the multi-layered aspects of a gender perspective in transitional justice processes (deadline 29 May 2020)
ILGA World is collecting information on this topic from Colombia, the Philippines and Sierra Leone to submit a written contribution to the Special Rapporteur.
If you have any data on the inclusion of LGBTI+ persons in transitional justice processes in any of these countries, please contact us at …@intern.silga.com before the 25th of May 2020. Let’s do it together!
The Special Rapporteur on violence against women published a call for input:
- On COVID-19 and the increase of domestic and gender-based violence against women (deadline 30 June 2020)
ILGA World is collecting information on these two topics from all over the world to submit joint reports to the Special Rapporteur.
If you have any data on the situation of LBTI women/persons in your country or if you want to share information on initiatives organized by civil society to support LBTI women/persons during the COVID crisis – please reach out to us on [email protected].
Call for inputs
| Mandate | Call | Deadline | Additional Info |
| NEW!!! Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent | Call for Inputs: the impact of COVID-19, and the response to the pandemic, on the human rights of people of African descent (to be presented at the 45th session of the UN Human Rights Council) | 17 May 2020 | Read More |
| 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 75th GA session in September 2020) | 20 May 2020 | Read More |
| NEW!!! Special Rapporteur on truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence | Call for inputs: report on the multi-layered aspects of a gender perspective in transitional justice processes (to be presented to the 75th GA session in October 2020) |
29 May 2020 | Questionnaire EN | ES | FR |
| Special Rapporteur on water and sanitation | Call for inputs: good practices related to “different levels and types of services”, “gender equality”, “development cooperation”, “affordability”, “service regulation”, “forcibly displaced persons”, “principle of accountability”, “spheres of life beyond the household”, and “mega-projects” |
29 May 2020 | Questionnaire |
| Special Rapporteur on environment | Call for inputs: healthy ecosystems and human rights: sustaining the foundations of life (to be presented to the 75th GA session in September 2020) | 31 May 2020 | EN | ES | FR
Questionnaire |
| Special Rapporteur on minorities | Call for inputs: categories of minorities (national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities) (to be presented to the 75th GA session in September 2020) | 31 May 2020 | EN | ES | FR |
| NEW!!! Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief | Call for submissions: report on eliminating intolerance and discrimination based on religion or belief and the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 16 (SDG 16) (to be presented to the 75th GA session in September 2020) | 1 Jun 2020 | Read More |
| NEW!!! Special Rapporteur on unilateral coercive measures | Call for submissions: UCM-Study on impact of unilateral sanctions on human rights during the state of emergency amid COVID-19 pandemic | 1 Jun 2020 | Read More |
| NEW!!! Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty | Call for inputs: report to the 75th session of the UN General Assembly, with a focus on “just transition: people in poverty and sustainable development” | 10 Jun 2020 | EN | ES | FR |
| NEW!!! Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism | Call for inputs: report on combatting glorification of Nazism, neo-Nazism and other practices that contribute to fuelling contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance (to be presented to the 75th GA session in September 2020) | 12 Jun 2020 | Read More |
| NEW!!! Special Rapporteur on freedom of peaceful assembly and association | Call for inputs: report on the enjoyment of the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association by women and girls (to be presented to the 75th GA session in September 2020) | 12 Jun 2020 | EN | ES | FR |
| NEW!!! Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples | Call for inputs: report on the impact of COVID-19 on indigenous peoples (to be presented to the 75th GA session in October 2020) |
15 Jun 2020 | EN | ES | FR |
| Working Group on Arbitrary Detention | Call for inputs: questionnaire for the study on arbitrary detention relating to drug policies (to be presented to the 47th HRC session) |
15 Jun 2020 | EN | ES | FR |
| NEW!!! Special Rapporteur on internally displaced persons | Call for inputs: report on internal displacement in the context of the slow-onset adverse effects of climate change (to be presented to the 75th GA session in October 2020) | 17 Jun 2020 | EN | ES | FR |
| Special Rapporteur on violence against women | Call for submissions: COVID-19 and the increase of domestic violence against women | 30 Jun 2020 | EN | ES | FR | RU |
: 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 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 |
| Armenia* | Request to postpone (17 Apr 2018) |
| Burkina Faso | Reminder visit request – for 2021 (17 Jan 2020) |
| NEW!!! Cambodia | Request to postpone from 18 Jan to 29 Jan 2021 (7 April 2020) |
| NEW!!! 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!!! Mexico | Trafficking | 11-19 May 2020 |
| NEW!!! Cameroon | Minorities | 18-29 May 2020 |
| NEW!!! Venezuela | Unilateral coercive measures | 3-14 Aug 2020 |
| Paraguay | Minorities | 3-14 Aug 2020 |
| Mexico | Internally dispaced person | 5-13 Oct 2020 |
| Maldives | Torture |
1-10 Nov 2020 |
| NEW!!! Lebanon | Independence of judges |
3-10 Nov 2020 |
| NEW!!! Kyrgyzstan | Extreme poverty |
1-15 Dec 2020 |
= Mandate frequently considers LGBTI issues.