INFO NOTE ON UN SPECIAL PROCEDURES – NOVEMBER 2019
This is the 25th 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: Education; Freedom of expression; Housing; Human rights defenders; Leprosy; Racism; Torture; Violence against women
Upcoming country visits: Benin, Brazil, China, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gambia, Greece, Iraq, Italy, Mali, Malaysia, Maldives, Paraguay, Peru, Romania, Spain, Qatar, Zimbabwe.
Download the November 2019 info note on Special Procedures
as a PDF file
Call for inputs
| Mandate | Call | Deadline | Additional Info |
| Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression | Call for submission: Country visit to Ethiopia (2-9 Dec 2019). | 15 Nov 2019 | Read more |
| NEW! Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing | Written comments on the “Guidelines on the implementation of the right to adequate housing” | 18 Nov 2019 | Read more |
NEW!  Special Rapporteur on human rights defenders |
Call for submission: Country Visit to Peru (21 Jan – 3 Feb 2020). | 20 Nov 2019 | Read more |
| NEW! Special Rapporteur on the right to education | Call for submission: Country Visit to Qatar (8-16 Dec 2019). | 20 Nov 2019 | Read more |
| NEW! Special Rapporteur on violence against women | Call for femicide-related data and information | 20 Nov 2019 | Read more |
| NEW! Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism | Call for submission: Country Visit to Qatar (24 Nov -1 Dec 2019). | 21 Nov 2019 | Read more |
| NEW! Special Rapporteur on torture | Call for submissions on psychological torture and ill-treatment. | 25 Nov 2019 | Read more |
| NEW! Special Rapporteur on discrimination against persons affected by leprosy | Call for submission: Thematic report on the development of model policy to eliminate discrimination against person affected by leprosy and their family members. | 30 Nov 2019 | Read more |
| Special Rapporteur on racism | Call for submissions: Thematic report on new information technologies, racial equality, and non-discrimination | 13 Dec 2019 | 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.
In 2020, he is going to visit Sri Lanka. Previously, he visited Ukraine (2019), Georgia (2018) and Mozambique (2018). In 2017, his predecessor Prof. Vitit Muntarbhorn visited Argentina.
In March 2018, Victor Madrigal-Borloz made 12 country visit requests, and in this section you may find information about current status of the requests. Additionally, on 4 July 2018 Malta invited the Independent Expert to visit their country.
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 April 2018) |
| Burkina Faso | Visit request (26 Mar 2018) |
| Cambodia | Visit request (26 Mar 2018) |
| 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* | Visit request (26 Mar 2018) |
| Kenya* | Visit request (26 Mar 2018) |
| Malta* | Invitation Country Visit (4 Jul 2018) |
| Nepal | Visit request (26 Mar 2018) |
| 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* | Request to postpone (15 May 2018) |
| Sri Lanka* | Request to postpone to 2020 (2 Oct 2019). Background note |
| Thailand* | Visit request (26 Mar 2018) |
| 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 |
| Iraq | Internally displaced persons | 16-22 Nov 2019 |
| NEW! Maldives | Torture |
17-24 Nov 2019 |
| Zimbabwe | Food | 18-28 Nov 2019 |
| NEW! Gambia | Truth, justice, reparation | 20-27 Nov 2019 |
| China | Older persons |
23 Nov-3 Dec 2019 |
| Qatar | Racism |
24 Nov – 1 Dec 2019 |
| Fiji | Health |
28 Nov-3 Dec 2019 |
| Ecuador | Violence against women |
29 Nov – 9 Dec 2019 |
| Benin | Water and sanitation |
29 Nov – 12 Dec 2019 |
| Ethiopia | Freedom of opinion and expression |
2-9 Dec 2019 |
| Brazil | Toxic waste | 2-13 Dec 2019 |
| Greece | Arbitrary detention |
2-13 Dec 2019 |
| Mali | Enforced disappearances | 4-11 Dec 2019 |
| Qatar | Education | 8-16 Dec 2019 |
| Qatar | Slavery | 13-20 Jan 2020 |
| Peru | Human rights defenders |
21 Jan – 3 Feb 2020 |
| Italy | Food | 22-31 Jan 2020 |
| Spain | Extreme poverty |
27 Jan – 7 Feb 2020 |
| Paraguay | Sale of children | 10-18 Feb 2020 |
| Malaysia | Freedom of religion |
26 Mar – 8 Apr 2020 |
| NEW! Romania | Discrimination against women |
26 Mar – 8 Apr 2020 |
= Mandate frequently considers LGBTI issues.