INFO NOTE ON UN SPECIAL PROCEDURES – DECEMBER 2020
This is the 38th 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: Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association; Hazardous Substances and Wastes; Independence of Judges and Lawyers; Leprosy; Trafficking; Truth, Justice, Reparations and Guarantees of Non-Recurrence; Unilateral Coercive Measures; Violence against Women
Upcoming country visits: Kyrgyzstan, Mexico, Nepal, Paraguay, Tunisia, Venezuela
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 |
| 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 |
| NEW!!! Special Rapporteur on leprosy | Call for submissions: report on promotion of decent work and impact of COVID-19 on persons affected by leprosy and their families (to be presented to the Human Rights Council in June 2021) | 31 Dec 2020 | Questionnaire |
| NEW!!! Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers | Call for inputs: report on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the administration of justice and the free and independent exercise of the legal profession (to be presented to the Human Rights Council in June 2021) | 15 Jan 2021 | Read more
Questionnaire |
| NEW!!! Special Rapporteur on truth, justice, reparations and guarantees of non-recurrence | Call for inputs: report on accountability for gross violations of human rights and serious violations of international humanitarian law in transitional justice processes (to be presented to the Human Rights Council in September 2021) | 16 Jan 2021 | Read more
Questionnaire |
| NEW!!! Special Rapporteur on freedom of peaceful assembly and of association | Call for submissions: report on accountability and access to justice in the context of the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association (to be presented to the 47th session of the Human Rights Council in June 2021) |
30 Jan 2021 | Read more
Questionnaire |
| NEW!!! Special Rapporteur on hazardous substances and wastes | Call for inputs: impact analysis of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) | 31 Jan 2021 | Read more |
| NEW!!! Special Rapporteur on unilateral coercive measures | Call for submissions: UCM-Study on the notion, characteristics, legal status and targets of unilateral sanctions (for reports to be presented to the Human Rights Council at its 48th session in September 2021 and the General Assembly at its 76th session in October 2021) | 1 Feb 2021 | Read more |
| NEW!!! Special Rapporteur on trafficking | Call for inputs: report on the implementation of the non-punishment principle in the context of trafficking in persons (to be presented to the 47th session of the Human Rights Council, June 2021) | 14 Feb 2021 | Questionnaire |
: 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* | Request to postpone visit to first quarter of 2021 (21 Oct 2020) |
| 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!!! Tunisia | Sexual orientation and gender identity |
16-27 Nov 2020 |
| POSTPONED!!! Paraguay | Minority Issues | 27 Nov – 7 Dec 2020 |
| POSTPONED!!! Venezuela | Unilateral coercive measures | 11-22 Jan 2021 |
| NEW!!! Mexico | Internally displaced persons | 15 – 27 Mar 2021 |
| Kyrgyzstan | Extreme poverty |
17-28 May 2021 |
| Nepal | Extreme poverty |
6-17 Sept 2021 |
= Mandate frequently considers LGBTI issues.