INFO NOTE ON UN SPECIAL PROCEDURES – FEBRUARY 2019
This is the 16th monthly info note by ILGA on UN Special Procedures and sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and sex characteristics (SOGIESC).
This issue includes:
Call for inputs: African descent; Disability; Executions; Freedom of opinion and expression; Freedom of assembly and association; Hazardous substances; Housing; Mercenaries; Poverty; Racism; Sale and sexual exploitation of children; Sexual orientation and gender identity; Violence against women; Water and sanitation
Upcoming country visits: Argentina; Bolivia; Bulgaria; Canada; El Salvador; France; Georgia; Greece; Kazakhstan; Laos; Malaysia; Mongolia; Morocco; Nigeria; Norway; Sri Lanka; Ukraine
Download the February 2019 info note on Special Procedures
as a PDF file
Call for input by the Independent Expert on SOGI
The UN Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, Victor Madrigal-Borloz, has issued a call for inputs to his upcoming thematic report: “Data collection and management”, to be presented at the 41st session of the Human Rights Council on 24 June – 12 July 2019.
The report will discuss which types of data are relevant to assess violence and discrimination based on SOGI, consider the human rights implications of such data collection and usage, and make recommendations to States.
To guide the report, the Independent Expert has requested input on the following 7 questions (abbreviated):
- What are the current efforts by States to increase their knowledge of the LGBT population?
- What kinds of data can be collected by government to understand the nature and extent of violence, discrimination, and disparities in health, education, civic participation and other areas?
- What safeguards are in place, and what safeguards are needed, to protect the human rights of individuals providing personal data as well as individuals collecting such data?
- What are the risks associated with the collection and management of data on SOGI and initiatives to overcome those?
- Are there circumstances where data collection is ill-advised, such as in countries that criminalise same-sex behaviour?
- When States engage in data gathering activity, to what extent is civil society able to meaningfully participate in the design and implementation of these programs?
- Does the lack of a global classification scheme carry risks that data will not be useful for international comparisons or not accurately reflect the identities and lived realities of local populations?
Read the full call and questions here: English | Français | Español
The deadline for submissions is 15 March 2019.
Responses may be submitted in English, French or Spanish.
Call for inputs
| Mandate | Call | Deadline | Additional Info |
| NEW!Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent | Call for submissions: Country visit to Argentina (11-18 Mar 2019) | 22 Feb 2019 | Read more: EN | ES |
| NEW!Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression | Call for submissions: Follow-up report on country visits to Côte d’Ivoire, Honduras, Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Japan and Turkey | 22 Feb 2019 | Read more |
| Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent | Call for inputs: Data and analysis on the human rights situation of people of African descent (baseline report) |
28 Feb 2019 | Read more: |
| Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions | Call for submissions: Country visit to Mozambique (dates TBC) |
28 Feb 2019 | Read more |
| NEW!Working Group on mercenaries | Call for submissions: Gender and private military and security companies(thematic report to be presented at the 42nd HRC session in Sep 2019) |
28 Feb 2019 | Read more |
| NEW!Special Rapporteur on violence against women | Call for submissions: 25 years of the mandate – Current challenges and future steps | 28 Feb 2019 | Read more |
| NEW!Special Rapporteur on safe drinking water and sanitation | Call for submissions: The human rights to water and sanitation in public spaces (thematic report to be presented at the 42nd HRC session in Sep 2019) |
28 Feb 2019 | Read more
Questionnaire: |
| Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance | Call for Inputs: Combatting glorification of Nazism, neo-Nazism and other racially discriminatory ideologies (annual report to be presented at the 41st HRC session in June 2019) | 28 Feb 2019 | Read more |
| Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance | Call for inputs: Thematic report on natural resource extraction and racial discrimination (thematic report to be presented at the 41st HRC session in June 2019) |
1 Mar 2019 | Read more |
| NEW!Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association | Call for inputs: The rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association in the digital age (thematic report to the 41st HRC session in June 2019) | 14 Mar 2019 | Read more |
| NEW!Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children | Call for submissions: Country visit to Bulgaria (1-8 Apr 2019) |
15 Mar 2019 | Read more |
| NEW!Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities | Call for submissions: Country visit to Canada (2-11 Apr 2019) | 15 Mar 2019 | Read more |
| NEW!Special Rapporteur on safe drinking water and sanitation | Call for inputs: The impact of mega-projects on the human rights to water and sanitation (thematic report to the 74th GA session in Oct 2019) |
15 Mar 2019 | Read more
Questionnaire: |
| NEW!Special Rapporteur on hazardous substances and wastes | Call for submissions: Principles for protecting workers rights from toxic exposures (thematic report to the 42nd HRC session in Sep 2019) | 15 Mar 2019 | Read More: |
| Working Group on mercenaries | Private military and security companies in the extractive industry (thematic report to the 42nd HRC session in Sep 2019)nd HRC session in Sep 2019) | 15 Mar 2019 | Read more: |
| NEW!Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing | Call for submissions: Country visit to France (2-11 Apr 2019) |
22 Mar 2019 | Read more: |
| Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights | Call for inputs: Framework for realizing economic and social rights (research project expanding on report to the 32nd HRC session in 2016) | 29 Mar 2019 | Read more |
| NEW!Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities | CCall for inputs: The rights of older persons with disabilities (thematic report to the 74th GA session in Oct 2019) | 15 Apr 2019 | Read more
Questionnaire: |
= Explicitly 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 as part of his mandate.
His predecessor, Prof. Vitit Muntarbhorn, visited Argentina in March 2017. Check his report on this visit here: EN / FR / ES / AR / RU / ZH
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 you wish to engage with ILGA with regard to the Independent Expert’s fact-finding visit to your country, please contact us ([email protected]).
| Country | Current Status |
| Argentina* | Visit conducted on 1-10 Mar 2017 |
| 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. |
| 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 |
| Poland* | Request to postpone (15 May 2018) |
| Sri Lanka* | Proposal of dates – 27 May 2019 to 7 June 2019 (31 October 2018) |
| Thailand* | Visit request (26 Mar 2018) |
| Ukraine* | Visit to be conducted from 30 Apr to 10 May 2019 |
* 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, found in the OHCHR directory.
| Country | Mandate | Dates |
| Laos | Extreme poverty |
18-29 March 2019 |
| NEW!Morocco | Independence of judges | 20-27 March 2019 |
| Bulgaria | Sale and sexual exploitation of children | 1-8 Apr 2019 |
| Greece | Discrimination against women |
1-12 Apr 2019 |
| Canada | Disability | 2-11 Apr 2019 |
| France | Housing |
2-11 Apr 2019 |
| Georgia | Business | 3-12 Apr 2019 |
| NEW!El Salvador | Truth, justice and reparation | 24 Apr – 3 May 2019 |
| NEW!Mongolia | Human rights defenders |
30 Apr – 13 May 2019 |
| NEW!Bolivia | Foreign Debt | 6-15 May 2019 |
| Argentina | Privacy | 6-17 May 2019 |
| NEW!Kazakhstan | Terrorism | 11-17 May 2019 |
| NEW!Sri Lanka | Freedom of assembly and association |
15-26 Jul 2019 |
| Malaysia | Extreme poverty |
12-22 Aug 2019 |
| NEW!Norway | Environment | 12-23 Sep 2019 |
| NEW!Nigeria | Housing |
17-26 Sep 2019 |
| Norway | Disability | 2-11 Oct 2019 |
| NEW!Greece | Arbitrary Detention | 2-13 Dec 2019 |