INFO NOTE ON UN SPECIAL PROCEDURES – JANUARY 2020
This is the 27th 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:Development; Foreign debt; Leprosy; Migrants; Racism; Water and sanitation
Upcoming country visits: Botswana; Costa Rica; Italy; Japan; Malaysia; Mauritius; New Zealand; Paraguay; Peru; Romania; Spain.
Call for inputs
| Mandate | Call | Deadline | Additional info |
| NEW! Special Rapporteur on foreign debt | Call for input: country visit to Mauritius (27 Jan to 6 Feb 2020) | 20 Jan 2020 | Read more EN | FR |
| NEW! Special Rapporteur on migrants | Call for submissions on the right to freedom of association of migrants | 27 Jan 2020 | Read more |
| NEW! Special Rapporteur on water and sanitation | Call for submissions: questionnaire focused on “privatization and the human rights to water and sanitation” | 31 Jan 2020 | EN | FR | ES |
| NEW! Special Rapporteur on racism | Call for input: Report on new information technologies, racial equality, and non-discrimination | 31 Jan 2020 | Read more |
| NEW! Special Rapporteur on racism | Call for submissions: on combatting glorification of Nazism, neo-Nazism and other practices that contribute to fuelling contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance | 31 Jan 2020 | Read more |
| NEW! Special Rapporteur on leprosy | Call for input: country visit to Japan (12 to 19 Feb 2020) | 11 Feb 2020 | Read more |
| NEW! Special Rapporteur on the right to development | Call for submissions: Financing for Development – International and Regional Level Practices | 29 Feb 2020 | Read more |
| NEW! Special Rapporteur on the right to development | Call for submissions: Financing for Development – National Level Practices | 29 Feb 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. On 8 October 2019 the Independent Expert requested a visit to Japan, and on 19 November 2019 to Tunisia.
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 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) |
| Japan* | Visit request for second half of 2020 (8 Oct 2019) |
| 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) |
| 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 |
| Italy | Food | 20-31 Jan 2020 |
| Peru | Human rights defenders |
21 Jan – 3 Feb 2020 |
| Spain | Extreme poverty | 27 Jan – 6 Feb 2020 |
| NEW! Mauritius | Foreing debt | 27 Jan – 6 Feb 2020 |
| Paraguay | Sale of children | 10-18 Feb 2020 |
| NEW! New Zealand | Housing |
10-20 Feb 2020 |
| NEW! Japan | Leprosy | 12-19 Feb 2020 |
| NEW! Romania | Discrimination against women |
24 Feb – 6 Mar 2020 |
| Peru | African Descent |
25 Feb – 4 Mar 2020 |
| NEW! New Zealand | Older persons |
2-12 Mar 2020 |
| Costa Rica | International solidarity | 16-27 Mar 2020 |
| Botswana | Persons with disabilities | 16 Mar – 3 Apr 2020 |
| NEW! New Zealand | Health |
24 Mar – 3 Apr 2020 |
| Malaysia | Freedom of religion |
26 Mar – 8 Apr 2020 |
= Mandate frequently considers LGBTI issues.