INFO NOTE ON UN SPECIAL PROCEDURES – MARCH 2019
This is the 17th 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: Development; Disability; Foreign debt; Poverty; Religion; Sexual orientation and gender identity; Slavery
Upcoming country visits: Argentina; Bolivia; Bulgaria; Canada; El Salvador; France; Georgia; Greece; Kazakhstan; Laos; Malaysia; Mongolia; Morocco; Netherlands; Nigeria; Norway; Qatar; South Africa; Sri Lanka; Timor-Leste; Togo; Tunisia; Ukraine
Download the March 2019 info note on Special Procedures
as a PDF file
Call for inputs
| Mandate | Call | Deadline | Additional Info |
| NEW! Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery | Call for submissions: Thematic report on “addressing tomorrow’s slavery today” | 29 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! Independent Expert on SOGI  |
Call for inputs: Country visit to Ukraine (30 Apr – 10 May 2019) |
8 Apr 2019 | Read more |
| NEW! Independent Expert on foreign debt and human rights | Call for contributions: Country visit to Bolivia (6-15 May 2019) | 8 Apr 2019 | Read more |
| Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities | Call for inputs: The rights of older persons with disabilities (thematic report to the 74th GA session in Sep 2019) | 15 Apr 2019 | Read more |
| NEW! Independent Expert on SOGI |
Call for inputs: Country visit to Sri Lanka (27 May – 7 Jun 2019) |
19 Apr 2019 | Read more |
| NEW! Special Rapporteur on the right to development | Call for submissions: The right to development and disaster risk reduction | 21 Apr 2019 | Read more |
| NEW! Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights | Call for submissions: Digital technology, social protection and human rights (thematic report to the 74th GA Session in Sep 2019) |
17 May 2019 | Read more |
| NEW! Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion | Call for submissions: Antisemitism (thematic report to the 74th GA Session in Sep 2019) | 7 Jun 2019 | Read more |
= 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. His predecessor, Prof. Vitit Muntarbhorn, visited Argentina in March 2017.
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.
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. End of Mission Statement: English – Spanish Press Release: English – Spanish |
| 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 |
| 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) |
| NEW! Sri Lanka* | Visit to be conducted from 27 May to 7 June 2019 NEW! Call for inputs – Deadline: 19 Apr 2019 Background note |
| Thailand* | Visit request (26 Mar 2018) |
| Ukraine* | Visit to be conducted from 30 Apr to 10 May 2019 NEW! Call for inputs – Deadline: 8 Apr 2019 Background note |
* 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 Mar 2019 |
| NEW! Morocco | Independence of judges and lawyers | Visit cancelled
PR (19 Mar 2019) |
| NEW! Netherlands | Freedom of religion |
25 Mar – 5 Apr 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! Tunisia | Education | 7-12 Apr 2019 |
| NEW! Timor-Leste | Indigenous peoples | 8-16 Apr 2019 |
| El Salvador | Truth, justice and reparation | 24 Apr – 3 May 2019 |
| Mongolia | Human rights defenders |
30 Apr – 13 May 2019 |
| Bolivia | Foreign debt | 6-15 May 2019 |
| Argentina | Privacy | 6-17 May 2019 |
| Kazakhstan | Terrorism | 11-17 May 2019 |
| NEW! Canada | Hazardous substances | 24 May – 5 Jun 2019 |
| NEW! Togo | Slavery | 27-31 May 2019 |
| Sri Lanka | Freedom of assembly and association |
15-26 Jul 2019 |
| Malaysia | Extreme poverty |
12-22 Aug 2019 |
| NEW! Sri Lanka | Freedom of religion |
15-24 Aug 2019 |
| NEW! Mongolia | Foreign debt | 2-11 Sep 2019 |
| Norway | Environment | 12-23 Sep 2019 |
| NEW! South Africa | Albinism | 16-26 Sep 2019 |
| Nigeria | Housing |
17-26 Sep 2019 |
| Norway | Disability | 2-11 Oct 2019 |
| NEW! Qatar | Arbitrary detention | 3-14 Nov 2019 |
| NEW! Qatar | Racism |
24 Nov – 1 Dec 2019 |
| Greece | Arbitrary detention | 2-13 Dec 2019 |