The human right to education: contribute to a United Nations report!

The UN Independent Expert on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity is seeking input on a critical issue impacting LGBT and gender diverse people worldwide: the human right to education and its intersections with sexual orientation and gender identity.

Before his report is presented at the 80th UN General Assembly later this year, activists worldwide have the unique opportunity to share valuable insights on the topic: the call for input is open until 21 April 2025! Dig deeper

The right to education without discrimination is a universally recognised human right, and also an essential tool to realise other human rights — including lifting oneself out of poverty and obtain the means to participate fully in society.

However, laws, policies, and practices that discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity perpetuate educational environments that are not available to all, adaptable to evolving needs, acceptable, or accessible for LGBT and gender-diverse students.

According to the ILGA World Database, only 53 States have provisions that explicitly protect people from discrimination based on sexual orientation in education settings. Forty enact protections based on gender identity, and 17 include also gender expression, while only 15 States have protections against discrimination on the grounds of sex characteristics. Such provisions, however, are usually insufficient to tackle school bullying based against students.

States are failing to mitigate education disparities faced by youth and adults of diverse sexual orientations and gender identities, limiting their ability to access equal opportunities for success.

You too can inform the report on education by the Independent Expert on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity!

• Present an individual submission: find all information on how to do it here
• Join forces with ILGA World! We will draft a joint submission, and look forward to hearing from you! If you have information, cases, testimonies, and any kind of data related to LGBT people and the right to education in your country, please send your inputs to sp (at) ilga (dot) org before 15 April. Let’s do this together!