How will the human rights of LGBTI people and SOGIESC issues be addressed during the 56th session of the UN Human Rights Council, starting on 18 June 2024 in Geneva? Watch this video to hear more from ILGA World!
Accessibility: captions available in English and Spanish, transcription available below
Transcription:
LGBTI people’s human rights at the 56th UN Human Rights Council (June-July 2024)
It’s June, and it’s time for the second session of the year of the UN Human Rights Council!
The 56th session will take place at the United Nations Palais des Nations in Geneva until 12 July 2024.
ILGA World will be there for you, as always!
We look forward to amplifying the voices of LGBTI activists and civil society worldwide, as we follow resolutions, participate in dialogues with human rights experts, and organise events to help the world learn more about our communities.
The second session of the year at the Council has a strong focus on gender equality.
We will participate in a dialogue with the Working Group on discrimination against women and girls to present our community’s views on the increasing pushback against gender equality. We’ll also follow works around a resolution that connects this issue to the risk of poverty for many women and girls around the world.
Together with other organisations, we will also ensure the text of another important resolution reaffirms the importance of protecting the human rights of people living with HIV/AIDS.
During this session, the Independent Expert on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity will present his new report on freedom of expression and association. With many countries targeting what they call “non-traditional sexual relations,” and restricting civic space for organisations dedicated to advocating for sexual and gender diversity issues, this dialogue is more important than ever!
Lately, anti-rights actors have used sports and sex work as arenas to push against equality and bodily autonomy: pressuring to exclude trans, non-binary, and intersex athletes on one end, and pushing efforts to limit the autonomy and the rights of sex workers.
During this session, we’ll ensure that issues related to sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics are addressed when the Council discusses human rights in sports, and we’ll join in solidarity with the sex workers movement to reiterate why decriminalising sex work is a human rights issue.
This is also the time of the year in which ILGA World, together with five other partner organisations, brings trans and gender-diverse activists worldwide to the United Nations! For a week, Trans Advocacy Week participants will engage with UN human rights bodies and permanent missions to advocate their rights and improve the lives of trans communities in their own countries and regions.
Throughout the 56th Human Rights Council, ILGA World will be there for our communities and ensure that our voices are heard. Follow us on social media for real-time updates, and don’t forget to like, share and comment on this video!