With Report of the Independent Expert on Protection against Violence and Discrimination based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity

Statement by the UN LGBTI Core Group

Chairperson,

I have the honor to participate in this interactive dialogue on behalf of the Member States of the LGBTI Core Group. The LGBTI Core Group is an informal group composed of 31 Members States from different regions established in 2008.

(The group is is co-chaired by Argentina and The Netherlands, and includes Albania, Australia, Bolivia, Brazil, Cabo Verde, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Ecuador, El Salvador, France, Germany, Iceland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Montenegro, Mexico, Nepal, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the United States of America, Uruguay, the European Union, as well as the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and the non-governmental organizations Human Rights Watch and OutRight Action International.)

Mr. Independent Expert,  

We appreciate your work since the beginning of the pandemic and also in this report in analyzing and documenting the impact of the COVID 19 pandemic and the measures adopted in this context on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) and gender-diverse persons as well as the good practices you identify in your report. We thank you for your presentation on the impact of the pandemic on social exclusion and violence and the interaction with institutional drivers of stigma and discrimination. We welcome your analysis on the measures adopted in the context of the pandemic and their impact on LGBT persons as well as the good practices that you identify in the report.

(We were pleased to read in your report that you continue to engage in a constructive dialogue with a wide range of stakeholders throughout the implementation of your mandate. Dialogue is the best path towards greater understanding, and we support your approach.)

The members of this Core Group take the ASPIRE guidelines and the recommendations in this report seriously. We urge all member states to do the same because we firmly believe that standing against violence and discrimination is not and should never be a matter of controversy or debate. It is just the right thing to do.

We are concerned to read in your report that LGBT persons have been blamed for COVID19 and that the pandemic has been instrumentalized through discriminatory language, which sometimes resulted in violence and increased stigma. We agree with you in the fact that the role of social media cannot be ignored in this regard, could you provide us with some good practices on how to address this issue?

We are alarmed to read that older LGBT persons and LGBT youth are at particular risk of physical and psychological violence, including domestic violence because they suffer from isolation, increased stress and exposure to disrespectful and intolerant family members. It is equally unacceptable to see that in some countries, human rights defenders and shelters were specifically targeted for the help they provided to LGBT persons. Could you give us some recommendations on how to make post-pandemic response and recovery more inclusive of young and older LGBT persons?

I thank you.


 

Diálogo Interactivo

con el Experto Independiente sobre protección contra la violencia y la discriminación basada en la orientación sexual y la identidad de género

Declaración del Core Group LGBTI de NN.UU.

Presidente,

Tengo el honor de participar en este diálogo interactivo en nombre de los Estados Miembros del Core Group LGBTI. El Core Group LGBTI es un grupo informal compuesto por 29 Estados Miembros de diferentes regiones establecido en 2008.

Sr. Experto Independiente,

Nos complace contar con su presencia hoy aquí para presentar su informe sobre cómo las leyes y las normas socioculturales discriminatorias continúan marginalizando y excluyendo a lesbianas, gais, bisexuales, transexuales e intersexuales por su orientación sexual, identidad de género o características sexuales de la educación, la sanidad, la vivienda, el empleo y la ocupación, y otros sectores. Los miembros de este Core Group dan la bienvenida este informe y nos tomamos muy en serio sus recomendaciones. Instamos a todos los Estados miembros a hacer lo mismo porque creemos firmemente que oponerse a la violencia y a la discriminación no es ni debe ser nunca objeto de controversia. Es justo y humano.

Nos complació leer en su informe que uno de sus principio rectores era el principio de diálogo y que usted ha colaborado con un amplia variedad de actores a lo largo de la ejecución de su mandato. El diálogo es el mejor camino hacia una mayor comprensión, y apoyamos su enfoque.

También estamos de acuerdo con usted en el hecho la religión organizara y los líderes religiosos pueden tener un papel poderosos en la promoción de la inclusión social para todos, incluyendo a las personas LGBTI. ¿tiene usted alguna recomendación sobre cómo involucrarles mejor en nuestro trabajo dentro de las Naciones Unidas?

También compartimos la preocupación expresada en su informe sobre la naturaleza interseccional de la discriminación y exclusión. ¿Cómo se puede utilizar el análisis multidimensional para abordar las causas profundas de esta interseccionalidad?

Gracias.