Agenda Item 5 (d) Human rights dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous Peoples and the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
Chairperson,
I have the honor to deliver this statement on behalf of the following Member States that are part of the LGBTI Core Group, an informal cross regional group established in 2008.
The group is co-chaired by Argentina and The Netherlands, and includes Albania, Australia, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Cabo Verde, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Denmark, Ecuador, Finland, France, Germany, Honduras, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Malta, Montenegro, Mexico, Nepal, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Norway, Peru, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Timor Leste, 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 International.
Chairperson,
The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples clearly recognizes that Indigenous Peoples have the right, without discrimination of any kind, to the full enjoyment of human rights, and improvement of their economic and social conditions, including, inter alia, in the areas of education, employment, vocational training and retraining, housing, sanitation, health and social security.
The LGBTI Core Group underlines that the effective measures taken by States to improve conditions for Indigenous Peoples, as called for in the declaration, need to consider, respect and protect diverse sexual orientations, gender identities, gender expressions and sex characteristics, including Indigenous understandings of those, through the protection of their human rights and the promotion of sustainable development.
We, therefore, echo the recommendation of the Forum in its report for the 2022 Session to continue to address all forms of discrimination against Indigenous Peoples, including on the basis of SOGIESC, religion, disability, and age.
This year’s theme, “Indigenous Peoples, human health, planetary and territorial health and climate change: a rights-based approach,” is crucial, as we need to address the critical links between gender equality, human rights, climate change, and environmental issues.
As we know, Indigenous Peoples are often particularly vulnerable to the direct consequences of climate change.
LGBTI persons also face disproportionate risks of violence, stigma and discrimination following crises as well as the ongoing impacts of climate change. Factors that exclude LGBTI persons from accessing basic services such as quality health care, safe water, and sanitation are exacerbated during emergency responses and recovery efforts. Indigenous LGBTI persons face multiple and intersecting vulnerabilities in the context of climate change and environmental degradation. The impact, including on their mental health, is often devastating.
The LGBTI-core group highlights the importance ofThe collection of disaggregated data, in accordance with relevant national context and characteristics. In that regard, we take note that the Special Rapporteur underlined that data on Indigenous women, children, elders, persons with disabilities and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex and two-spirit persons in the health-care system should be systematically collected and analysed to identify and address any discrimination in the impact of measures or in access to health care, recognizing the potentially differing experiences of Indigenous Peoples living in urban settings, Indigenous communities (including in voluntary isolation and in initial contact) and mixed settings.
We further note the efforts of the Special Rapporteur in his last report to defend and promote the rights of Indigenous Peoples who experience multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination, particularly for his work to combat gender-based violence.
The LGBTI Core Group stresses the importance of addressing the situation of LGBTI persons in all UN fora and calls the members of the Permanent Forum, the Special Rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous Peoples and the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples as well as all Indigenous Peoples’ organizations and other civil society actors to continue engaging in combating all forms of discrimination against Indigenous LGBTI persons and ensuring their full enjoyment of all human rights.
I thank you.