Statement by the UN LGBTI Core Group
Delivered by STEVE LETSIKE, DEPUTY MINISTER FOR WOMEN, YOUTH AND PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES FOR SOUTH AFRICA
April 14, 2025
Chairperson,
Thank you Chair
I have the honor to deliver this statement on behalf of the Member States of the UN LGBTI Core Group.[1] The group is co-chaired by Chile and the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The UN LGBTI Core Group’s overarching goal is to work within the United Nations framework to ensure universal respect for the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all individuals without distinction, regardless of their real or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity or sex characteristics, including lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex (LGBTI) persons. Our particular focus is on protecting LGBTI persons from violence and discrimination.
In 1969, the LGBTI community erupted into a series of spontaneous protests following another act of suppression by the city police when they raided the Stonewall Inn, in Greenwich Village. The protests that followed over the next few days were led by prominent activists Marsha P Johnson and Sylvia Rivera and marked a turning point in the modern LGBTI rights movement, galvanizing activism and leading to the formation of organizations that would fight for equality and dignity in the decades to follow. Importantly, the leaders of the protest were also people of African Descent and those events remain a symbol of resistance against oppression and a catalyst for global human rights advocacy.
From a human rights standpoint, both LGBTI persons and people of African descent share a common struggle for dignity, equality and justice in the face of systemic oppression, discrimination, and exclusion. We all accept the principle of the universality and indivisibility of all human rights – civil, political, economic, social and cultural. It is a clear principle that extends from the understanding that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. The recognition of these rights includes the right to live free from violence, protection from discrimination and equality before the law, access to education and health care, participation in public life, and the freedom of opinion and expression, including idenity without fear that apply equally to all people, including LGBTI persons and people of African descent.
Chairperson,
Persons who are part of both of these communities often experience intersecting forms of margninalisation rooted in deeply entrenched social, cultural, and institutional biases. Persons from these communities experience layered levels of discrimination that compound and continue to be expressed through racism and harmful societal attitudes that serve to deny the full enjoyment of their human rights. Their experiences illuminate the necessity of combating racism and homophobia not in isolation, but as part of a unified effort toward equity and collective liberation.
Reports submitted to the General Assembly have identified the rights that are negatively impacted upon by the intersection of discrimination experienced by the LGBTI persons of African Descent. Discriminatory norms have been used to limit the exercise of the democratic right to vote as well as the right to health. In too many instances, racism limits African and people of African desecent reasonable access to and enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health. When sexual orientation and gender identity is also a source of discrimination, the result is a significant limitation on the enjoyment of their human rights.
Chairperson,
We are keenly aware that that many people of African descent experience prejudice and intolerance. This is also experienced by the LGBTI community that are also Persons of African Descent. We encourage the adoption and implementation of policies and measures that are designed to prevent and eliminate all such multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination with a clear understanding of the genesis of this discrimination.
In advancing human rights, solidarity between and within these groups is not only morally imperative but strategically powerful. By acknowledging their shared histories of resistance and resilience, we affirm that the struggle for justice is interconnected—and that true progress requires the empowerment of all marginalized peoples.
I thank you.
[1] The group is co-chaired by Chile and the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and includes Albania, Australia, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Cabo Verde, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Finland, France, Germany, Honduras, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, 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, 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.