Viet Nam Human Rights
“LGBTI people are often exposed to additional stigma, discrimination and violence, including when seeking medical services – and perhaps saddest of all, within their own families during lock-downs”, the High Commissioner, Michelle Bachelet, said in her message for the day, on Monday.
“They are also in some places being treated as scapegoats for the spread of the virus”, she added, urging everyone to “stand up against hate, and to break the silence” surrounding the suffering imposed on LGBTI people.
COVID intensifies the misery
Since the start of the pandemic, he pointed out in his message that the UN has documented a rise in discrimination, hate speech, social and economic exclusion, stigma and obstacles facing LGBTIQ+ people when it comes to accessing healthcare, education, employment and essential services.
“We have also seen disturbing efforts to roll back legal and social protections for their fundamental human rights”, said the UN chief.
As we work to recover better from the pandemic, he upheld the need to ensure equal rights by repealing discriminatory laws and addressing violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity and sex characteristics – all pillars of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
“Let us work together for an inclusive world where everyone can live free and equal in dignity and rights, no matter who they are, where they live or whom they love”, concluded the Secretary-General.
Deep-rooted inequalities
Meanwhile, as the virus continues to isolate people, separate families and devastate communities, it has also laid bare deep-rooted inequalities across societies and amplified injustices, especially against those already marginalized.
“Lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and gender-diverse people, who are disproportionately represented in the ranks of the poor, the homeless, and those without healthcare, will be deeply impacted by the pandemic and, unless we take urgent action, this impact will be felt over generations”, the independent expert on sexual orientation and gender identity, Víctor Madrigal-Borloz, said in a joint statement on Friday.
Moreover, the “historical statement”, signed by 96 UN and international human rights experts, “forcefully recognizes” that the struggle against the COVID-19 pandemic is not being waged on a level playing field.
Criminalization laws in 70 countries have increased the risk of police abuse, arbitrary arrest and detention during curfews, and hindered meaningful data collection.
And several countries are using the pandemic as an excuse for persecution.
“Some States have enacted measures which intentionally target LGBT persons and communities under the guise of public health, including proposing legislation to deny trans and gender-diverse persons of their legal recognition”, said the UN expert.
He underlined that States should ensure that non-discriminatory pandemic-related measures are designed with the participation of LGBT communities.
Systemic discrimination
UN Women pointed to “shocking accounts” of systemic racial discrimination and police brutality across the world.
Moreover, black, brown and indigenous communities with different sexual orientations and gender identities have long faced overlapping threats of exploitation, forced displacement and increased harm, the UN gender agency said.
“For centuries, white supremacy, the legacies of colonialism and imperialism, heteronormativity and binary gender norms have been used to justify violence and criminalization”.
“After experiencing, witnessing and struggling so much, only united can we heal from the harm caused and recover from the profound grief and intergenerational trauma caused at the hands of fellow citizens, States and institutions all over the world”, said UN Women.
All comments [ 20 ]
In recent years, there was a rising tendency of abuse and hate speech against LGBTI persons, which further increased in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A significant obstacle in tackling hate crime and hate speech is under-reporting, caused by the lack of awareness of procedural aspects as well as lack of trust in the law enforcement.
Members of vulnerable groups, including national minorities, migrants and LGBTI persons, lack sufficient understanding of their rights and are reluctant to report hate speech and discrimination.
Many nations have made important progress in upholding the LGBTI rights… But these strong global trends have still left many people behind
We need to come together, to put an end to physical assaults; arbitrary arrests; bullying; inadequate legal gender recognition; and unnecessary surgeries on intersex children, everywhere.
Civil society organisations can be a vanguard of progress for the LGBTI community.
Despite the growing number of laws and policies impeding LGBTI advocacy, activists and organisations successfully challenge these trends.
Despite some historic legal successes, civil society organizations (CSOs) advocating for LGBTI rights continue to face monumental challenges when attempting to exercise their fundamental rights to peacefully assemble and associate.
Challenges are particularly formidable when in the form of laws, many of which not only prevent LGBTI individuals from achieving full equality, but also prevent CSOs from effectively advocating on their behalf.
Legal barriers to the rights of assembly and association faced by LGBTI CSOs are manifold and can been seen around the globe.
Despite the growing number of laws and policies designed to impede LGBTI advocacy, LGBTI activists and CSOs successfully challenge these trends.
The UN Human Rights Council has decided to appoint an independent expert on the protection of LGBTI people.
Dedicated human rights mechanism at the international level that has a systematic and comprehensive approach to the human rights situation of LGBT and intersex persons.
The expert will also be tasked with identifying best practices in the protection of LGBTI persons and engaging in dialogue with governments and institutions on how the situation could be improved.
LGBTI people continue to experience high rates of violence, bullying and harassment based on their sexual orientation, gender identity and intersex status.
All people are born free and equal in dignity and rights, irrespective of their sexual orientation, gender identity and intersex status
Around the world, the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) people are violated daily. People are beaten, imprisoned, or killed by their own governments simply because of who they are.
LGBTI people, or who are perceived as such, are also routinely the victims of harassment, discrimination, and violence. Many of those who speak up for LGBTI rights—regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity—are themselves persecuted with impunity.
all people, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity, have the right to be equal under the law and the right to exercise their full range of human rights, without exception.
Governments should support global efforts to decriminalize homosexuality and work towards LGBTI equality.
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