End Discrimination and Violence Against LGBTI, says UN Report!

December 16, 2011

Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era (DAWN), an economic south feminist network celebrates the release of the very first United Nations report on human rights, sexual orientation and gender identity.

The report documents widespread discrimination and violence faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people worldwide, and calls on States to apply the international legal framework to end these human rights violations.

The mandate for the report came from the UN Human Rights Council, after South Africa took leadership on the issue by coordinating a resolution at the world human rights body in June. The call was supported by a majority of the Council, from all UN regions.

DAWN Global Coordinator Gigi Francisco says: “We recognize in this victory, the relentless work over decades of human rights advocates, sexuality rights activists and feminists, facing harsh pushback and requiring real solidarity work across a wide spectrum of networks. Allow us to use this moment to pay tribute to the bravery of LGBTIQ activists in the global south.”

Download the report here: A.HRC.19.41_English