On December 15, 2011 the United Nations made it’s first ever report on the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people. It details how around the world people are killed or endure hate-motivated violence, torture, detention, criminalization and discrimination in jobs, health care and education because of their real or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity.
According to the UN News Center, the report, released by the UN Office for the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva, outlines “a pattern of human rights violations…that demands a response,” and says governments have too often overlooked violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
The report finds that homophobic and transphobic violence has been recorded in every region of the world and ranges from murder, kidnappings, assaults and rapes to psychological threats and arbitrary deprivations of liberty.’’ LGBT people are often targets of organized abuse from religious extremists, paramilitary groups, neo-Nazis, extreme nationalists and others, as well as family and community violence, with lesbians and transgender women at particular risk.
The report—prepared in response to a request from the UN Human Rights Council earlier this year—draws from information included in past UN reporting, official statistics on hate crimes where they are available, and reporting by regional organizations and some non-governmental organizations.
In the report, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights calls for countries to repeal laws that criminalize homosexuality, abolish the death penalty for offences involving consensual sexual relations, harmonize the age of consent for heterosexual and homosexual conduct, and enact comprehensive anti-discrimination laws. In 76 countries it remains illegal to engage in same-sex conduct and in at least five countries—Iran, Mauritania, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Yemen—the death penalty prevails.
The High Commissioner recommended that Member States promptly investigate all killings or serious violent incidents perpetrated because of actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity. He also called on countries to ensure that no one fleeing persecution because of their sexual orientation or gender identity is returned to a territory where their life or freedom is a threat, and that asylum laws recognize that sexual orientation or gender identity is a valid basis for claiming persecution. It was suggested that public information campaigns should be introduced, especially in schools, to counter homophobia, and police and law enforcement officials should also receive training to ensure LGBT people are treated appropriately and fairly.
The chief of the committee’s global issues section, told UN Radio that “one of the things we found is if the law essentially reflects homophobic sentiment, then if legitimizes homophobia in society at large. If the State treats people as second class or second rate or, worse, as criminals, then it’s inviting people to do the same thing.” He stressed that all UN Member States have an obligation under international human rights law to decriminalize homosexuality.
The report, which will be discussed by Council members at a meeting in March next year, has been released as top UN officials have increasingly raised concerns about human rights violations against LGBT people. Last year, in a speech marking Human Rights Day, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that “as men and women of conscience, we reject discrimination in general, and in particular discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.”
