For respect of sexual orientation

As we prepare to celebrate the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia on May 17, many people are still subject to discrimination and violence because of their sexual orientation or gender identity . International LGBTQI+ Rights Day celebrates the day the World Health Organization removed homosexuality from its list of mental illnesses in 1990. This event offers an opportunity to highlight, as the City of Geneva does for many years, prevention and awareness actions carried out to combat discrimination against the LGBTQI+ community.

It is also in Geneva, at the Palais des Nations, that the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is currently taking place. This UN mechanism aims to improve the human rights situation in each country through recommendations received from other States. Since its creation, we have seen an increase in the number of recommendations addressing issues of gender identity and sexual orientation.

Following the recommendations made within the framework of the UPR, much progress on these issues has been observed in several countries. As an example, during the UPR of Mauritius in January 2024, the Minister of Foreign Affairs presented how his country implemented the recommendations previously received by decriminalizing sexual relations between homosexual persons in 2023. Another example is that of Thailand. Since 2014, Thai NGOs, particularly within the framework of the UPR, have advocated for the legalization of marriage for all. In March 2024, the Thai parliament passed a law, which once comes into force, will make Thailand the first country in Southeast Asia to allow unions between two people of the same sex. In July 2022, Switzerland also officially joined the countries that have introduced equal marriage, which at the same time allowed it to implement the recommendations it had received on this subject.

Beyond legal recognition, LGBTQI+ people also face discrimination in other aspects of their daily lives. Guaranteeing their rights also involves improving their access to employment, health and even education. In this regard, New Zealand, during its UPR last Monday, explained that it was committed to supporting the health of LGBTQI+ people, in particular by allocating funds to mental health and wellness services to meet their needs. On the Asian continent, in response to the recommendations received during its previous UPR, the Bangladeshi government launched a project in 2021 in favor of the LGBTQI+ community aimed at providing them with housing as well as economic opportunities.

These few examples remind us that despite contexts where the rights of LGBTQI+ people are neglected, or even contested, progress is possible and concrete measures can be taken and implemented. International instruments, such as the UPR, can thus be catalysts for progress and also represent tools that civil society and the LGBTQI+ community can mobilize in order to assert their rights.

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