On the International Day against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT), the Equal Rights Coalition reaffirms its commitment to safeguarding, advancing, and advocating in favor of the rights and freedoms of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, and queer (LGBTIQ) persons worldwide.

Since its foundation in 2016 at the Global LGBTI Human Rights Conference in Montevideo, the ERC has advanced the human rights of LGBTIQ persons and promoted inclusive development, in both member and non-member countries, by engaging with civil society organizations, multilateral agencies, and activists from all over the world.

Its current co-chairs, Mexico and Germany and their respective civil society counterparts, Fundación Arcoiris and LSVD, reaffirm their dedication to the mission of the Coalition to foster collaboration and dialogue among its multiple members and stakeholders with the aim to putting an end to the global and systemic patterns of violence, discrimination, and criminalization faced by LGBTIQ persons.

Such a commitment is especially important in times like these, when so many communities and individuals across the world are experiencing the consequences of increased vitriol and phobia directed towards them on the basis of their sexual orientation, their gender identity and expression, and their sex characteristics.

We see with concern the irruption of anti-rights movements around the world operating through various interconnected ways, such as the many legislative attempts to criminalize advocacy for equal rights, even risking the lives of LGBTIQ individuals in different jurisdictions, as well as those that aim to threaten access and availability of gender-affirming medical care and treatments.

We oppose the violence experienced by intersex individuals, especially children, who are subjected to harmful and medically unnecessary procedures and treatments in medical settings, often without their consent.

We acknowledge the multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination against LBTIQ women, and support the enactment of laws and policies to prevent gender-based violence, promote gender equality, and disaggregate data about LBTIQ violence while preventing, punishing and eradicating discrimination and violence against LBTIQ women.

We recognize that LGBTIQ persons also face multiple and differentiated forms of violence based on their gender, race, ethnicity, disability, age, religion, sex characteristics, and social class which leads to aggravated forms of discrimination, exclusion and violence in the public and private spheres and further affects the full guarantee of their rights.

We stand in support of all LGBTIQ persons, including transgender, non-binary, and gender-variant individuals worldwide, who find themselves facing increased victimization because of their mere existence, and experiencing extreme politicization of their rights and freedoms by their detractors.

As part of our commitment to advancing the rights and freedoms of LGBTIQ persons worldwide through dialogue, cooperation, and diplomacy, we as co-chairs of the Equal Rights Coalition will continue to mobilize this mechanism in support and defense of our human rights goals in close cooperation with our global stakeholders and civil society.

The Equal Rights Coalition (ERC) welcomes the Singaporean Government’s repeal of Section 377A of the Penal Code in Singapore, which criminalized consensual sex between men.

This decision is a historic step for the advancement of the human rights of LGBTIQ+ persons in Singapore. We recognize and applaud the work of LGBTIQ+ civil society in Singapore, and their lawyers, whose efforts have been instrumental in bringing about this change. We encourage the Government of Singapore to further improve the lives of LGBTIQ+ people, their families and loved ones, which will also contribute positively to Singapore’s business environment.

It is encouraging to see a growing global momentum towards decriminalization and we hope this pace of reform continues in the coming months. We encourage governments in the East Asian region that have not yet pursued decriminalization of consensual same-sex conduct to consider undertaking proactive legal reforms to repeal their own outdated legislation. As ERC member states, we commit to championing this reform globally because all humans are born free and equal in dignity and rights and deserve to be treated that way.

Statement by ERC co-chairs Germany and Mexico.

The Equal Rights Coalition expresses grave concerns about the legislation to broaden the ban on any discussion and sharing of information about lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons and their human rights, by the State Duma of the Russian Federation. The previous law “on the propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations among minors” (the so-called Anti-Propaganda Law) from 2013 has been extensively examined and condemned by human rights experts as discriminatory, violating the right to freedom of expression, and leading to an increase in hate speech, hate crimes, and abuse, including against children.

The so-called anti-propaganda law is a further attempt by the Russian authorities to create a climate of fear and intimidation, and restrict the freedom of expression of all Russians. It follows other repressive legislation, such as legislation that criminalises those who are deemed to be spreading “false information” about the armed forces.

These legislative amendments infringe even further on human rights, impacting the human rights of all in Russia. In effect, these extensions of the so-called anti-propaganda law mean that any act or public mention of same-sex couples is functionally criminalized. As the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights noted, exclusion, stigmatization and discrimination of any group within a society is corrosive, is a root cause of violence, and has a negative impact on society as a whole.

The Equal Rights Coalition aligns itself with the statement by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. The Equal Rights Coalition expresses its support to civil society and local communities in the Russian Federation and the wider region.

Equal Rights Coalition members who are co-signatories:

Albania; Australia; Austria; Belgium; Canada; Chile; Costa Rica; Czechia; Denmark; Ecuador;; Estonia; Finland; France; Germany; Greece; Iceland; Ireland; Italy; Lithuania; Luxembourg; Malta; The Netherlands; New Zealand; North Macedonia; Norway; Portugal; Slovenia; Spain; Sweden; Switzerland; United Kingdom; United States; Ukraine

The undersigned members of the Equal Rights Coalition were appalled by the October 12 shootings in Bratislava, which appear to have specifically targeted the LGBTQI+ community. Such senseless acts of hatred are unacceptable. Everyone should be able to live free from violence and persecution, regardless of one’s sexual orientation or gender identity. When those rights are attacked, the fabric of society is under attack.

Our thoughts are with the victims and their families. Our thoughts are also with the LGBTQI+ community in Slovakia who face hatred because of who they are or who they love.

Hate-fuelled rhetoric leads to hate-fuelled violence and has no place in any country. Non-discrimination and protection of the human rights of all persons are among the shared values that unite us and upon which our democratic societies draw strength.

The Equal Rights Coalition expresses its support and solidarity to the victims, their families and the LGBTIQ+ community in Slovakia.

Statement by the ERC Co-Chairs: Germany; Mexico

We, the ministers and representatives of the member countries of the Equal Rights Coalition, have come together in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on 8-9 September 2022, and pledged to work together to build a world where the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all are respected, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or sex characteristics. We aim to ensure that all LGBTI+ persons have decent living conditions, that they can play a full and active part in society, and that no one is left behind.

Since our last in-person Conference in Vancouver in 2018, some welcome progress has been made, including the decriminalisation of consensual same-sex acts in six countries. However, progress is far from universal or consistent. There is growing evidence of movements that seek to undermine the freedoms and human rights of LGBTI+ persons. This is putting lives and communities at risk. More needs to be done, at every level of society and internationally, to help ensure LGBTI+ persons are safe and their rights are respected. As members of the Equal Rights Coalition, we will not stop working until this is achieved.

These human rights abuses and violations – which we condemn unequivocally – are on the rise. They include discrimination, violence and arbitrary arrests, based on real or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or sex characteristics. Several actors, including states, are mobilising narratives which appeal to “traditional values” and cultural divisions to justify new anti-LGBTI+ legislation, often referred to as the global anti-gender movement.

In recent years, we have worked together to take action – through public pronouncements, diplomatic interventions and knowledge sharing – in response to reports of LGBTI+ persons facing abuses and violations of their human rights in every corner of the world.  All groups in vulnerable situations, including LGBTI+ persons, face a disproportionate humanitarian impact from conflict, such as in Afghanistan and Ukraine among other parts of the world, and crises, such as the ongoing challenges of addressing the COVID-19 pandemic. Addressing the unique needs of LGBTI+ persons within broader humanitarian responses is critical to effective recovery and resilience against future crises. The ERC remains committed to facing these challenges together and mobilising quickly, when required, to face future challenges.

We have also strengthened the ERC’s existing role in the multilateral system. We are proud of the role ERC member states, and civil society partners, played in securing the renewal of the mandate of the Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (‘IE SOGI’) at the 50^th session of the UN Human Rights Council in July 2022. We will continue working together to strengthen the representation of SOGI in the UN and other regional and multilateral fora, working closely with the UN LGBTI+ Core Groups and the Group of Friends of the UN SOGI Independent Expert.

At this year´s ERC conference, we welcome the presence of observer states from different regions, whose perspectives enrich our work. We are committed to bringing in new voices, particularly those from the Global South, to consider the economic and legal inequalities, varied educational opportunities, and social exclusions that exacerbate challenges faced by LGBTI+ people, and whose specific knowledge and experiences should be taken into consideration.  We also commit to strengthening existing participation, as current members of the ERC, so as to concretely engage in the work of the Coalition.

Our discussions in Buenos Aires built on our shared principles and on our collective efforts to date.  We have reviewed the ERC Strategic Plan and 5 Year Implementation Plan that were signed in July 2021. We have agreed to continue delivering against this plan and we have renewed the pledges we made at the founding of the ERC in Montevideo in 2016 and our Vancouver conference in 2018.

Following Argentina and the UK´s extended tenure as co-chairs, the ERC is now in a stronger and more sustainable position to fulfil its potential. Specifically, we are motivated by the work done to establish soon an ERC administrative unit. This will support the new ERC co-chairs, Germany and Mexico, and those who follow, to deliver effectively and efficiently in accordance to the ERC Strategy and Implementation Plan. We thank Mexico for leading the consultation process and welcome the pledges from the United Kingdom, Germany, and the Netherlands to fund this unit.

Based on our deliberations at the Global LGBTI+ Conference in Buenos Aires, we commit to advancing the work of the ERC by further strengthening its collaboration with its key partners, including civil society, international organisations, multilateral and development agencies, academia, the private sector and all others working to promote and protect the human rights and fundamental freedoms of LGBTI+ persons. Over the coming years, we commit to:

• Proudly championing the human rights, fundamental freedoms and decent living conditions of all people, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, and sex characteristics.
• Strengthening cooperation to end violence against LGBTI+ people by building an evidence base of the key issues that contribute to this violence and working together, at all levels, to tackle them.
• Advancing the rights of LGBTI+ persons as part of the international and domestic policies of our governments, by sharing knowledge from the ERC across our institutions and highlighting the importance of policymaking that addresses intersectionality.
• Strengthening our support for civil society organisations, human rights defenders, and community leaders who are making a positive impact on the ground, often at great personal risk.
• Providing technical advice, capacity building and exchanges of best practice, in order to support legislative and policy changes within ERC member states and other countries around the world.
• Listening to the experiences of LGBTI+ persons, through consultation with LGBTI+ civil society, to inform our policies and programmes and ensure they are country specific and effectively targeted at the areas that will achieve the strongest outcomes.
• Strengthening the role of the Equal Rights Coalition, through a dedicated administrative unit and renewed focus from member states to contribute to the priorities of the thematic groups.
• Seeking to strengthen the presence and the voices of the Global South through its sovereign states and its civil social organizations.
• Countering the negative impacts of the global anti-gender movement, which threatens to undermine human rights and restrict the work of civil society organisations supporting women and girls and vulnerable groups, including LGBTI+ persons.
• Strengthening our ability to quickly and effectively mobilise in response to crises and conflict due to the more unstable world in which we now live.
• Strengthening relations with the private sector and to work together to foster in all sectors of society, including workplaces, the human rights of LGBTI+ persons.
• Applying an analysis of intersectionality when working for the human rights and inclusive development of LGBTI+ persons, as applicable.
• Identifying and designing targeted initiatives to support and empower LBTI+ persons across both women’s rights and LGBTI+ policies and programmes, as this populations is at heightened risk due to the intersections of gender-based oppressions, anti-LGBTI+ violence, and the invisibility of LBTI+ women.
• Encouraging the establishment of specific policies for transgender and non-binary persons to live their lives fully, freely and without the threat of violence or persecution, particularly in workplaces.
• Working together to advocate appropriate protections for intersex persons and encourage states to implement policies and procedures, as appropriate, to ensure that medical practices are consistent with international human rights obligations.
• Encouraging States to strengthen information gathering on the number, diversity, and needs of LGBTI+ individuals and communities, with special attention on official documentation and reports of human rights abuses and violations based on sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or sex characteristics, including through collaboration with civil society to develop and implement human rights-based and evidence-based policies.

To ensure effective and timely delivery against these pledges, we will review progress on these commitments and on our program of work in our periodic meetings during the next two years, culminating in our next global conference in 2024.

Fully aware that all our countries face different challenges in their paths towards equality, we hereby reiterate our unwavering commitment to protecting and promoting the human rights of all LGBTI+ persons both within our countries and beyond.

In September 2022, Argentina and the UK hosted a hybrid ERC Conference on 8 and 9 September 2022 in Buenos Aires. On 7 September the British Embassy in Buenos Aires hosted a CSO pre-conference convening, the report for which can be found here.

The objective of this biennial conference was to highlight what had been delivered during the co-chairs’ tenure in relation to the Strategy, discuss topical issues related to LGBTI rights given the changing landscape for LGBTI rights and pass the baton on to the next co-chairs.

Additionally, this convening focussed on the status of the implementation of the Strategy and Implementation Plan (launched in July 2021), and Member States endorsed further actions that provide direction to advance delivery of the ERC’s strategic priorities and operations.

The three conference ‘streams’ were:

1. Reporting on progress and setting the vision for the next two-year phase of the ERC;

2. Addressing the biggest challenges to the future of the ERC and addressing its future as a mechanism; and

3. Strategies and good practices for tackling global democratic back sliding.

This report summarises the discussions that were held throughout the conference, and the resulting outcomes.

Click here to access the report.

The ERC commissioned this pre-conference report, ahead of its 2022 Convening in Buenos Aires. The report is a high-level evaluation of the ERC’s activities during Argentina and the UK’s tenure as ERC Co-chairs (June 2019 – September 2022). The findings of the report were intended to inform discussion at the Convening and, in addition to operational recommendations, make specific proposals for an MEL framework for the ERC to adopt in the immediate future.

Click here to download the report.

This briefing note was commissioned by the 2019-2022 civil society co-chairs of the Equal Rights Coalition, to build understanding of anti-gender movements and the urgent need to develop responses and strategies to counter them. It is our sincere hope that Member States, civil society organisations and other stakeholders will with determination and solidarity take up the challenge to defend the human rights and dignity of LGBTI communities that is the focus of anti-gender movements globally.

To access the note kindly click here.

The Equal Rights Coalition (ERC) welcomes the decision by the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court in the Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis’ (St. Kitts and Nevis) to strike down the country’s buggery law, and last July’s ruling of the High Court of Justice for Antigua and Barbuda striking down discriminatory legal provisions that criminalized same-sex relations. These rulings affirm the constitutional rights of LGBTIQ+ citizens in St. Kitts and Nevis and Antigua and Barbuda, and they are an important step towards societies where people’s sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression is not used for discrimination or stigmatization.

These landmark rulings are the result of a five-country legal challenge launched by The Eastern Caribbean Alliance for Diversity and Equality (ECADE) in 2020. The Equal Rights Coalition applauds the work done by ECADE and their partners. The ERC also recognizes the historic implications of this work for the advancement of the human rights of LGBTIQ+ persons in St. Kitts and Nevis, Antigua and Barbuda and the wider region.

It is encouraging to see a growing global momentum towards decriminalisation and we hope this pace of reform continues in the coming months. We encourage governments in the Caribbean region – seven of which still have laws that criminalize same-sex conduct – to recognize the progress that has been made in St. Kitts and Nevis and Antigua and Barbuda and to consider undertaking proactive legal reforms to repeal their own outdated legislation. As ERC member states, we commit to championing this reform globally because all humans are born free and equal in dignity and rights and deserve to be treated that way.

The Equal Rights Coalition (ERC) warmly welcomes the UN Human Rights Council decision to renew the mandate of the Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (‘IE SOGI’).

In 2016, when the Council adopted the resolution creating the first ever SOGI mandate in the UN human rights system, it sent the clear message to the world that all persons, with no exception, should be able to live a life free of violence and discrimination. This was a moment of empowerment and pride.

This year’s renewal of the mandate was not a given. The Equal Rights Coalition’s members, both governments and civil society partners, worked tirelessly to defend the integrity and success of the resolution. Together, all 42 member states joined their voices in a statement calling for the renewal of the mandate during the Interactive Dialogue with the IE SOGI in the first week of the 50th Session of the Council.

The Equal Rights Coalition sincerely appreciates and congratulates the UN Independent Expert for the progress that has been achieved in the last years and his steadfast commitment and inclusive approach within the mandate. We are pleased and encouraged by the fact that this important work will continue.

The ERC reiterates its commitment to work diligently to ensure human rights are respected for LGBTQI+ persons around the world. We will not stop until everyone, everywhere, can be open about who they are, love who they love, and participate fully in society, without fear of violence or discrimination.

This renewal is an achievement we can all be proud of. Embracing diversity and inclusion makes our societies more resilient, healthy, and prosperous.

Equal Rights Coalition Co-Chairs: Argentina and United Kingdom