Overview
Building on the Montevideo conference at which the ERC was created in 2016, the Vancouver Conference in 2018 marked the first conference under a fully operational ERC and provided opportunities for high-level diplomatic engagement, working-level collaboration, and network-building among ERC stakeholders.
The 2018 conference saw the participation of approximately 275 delegates from over 85 countries. These delegates represented the ERC’s Member States, observing States, parliamentarians, international organizations, civil society organizations, philanthropic foundations, and private sector representatives.
On the final day of the 2018 conference, the Member States of the Equal Rights Coalition pledged to work together to build a world where the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all are respected and where no one is left behind, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or sex characteristics. They agreed to a list of commitments, to move the needle forwards on LGBTI rights. These were:
We commit to advancing the work of the ERC
We commit to advancing the work of the ERC by further strengthening its collaboration with its key partners, including civil society, international organisations, multilateral agencies, academia, the private sector and all others working to promote and protect the human rights and fundamental freedoms of LGBTI persons
We commit to advocating
We commit to advocating for equal respect, protection, and promotion of the human rights and fundamental freedoms of LGBTI persons, including in cases where they are at acute risk;
We commit to ensuring our strategies
We commit to ensuring our strategies for advancing sustainable development are informed by the experiences of LGBTI persons through consultation with LGBTI civil society organizations, including in our planning and reporting;
We commit to increasing the overall quantity and quality
We commit to increasing the overall quantity and quality of assistance dedicated to protecting and promoting the human rights and inclusive development needs of LGBTI individuals, communities and organizations;
We commit to strengthen relations with
We commit to strengthen relations with the private sector and to work together to foster in all sectors of society, including the workplace, the human rights of LGBTI persons;
We commit to sharing best practices
We commit to sharing best practices among governments, legislators, and civil society organizations to promote the universal de-criminalisation of LGBTI status or conduct and the strengthening of protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or sex characteristics;
We commit to working together to
We commit to 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;
We commit to encouraging
We commit to encouraging States, within the framework of their domestic legal systems and consistent with their international human rights obligations, to continue to strengthen institutions and public policies focused on preventing, investigating, and punishing human rights abuses and violations against LGBTI persons, and to ensure that victims enjoy access to justice and appropriate remedies;
We commit to working to increase
We commit to working to increase the space for civil society, both domestically and internationally, in recognition of the important actions civil society organisations and human rights defenders undertake in support of LGBTI persons, often at great personal risk; and
We commit to encouraging States to strengthen information gathering
We commit to encouraging States to strengthen information gathering on the number, diversity, and unique needs of LGBTI individuals and communities, with special attention on official documentation of and reporting 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 rights-based and evidence-based policies.
Conscious of the urgent need for our efforts to yield results, the ERC Member States pledged to review progress on these commitments and on their program of work in their periodic meetings over the following two years, culminating in the next planned global conference in 2020.