Montevideo 2016

On the first day of the Montevideo conference, the Equal Rights Coalition was formally launched, under the co-chairship of the Netherlands and Uruguay. By the final day, 30 founding Member States of the coalition were announced. The purpose in founding the ERC was for States to come together to guarantee equal rights for all, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or sex characteristics.
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The 2016 conference was attended by 39 governments, 90 activists and civil society representatives, regional and international institutions (such as the United Nations, World Bank, and Organization of American States), and private foundations.
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During the opening speeches, in a video message, the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon thanked the Netherlands and Uruguay for organising the conference, saying, “Ending rights abuses against LGBT and intersex people is a great human rights cause at the heart of the UN’s founding mission.”