Declarations & Decisions

In July 2008, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) accepted one Iranian man's case and denied that of his partner [R1.1].

Convention

The recognition of "sexual orientation" as an informal addition to the provisions enshrined in the 1951 UN Convention entitling a person to apply for refugee status, owes its inclusion to a growing understanding in a handful of countries that gay men and lesbians constitute a distinct "particular social group" (Articles 1 and 33). This article has been invoked to grant asylum to gay men and lesbians in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, Switzerland, Finland, Ireland, New Zealand, Denmark, Sweden, Holland, Belgium, France and the US. [R2.1].

Secretariat:

In April 2004, a UN panel asked Secretary-General Kofi Annan to decide the fate of the new policy that allows gay partners of UN staffers to receive benefits – a program that has angered many Muslim and African nations [R1.2].

As from 01 February 2004, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan announced that all UN staff who are part of a legally recognised domestic partnership in their home country will be entitled to qualify for the UN entitlements provided for family members [R1.1].

Declarations & Decisions:

In November 2008, Edward Young, the gay widower of an Australian war veteran, was finally granted a war widower’s pension a decade after applying for it [R2.2].

In September 2003, the United Nations condemned the Australian Government for discriminating against same sex couples in a case concerning veteran's pensions [R2.1].

Declarations & Decisions:

On 21 December 2010, the United States succeeded in getting the United Nations to restore a reference to killings due to sexual orientation that had been deleted from a resolution condemning unjustified executions. The amended resolution was then adopted with 122 yes votes, none against and 59 abstentions [R1.1].

Issues

On 10 December 2010, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appealed for its complete and universal decriminalization of homosexuality, stressing that human rights must always trump cultural attitudes and societal strictures. He deplored discrimination against homosexuals and the violence of which they are often victims, for which the perpetrators escape punishment [R1.4].

On 01 December 2009, the United Nations's Joint Program on HIV/AIDS, UNAIDS, released a statement calling for nations to stop criminalizing the LGBT community. According to the organization, 80 nations still have laws that criminalize gay sex [R1.3].

In September 2008, the French minister of human rights and foreign affairs confirmed that she would appeal at the United Nations for the universal decriminalisation of homosexuality [R1.2].

In April 2005, regional International Lesbian and Gay Association representative, Carlos Perera, raised the issue when he addressed the UN General Assembly about human rights abuses faced by gay people around the world, in the context of Fiji's goaling of two men for consensual sex. Mr Perera was the first person to address the General Assembly on the issue of LGBT human rights [R1.1].

Declarations & Decisions

In April 2004, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention held that arrests for consensual homosexual conduct are by definition human rights violations [R2.1].

Issues:

On 15 December 2011, a report released by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights called on countries to abolish laws that criminalize homosexuality and to include sexual orientation and gender identity in comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation, among other recommendations [D1.15], [R1.14].

On 22 March 2011, eighty-four countries signed a statement entitled "Ending Acts of Violence and Related Human Rights Violations Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity" calling for an end to violence, criminal sanctions and other human rights violations against people based on their sexual orientation or gender identity [R1.13].

In November 2010, the UN Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women adopted two General Recommendations, one on older women and the protection of their human rights and one on the core obligations of States parties under Article 2 (on discrimination) — affirming that discrimination of women based on gender and sex is inextricably linked with other factors, including sexual orientation and gender identity [R1.12].

In September 2010, secretary-general Ban Ki-moon called on countries to stop enforcing laws that discriminate against gays and lesbians [R1.11].

In September 2009, Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, the Vatican’s permanent observer to the United Nations, suggested that instances of sexual abuse of minors by Catholic priests would be more accurately described as ephebophilia – attraction to mid to late adolescents – rather than pedophilia [R1.10].

In September 2009, when asked by journalists about the 2008 'Declaration for the Universal Decriminalisation of Homosexuality', the UN Assembly's new President Ali Abdussalam Treki said: "It is a very thorny argument. As a Muslim, I do not agree with it. I believe it is not acceptable for most of the world, and it is totally unacceptable for our tradition and religion." [R1.9].

In December 2008, the Roman Catholic Church's representative at the United Nations explained it opposed a statement on the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans people read out at the General Assembly because the use of the phrases "gender identity" and "sexual orientation" in the statement have no definition in international law and are cultural concepts [R1.8].

On 18 December 2008, 66 countries signed the joint UN statement at the United Nations General Assembly in New York reiterating the universal human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans people [R1.7].

As at May 2008, 60 countries had publicly supported sexual orientation as an issue at the United Nations Commission on Human Rights/Human Rights Council since 2003 [R1.6].

In 2006, Norway delivered a short oral statement at the United Nations Human Rights Council in 2006 in support of a resolution condemning human rights abuses involving LGBT victims such as violence, torture and death, directed against people because of their sexual orientation and gender identity [R1.5].

In May 2001, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, six Independent Experts – high-level individuals appointed by the UN to investigate patterns of human rights abuse based on sexual orientation and gender identity – reached out to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) communities [R1.4].

In August 1999, the group "Gay, Lesbian or Bisexual Employees at the UN" (GLOBE-UN) argued that, despite the UN's efforts to ensure "equal rights for all," the world body still must "eliminate discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation" within its own system [R1.3].

In October 1998, the United Nations human rights chief, former Irish President Mary Robinson, met leaders of the International Lesbian and Gay Association [ILGA] for the first time [R1.2].

In 1996, ILGA issued a demand that the UN recognise sexual orientation as a human right [R1.1].

Declarations & Decisions

On 17 June 2010, the UN Human Rights Council adopted resolution (A/HRC/17/L.9/Rev.1) 23:19 (with 3 abstentions) declaring there should be no discrimination or violence against people based on their sexual orientation [R2.3].

In November 2010, Morocco's and Mali's leaders introduced an amendment to remove sexual orientation from a resolution, proposed by the human rights committee of the U.N. General Assembly denouncing arbitrary executions of members of marginalized groups, replacing it with "discriminatory reasons on any basis." The amendment passed 79–70, and the full resolution passed with 165 favorable votes from 192 total member states [R2.2].

In 1994, in the case of Nicholas Toonen v. Australia the United Nations Human Rights Committee (HRC) determined that Australia had violated its obligations under Articles 2 (non-discrimination) and 17 (right to privacy) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) [R2.1].

In July 2010, the UN Economic and Social Council voted to accredit the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission after strong lobbying by the U.S. administration [R1.4].

In February 2008, the UN Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO's) Committee denied observer status to GLBT rights groups [R1.3.

On 30 April 2002, Economic and Social Council of the United Nations voted by 29 to 17, with seven abstentions, to reject ILGA's application for consultative status [R1.2.

In February 2002, the UN Non-Governmental Organisations Committee denied observer status to GLBTI rights groups [R1.1.