CAPE TOWN, July 26, 2013 – The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on Friday launched Free & Equal, an unprecedented global public education campaign for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) equality.

At a press conference held in Cape Town, South Africa, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay was joined by Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu and Justice Edwin Cameron of the South African Constitutional Court to announce the year-long project. A statement of support was read out on behalf of renowned South African singer and UNICEF and Roll Back Malaria Goodwill Ambassador Yvonne Chaka Chaka.

“The Universal Declaration of Human Rights promises a world in which everyone is born free and equal in dignity and rights – no exceptions, no-one left behind,” said High Commissioner Pillay. “Yet it’s still a hollow promise for many millions of LGBT people forced to confront hatred, intolerance, violence and discrimination on a daily basis.”

“Changing attitudes is never easy. But it has happened on other issues and it is happening already in many parts of the world on this one. It begins with often difficult conversations,” Pillay went on to say. “And that is what we want to do with this campaign. Free & Equal will inspire millions of conversations among people around the world and across the ideological spectrum.”

The Free & Equal campaign aims to raise awareness of homophobic and transphobic violence and discrimination, and encourage greater respect for the rights of LGBT people. Over the coming year, it will release a variety of creative content along the lines of ‘The Riddle,’ a video released by OHCHR for the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia, and ‘The Story of a Mother from Brazil’, which is the first in a series of films interviewing the family members of LGBT people around the world.

Watch The Riddle below:

The campaign follows an OHCHR report published in December 2011, which was the first ever official UN report on violence and discrimination against LGBT persons. The report documented widespread human rights abuses. Today, more than 76 countries still criminalize consensual, same-sex relationships, while in many more discrimination against LGBT people is widespread – including in the workplace as well as in the education and health sectors. Hate-motivated violence against LGBT people, including physical assault, sexual violence, and targeted killings, has been recorded in all regions of the world.

The campaign will focus on the need for both legal reforms and public education to counter homophobia and transphobia.

A number of celebrities with a commitment to equality have pledged their support for Free & Equal by becoming UN equality champions and helping to spread campaign messages and materials via social media. These include the pop star Ricky Martin, South African singer Yvonne Chaka Chaka, Bollywood actress Celina Jaitly, and Brazilian singer Daniela Mercury. Additional equality champions will be announced as the campaign unfolds.

ENDS

Media contacts 

For further information and media requests, please contact:
Cécile Pouilly (+41 22 917 9310 / +41 79 6180 34 30 / cpouilly@ohchr.org)
Jackie Yodashkin (+27 72 435 4172/ info@unfe.org)

Follow the Free & Equal campaign on social media:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/free.equal
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/free_equal

Learn more about the Free & Equal campaign at www.unfe.org

UN Report calls on governments to combat discrimination and violence against LGBTI people

Orinam joins queer communities and human rights organizations around the world in welcoming the release of the first ever United Nations report on human rights, sexual orientation and gender identity. The report documents widespread discrimination and violence faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people worldwide, and calls on countries to apply the international legal framework to end these human rights violations.

The mandate for the report came from the UN Human Rights Council, after South Africa took leadership on the issue by coordinating a resolution at the world human rights body in June. The call was supported by a majority of the Council, including countries from all UN regions.

The resolution itself built upon decades of unshakable advocacy by LGBT human rights defenders. It could not have materialized without the legacy of people claiming the right to be free from violence, discrimination and persecution, and the right to have voice and to organize without threats to security.

Whilst the publication of the report and the increased support for LGBT rights at the UN marks significant progress on these issues, human rights defenders also underlined the need for urgent action to stop the rapes, killings and everyday exclusion and ostracism occurring the world over, and highlighted in the report.

“The brutalities and indignities suffered by LGBT persons have finally been recognized as violations of the core principle of the UN Charter namely the universality of human rights”, said Arvind Narrain of the Alternative Law Forum in Bangalore. “The UN report reaffirms the decision of the Delhi High Court that criminal laws against consensual same-sex conduct are incompatible with international human rights norms.”

The report calls on all governments to implement their commitments and obligations under international law, by protecting the rights of all persons, regardless of their sexuality, gender identity or expression. As UN human rights chief Navanetham Pillay highlights in the report, this includes protection and recognition of the self-identified gender of trans persons. It also includes protection from violence, killings, torture and abuse, including at the hands of family and community-members. The report calls for decriminalization of same-sex relations between consenting adults, and granting asylum to LGBTI individuals at risk, while also emphasizing the importance of freedom of expression and assembly, and non-discrimination in accessing employment, health care and education.

“As a human rights challenge, countering discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity should be non-controversial”, the High Commissioner has stated. “We are not trying to create new rights or extend human rights into new, uncharted territory. What we are doing is insisting that all people are entitled to the same rights and to the equal protection of international human rights law.”

Video: UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navanetham Pillay speaks on the origins of LGBT debates in the UN

Pillay is expected to present the report to the Human Rights Council at its next scheduled meeting in March 2012.

For more information, contact us

Other useful contacts:

Fred Kirungi (Public Information Officer, OHCHR New York): kirungi@un.org. Tel. +1 917 367 3431

Rupert Colville (Public Information Officer, OHCHR Geneva): rcolville@ohchr.org. Tel. +41 22 917 9767

The report (document number A/HRC/19/41) is available to view here or download as pdf here.