IMMEDIATE RELEASE – June 17, 2011
Contact: Mark Bromley – Council Chair202-719-0511 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
June 17, 2011—For the First time, the UN’s Human Rights Council in Geneva has adopted a resolution expressing concern at acts of violence and discrimination committed against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. The text calls on the UN’s High Commissioner for Human Rights to prepare a global study outlining discriminatory laws, practices and acts of violence directed at LGBT individuals, with recommendations on how to put an end to such fundamental human rights abuses. The study will be reviewed by the UN Human Rights Council next year. The resolution was tabled by South Africa and it enjoyed strong support from the United States and a broad coalition of voting states from all regions of the world. It was adopted in Geneva today by a vote of 23 countries in support, 19 against and 3 abstentions.
The United States was represented at the adoption by U.S. Ambassador Eileen Donahoe and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Baer. Baer noted the importance the United States placed on this vote, emphasizing that “this resolution confirms to millions of people around the world that every person – every human being on this planet – matters. As Secretary Clinton said, ‘Gay rights are human rights.’ So are the rights of religious minorities, the disabled and so many others who have been historically ignored or persecuted, not for what they do but for what they are. This is an important step in the quest for dignity for all. And I am proud that the U.S. is a part of it.”
This is the first official UN resolution to focus exclusively on human rights, sexual orientation and gender identity, and it is the first time that gender identity has ever been included in such a formal UN text. Mark Bromley, Chair of the Council, notes that “the vote today completes an effort launched by Brazil back in 2003 to place LGBT rights formally on the human rights agenda of the United Nations. It has been a long struggle, but we were very pleased to see South Africa’s leadership and strong cross-regional support for this resolution.”
A vocal coalition of civil society advocates, coordinated by ARC International, also gathered in Geneva to push the UN to adopt the text. Those advocates, together with non-governmental leaders in South Africa, worked with the South African government to refine the text and then lobbied hard for its adoption. Dawn Cavanagh, representing the Coalition of African Lesbians in South Africa, stated that “the South African government has now offered progressive leadership, after years of troubling and inconsistent positions on the issue of sexual orientation and gender identity.” See the full text of the statement from the NGO coalition that supported the resolution here.
The United States was an official co-sponsor of the resolution and worked with South Africa and other co-sponsors from Europe, Latin America and Asia to secure its passage. Under President Obama and with the leadership of Secretary of State Clinton, the United States has become a strong voice for LGBT rights at the United Nations. Julie Dorf, Senior Advisor to the Council, noted that “the State Department has been working hard to build the momentum and the political space for this, and we are delighted that after many years of discussion, and with South Africa as the lead sponsor, the Human Rights Council has finally acted to address the long-neglected rights of LGBT communities worldwide.” Dorf emphasized that “the leadership of the United States last December at the UN General Assembly in a vote to include a reference to targeted killings because of sexual orientation, combined with a strong diplomatic push the United States at the Human Rights Council in March, helped pave the way for this vote today.”
Looking forward, Bromley stated that “we need ongoing U.S. leadership at the UN to address the human rights of LGBT people in any meaningful way, and we hope the U.S. government will work in partnership with South Africa and the other co-sponsors as this dialogue unfolds so that these words can be transformed into actual human rights protections on the ground.”
