Geneva - Sexual orientation, gender identity and expression and sex characteristics (SOGIESC) issues are increasingly on the human rights agenda of the United Nations, a new report released today by the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA) has shown.

In 2016 alone, the United Nations Treaty Bodies have issued 77 Concluding Observations including references to sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and sex characteristics: that figure has almost doubled compared to 2014, when 41 recommendations were made. The percentage of country reviews that contain such recommendations has also increased dramatically, moving from the 34% recorded in 2014 to 53% in 2016.

“These recommendations can be crucial foundations for LGBTI activists to advocate human rights for our communities,” explains Kseniya Kirichenko, who leads the Treaty Bodies and Special Procedures Programme at ILGA and authored The United Nations Treaty Bodies: References to sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and sex characteristics – 2016. “The importance of civil society in bringing about change can’t be overstated, as it continues to provide quality advocacy to encourage more specific recommendations, prompting human rights bodies to address violations against LGBTI persons and communities worldwide.”

ILGA’s The United Nations Treaty Bodies: References to sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and sex characteristics stems from our daily engagement with these human rights bodies, providing a comprehensive annual compilation and analysis of all the SOGIESC references they made in 2016. Read more via ILGA