Seventy-fifth session
Item 72 (b) of the provisional agenda*
Promotion and protection of human rights: human rights questions, including alternative approaches for improving the effective enjoyment of human rights and
fundamental freedoms
Note by the Secretary-General
The Secretary-General has the honour to transmit to the General Assembly the report of the Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, Victor Madrigal-Borloz, submitted in accordance with Human Rights Council resolution 41/18.
Summary
In the present report, the Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, Victor Madrigal- Borloz, discusses the impact of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic on the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) and gender-diverse persons, communities and/or populations. The Independent Expert analyses the impact of the pandemic on social exclusion and violence and the interaction with institutional drivers of stigma and discrimination. He also analyses measures adopted in the context of the pandemic aimed at persecuting LGBT and gender-diverse persons or with indirect or unintended discriminatory effects and identifies good practice.
INTRODUCTION
1. The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic is an unprecedented global challenge that has exacerbated inequalities prevalent in all regions of the world. The General Assembly has acknowledged that “the poorest and most vulnerable are the hardest hit by the pandemic”1 and the Secretary-General has noted that it is “highlighting deep economic and social inequalities and inadequate health and social protection systems that require urgent attention as part of the public health response. Women and men, children, youth and older persons, refugees and migrants, the poor, people with disabilities, persons in detention, minorities and lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex (LGBTI) people, among others, are all being affected differently.” 2
2. The Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, Victor Madrigal-Borloz, is aware of the global nature of the damage inflicted by the pandemic: it has become clear that the entire human population, including persons affected by violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity, will be impacted by matters ranging from life-threatening disease, domestic violence during lockdown, mental health concerns created by isolation and stress, and the ever-present concern of financial ruin and its potential impact on access to life-critical sectors such as health, education, employment and housing.
3. Notwithstanding, persons, communities and populations that are victims of violence and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity are among those that face this challenge bearing a legacy that condemns a significant proportion of them to exclusion and poverty, and are therefore not facing it on a level playing field.
4. On 9 March 2020, the day that the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic, it became apparent that its impact on the enjoyment of human rights would be unprecedented in our times, and the assessment of impact on the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) and gender-diverse persons around the world became a core part of the work of the Independent Expert. He opened a wide-ranging dialogue process through an open letter issued on 27 March 2020, convening three virtual Town Hall meetings in the period from 30 April to 1 May 2020 and participating in over three dozen virtual consultations and meetings bringing together activists, human rights defenders, civil society leaders, government officials and scholars. In total, over 1,000 individuals from more than 100 countries contributed anecdotal evidence and perspectives on the implications of the pandemic on LGBT and gender-diverse persons.
5. On 17 May 2020, the Independent Expert joined a group of 96 United Nations and regional independent experts in a statement on the impact of the pandemic on LGBT persons.
6. On 18 June 2020, the Independent Expert communicated the ASPIRE Guidelines on COVID-19 response free from violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, and triggered a social media campaign for them to be considered by a wide range of stakeholders. The Independent Expert reviewed claims of human rights violations under the communication procedure, the
totality of the work carried out by the United Nations special procedures5 and over 100 reports, documents and essays published up to 30 June 2020, as well as 86 submissions in response to his call for inputs.
7. The present report is the next step in that process, and summarizes the vast array of evidence available, on the basis of which the Independent Expert concludes that COVID-19 has a disproportionate impact on LGBT and gender-diverse persons; that, with few exceptions, the response to the pandemic reproduces and exacerbates the patterns of social exclusion and violence previously identified by him; and that urgent measures must be adopted by States and other stakeholders to ensure that the pandemic response is free from violence and discrimination and thus in conformity with the tenets of international human rights law.
8. The Independent Expert is deeply indebted to all who have contributed to date to the process, which is aimed at placing the Independent Expert and his call for inputs into the context of this most extraordinary juncture at which humankind finds itself in 2020.
Read the full report from OHCHR