Draft joint statement of the Group of Friends of the mandate of the Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity¹

(To be delivered by Uruguay).

(1'30 minutes)

Thank you, Madam President,

I'm honored to deliver this statement on behalf of the newly established Group of Friends of the SOGI mandate.

We welcome the IE report entitled “The law of inclusion” which is a valuable contribution to better understanding the existing international obligations on gender and gender identity and expression, and its connection with the fight against violence and discrimination in all its forms.

We would like to reaffirm the following:

• As clearly demonstrated by the thorough analysis provided by the report, gender is a social construct and it is a well-established concept in international human rights law, that has been largely used by States, the OHCHR, and international human rights bodies and mechanisms. We stand up for gender equality and oppose any attempt to erase gender from international human rights law instruments and processes.
• The report contributes to a better understanding of the existing connection between the equal enjoyment of human rights by women, girls, LGBT, gender diverse and intersex persons, considering that violence and discrimination against persons belonging to these groups have common root causes, including in the context of a model of ascribing sex and gender, which translate to pre-conceived gendered expectations.
• Intersectional and gender analysis contributes to unveil the multiple and intersecting forms of violence and discrimination faced by persons of diverse sexual orientation and gender identity and women and girls in all their diversity, including transgender women. Indeed, this type of analysis has proven to be fundamental to the design and implementation of inclusive public policies.
• The right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, including sexual and reproductive health, and freedom from interference in bodily integrity and autonomy, should be advanced without discrimination of any kind, including on the basis of SOGI. In that regard, we also highlight the importance of advancing legal gender recognition based on self-identification. 
• To conclude, we would like to underscore the importance of ensuring access to comprehensive and inclusive gender and sexuality education, which is much needed to deconstruct gender norms and stereotypes, and as a way of protection from violence and discrimination based on SOGI.

We look forward to the presentation of the second part of this thematic report entitled the “Practices of exclusion”, to take place later this year in the GA. 

Thank you.

¹ Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Costa Rica, Denmark, Greece, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Israel, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, Norway, Netherlands, Portugal, United Kingdom, United States, Sweden, Switzerland.