Negation, Acknowledgement and taking forward the struggle for LGBT rights : The Third Report of the Independent Expert on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity

A. Narrain, K. Vance

The release of the third report of the Independent Expert on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) and the first report by the current mandate holder, Víctor Madrigal-Borlioz, provides us another opportunity to assess the workings of the mandate. Perhaps the most important thing accomplished by the mandate over the course of its work, has been keeping the global spotlight on human rights violations on grounds of SOGI. The latest report highlights the pervasiveness of violence on grounds of SOGI from all corners of the globe - from laws providing the death penalty in Saudi Arabia and Sudan, to extra judicial killings in Chechnya, torture and ill treatment in Azerbaijan, to killing of trans people in Central America. The extent of violence suffered by LGBT persons is a stark reminder of the significant role that the mandate of the Independent Expert on SOGI can continue to play. At the most fundamental level, the mandate combats political forces that seek to denude LGBT lives of rights and dignity.