United Nations: Mandate of the Independent Expert on SOGI renewed for a second time

On 17 November 2022, the resolution tabling the Annual Report of the Human Rights Council was adopted by the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly without objections to the renewal of the mandate of the Independent Expert on Protection against Violence and Discrimination on the basis of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (IE SOGI) for the second time.

The mandate of the SOGI IE was created by the UN Human Rights Council in 2016 and presented to the Third Commission after an amendment challenging its creation was rejected. Instead, both in 2019 and July of this year, the mandate of the SOGI IE was renewed without being challenged in the Third Committee.

1,256 NGOs from 149 States and territories in all regions with a coalition of organizations from across the world campaigned for the renewal of the mandate for the second time.

From its creation, this UN mandate has raised global awareness of the impact of violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, including the criminalisation of same-sex relationships and the lack of legal gender recognition procedures. The mandate highlighted the harm caused by so-called 'conversion therapies', while highlighting examples of good practice to prevent discrimination and affirming the importance of collecting specific data about the experiences of LGBT and gender diverse people.

‘The Human Rights Council’s decision to renew this mandate for a second time sent a clear message that violence and discrimination against people of diverse sexual orientations and/or gender identities cannot be tolerated, and we celebrate the lack of challenge today as another significant step in the fight against violence and discrimination’ said ISHR’s Tess McEvoy.