UN Press Release – Victory for LGBT Inclusion

The ECOSOC Decision

Defeat for Discrimination, Victory for Inclusion

(New York, July 23, 2008) – The decision by the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) to grant consultative status to two groups working on sexual orientation and gender identity is a victory in the ongoing struggle for inclusion within the UN, according to a coalition of six human rights organizations.

The two groups approved on July 21 and 22, 2008 are COC Netherlands and Spain's Federación Estatal de Lesbianas, Gays, Transexuales y Bisexuales (FELGTB), national organizations representing lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in the Netherlands and Spain.

Reactions from the Organizations

“COC Netherlands is delighted to obtain consultative status with the UN,” said Björn van Roozendaal, COC's International Advocacy Officer. “This means that we can join the UN's efforts to address human rights violations against people with different sexual orientations or gender identities.”

“Spanish-speaking LGBT voices will be heard at UN meetings where human rights issues are debated,” said David Montero, Head of International Affairs and Human Rights at FELGTB Spain. “We thank everyone who contributed to this outcome, especially the Spanish mission to the UN for its support.”

“ECOSOC has recognized the place of lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender people in the work of the United Nations,” stressed John Fisher of ARC International. “In this 60^th anniversary year of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, it is particularly important to reaffirm the fundamental principle that all human beings are entitled to the full enjoyment of all human rights, without discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.”

“Many states that harass or persecute LGBT people at home also try to block international scrutiny of their record,” said Boris Dittrich, Advocacy Director of Human Rights Watch's LGBT Program. “This vote ensures that two more voices will be raised to defend fundamental human rights at the UN.”

“States from all five regions voted to overturn the NGO Committee's negative recommendation concerning FELGTB Spain,” noted Philipp Braun, Co-Secretary General of ILGA. “We congratulate our members COC and FELGTB on their victory.”

“Many states maintain that ECOSOC votes must follow the recommendations of its NGO Committee; however, those that voted in favour of the LGBT groups believe that this cannot come at the cost of discrimination,” observed Adrian Coman of IGLHRC.

Context and Issues

Consultative status is an essential means for civil society to access the United Nations system. It allows NGOs to submit oral and written reports at meetings and to organize events on UN premises. With this status, these groups can share their information and analyses on the abuse and discrimination faced by LGBT people around the world.

COC Netherlands and FELGTB Spain joined approximately 3 000 other NGOs with consultative status. However, only a handful of LGBT groups had received this status by that date. In recent years, some states had treated applications from LGBT groups with marked hostility, and ECOSOC had granted status to these groups only after overturning negative recommendations from the NGO Committee.

At the January 2008 session, the Committee had been tied 7 to 7 on the status of FELGTB Spain (resulting in the motion's rejection). At the following session in June, it had voted 7 to 6 in favour of granting status to COC Netherlands. At the July session in New York, ECOSOC adopted the recommendation on COC Netherlands by consensus and voted to overturn the negative recommendation concerning FELGTB Spain.

The Role of the CGLQ

The CGLQ and the Swedish Federation for LGBT Rights (RFSL) had obtained consultative status in July 2007, paving the way for other LGBT organizations. The CGLQ's experience in this process helped demonstrate that LGBT voices have a legitimate place within the United Nations system.

Other organizations already accredited included International Wages Due Lesbians (based in the United States) and the Coalition of Activist Lesbians (Australia), which had held consultative status for more than a decade.

The Initial Rejection by the NGO Committee – December 2006

Québec, December 7, 2006 – The CGLQ had observed that the equality enjoyed by the lesbian and gay community in Québec was not accepted abroad. After numerous obstacles, the NGO Committee had questioned the CGLQ's Executive Director for a second time regarding this application.

According to Mr. Lapointe: “It emerged very clearly from these two interviews that several countries are still not ready to discuss sexual orientation. Many of them are very afraid that the equal rights obtained in certain countries such as Canada will increase demands in their own countries.”

This rejection proved that the efforts of LGBT NGOs remained necessary to have sexual orientation recognized as a fundamental human right.

Contacts

• COC Netherlands – Björn van Roozendaal: +31 622 55 83 00 – bvanroozendaal@coc.nl
• FELGTB Spain – David Montero: +34 667 452 541 – areainternacional@felgt.org
• ARC International – John Fisher: +41-79-508-3968 – john@arc-international.net
• IGLHRC – Hossein Alizadeh: +1 (212) 430-6016 – halizadeh@iglhrc.org
• ILGA – Stephen Barris: +32-2-502-2471 – stephenbarris@ilga.org
• Human Rights Watch – Boris Dittrich: +1 (212) 216-1280 – boris.dittrich@hrw.org