Rúbia Marcussi Pontes
Rev. Carta Inter., Belo Horizonte, v. 19, n. 1, e1408, 2024
1-24
UN LGBTI Core Group: The quest
for integrating the Human Rights of
LGBTQIA+ Persons into the Security
Council mandate
UN LGBTI Core Group: a busca pela
integração dos direitos humanos das
pessoas LGBTQIA+ no mandato do
Conselho de Segurança
UN LGBTI Core Group: la búsqueda de la
integración de los derechos humanos de
las personas LGBTQIA+ en el mandato
del Consejo de Seguridad
DOI: 10.21530/ci.v19n1.2024.1408
Rúbia Marcussi Pontes
1
Abstract
The paper analyzes the work of the United Nations (UN) LGBTI
Core Group in legitimating and mainstreaming the human rights
of LGBTQIA+ persons across the UN and in the Security Council
(UNSC) agenda and mandate. By using an agenda-setting model for
promoting interpretative frameworks, the paper reconstitutes the
LGBTQIA+ human rights trajectory at the UN and identifies the
recent Core Group efforts to bridge the gap between LGBTQIA+
human rights and international peace and security at the Council.
1 Doutoranda e Mestra em Ciência Política pela Universidade Estadual de Campinas
(UNICAMP). Professora de Relações Internacionais na Faculdades de Campinas
(FACAMP). Pesquisadora do Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia para
Estudos sobre os Estados Unidos (INCT-INEU). (rubiamarcussi@gmail.com).
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0230-0600.
Artigo submetido em 17/11/2023 e aprovado em 14/06/2024.
ASSOCIAÇÃO BRASILEIRA DE
RELAÇÕES INTERNACIONAIS
Copyright:
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• Este é um artigo
publicado em acesso aberto
e distribuído sob os termos
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Creative Commons,
que permite uso irrestrito,
distribuição e reprodução
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originais sejam creditados.
ISSN 2526-9038
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The paper identifies the UNSC’s unique characteristics, such as the veto power, as constraints,
but highlights political alignments for future advancements.
Keywords: United Nations; Security Council; LGBTQIA+ Human Rights; UN LGBTI Core
Group.
Resumo
O artigo analisa o trabalho do LGBTI Core Group das Nações Unidas (ONU) na legitimação
e integração dos direitos humanos das pessoas LGBTQIA+ na ONU e na agenda e mandato
do Conselho de Segurança (CSNU). Ao utilizar um modelo de definição de agenda para
promover quadros interpretativos, o artigo reconstitui a trajetória dos direitos humanos
LGBTQIA+ na ONU e identifica os esforços recentes do Core Group para eliminar, no
Conselho, a lacuna entre esses direitos humanos e paz e segurança internacionais. O artigo
identifica as características únicas do CSNU, como o poder de veto, como restrições, mas
destaca alinhamentos políticos para avanços.
Palavras-chave: Nações Unidas; Conselho de Segurança; Direitos Humanos LGBTQIA+;
UN LGBTI Core Group.
Resumen
El artículo analiza el trabajo del LGBTI Core Group de las Naciones Unidas (ONU) para
legitimar e incorporar los derechos humanos de las personas LGBTQIA+ en toda la ONU
y en la agenda y el mandato del Consejo de Seguridad (CSNU). Al utilizar un modelo de
establecimiento de agenda para promover marcos interpretativos, el artículo reconstituye
la trayectoria de los derechos humanos LGBTQIA+ en la ONU e identifica los recientes
esfuerzos del Core Group para cerrar la brecha entre los derechos humanos LGBTQIA+ y
la paz y seguridad internacionales en el Consejo. El artículo identifica las características
únicas del CSNU, como el poder de veto, como limitaciones, pero destaca los alineamientos
políticos para avances futuros.
Palabras clave: Naciones Unidas; Consejos de Seguridad; Derechos Humanos LGBTQIA+;
UN LGBTI Core Group.
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Introduction
Persecution, homophobia, and lack of adequate legal protection against
discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) are but a
few of the human rights violations and offenses faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual,
transgender, queer, intersex, and asexual (LGBTQIA+
2
) persons
3
(United Nations
2023 e).
As Thoreson (2014, 4) highlights, “LGBT human rights have been among
the most contentious topics in contemporary human rights debates. The terms
‘LGBT’, ‘sexual orientation’, and ‘gender identity’ do not appear in the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights or in any United Nations (UN) treaties — a point
that their detractors regularly stress”. In this sense, LGBTQIA+ human rights have
also been gravelly contested — and infringed — domestically by many states:
To this day, more than 60 UN Member States still have discriminatory laws that
expose LGBTQIA+ persons to arrest, prosecution, imprisonment, conversion
therapy, and even the death penalty (ILGA World 2024), which demonstrates
the relevance of a research agenda on LGBTQIA+ human rights in and for
International Relations.
Despite all the backlash and contestation, activists insisted that LGBTQIA+
rights are universal, inviolable, and nonnegotiable human rights that should be
considered and legally guaranteed in international organizations, especially at
and by the UN. Today, most UN bodies and specialized agencies incorporate
LGBTQIA+ human rights into their programs and activities (Mertus 2009, 3-4).
However, it was not so for a long time, as they were only addressed by the UN’s
main organs in the 2000s. Bearing this in mind, the paper reconstitutes some of
this history and focuses on the work made by the UN LGBTI Core Group, a 42
UN Member States initiative founded in 2008 that aims at protecting LGBTQIA+
persons from violence and discrimination (UN LGBTI Core Group 2023 a).
The paper argues that the Group’s growing influence was essential for
including the theme on the UN Security Council’s (UNSC) agenda, with the
first informal meeting on LGBTQIA+ human rights in 2015 and the second
2 Many authors, as well as the UN and its officials, organs, and documents, use different nomenclatures, such
as LGBT or LGBTI. Their uses will be respected when quoting or commenting on, but the paper adopts the
broader acronym LGBTQIA+.
3 Furthermore, “the intersection with racial discrimination, on the grounds of race, color, descent, national or ethnic
origin, makes LGBTQI+ people even more vulnerable to discrimination and hate-motivated violence” (United Nations
2023 e).
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one in 2023. The paper also argues that there has been an effort to queer the
international peace and security agenda and push for the inclusion of the human
rights of LGBTQIA+ persons in the UNSC mandate.
The discussion is organized into four main items. The first one highlights
the UN’s capacity to frame problems, define agendas, and constrain actors —
mainly its Member States — to conform to the agreed rules of global governance.
The paper works with an agenda-setting model and interpretative frameworks,
which are “strategic efforts to shape understandings about problems or solutions
to be shared by the actors who will legitimize collective actions, thus taking
advantage of the opportunities that exist in the choices of the agenda-setting”
(Joachim 2007).
The paper highlights that the greater institutional access to the UN by the
new social movements in the 1990s, as well as the growing alliances and political
alignment between actors at the organization, guaranteed that LGBTIQIA+
human rights and issues would be framed as part of the UN agenda and agreed
decisions from that moment on.
In this sense, the second item reconstitutes the path to the legitimation and
inclusion of LGBTQIA+ human rights in the UN system, with a focus on the UN
General Assembly and the Human Rights Council. The third item explores the
origins and principles of the UN LGBTI Core Group, as well as its growing role
in advocating for LGBTQIA+ human rights across the UN by i) being vocal in
multiple organs and ii) creating a series of stand-alone and side events at high-
level meetings. As the Group is mainly formed by Member States, its political
commitment was key for promoting this interpretative framework and thus
mainstreaming LGBTQIA+ human rights at the organization (UN LGBTI Core
Group 2023 a; 2023 e).
Nevertheless, the particularity and atrocities faced by LGBTQIA+ persons
in situations of conflict were never fully addressed by the UNSC. Therefore, the
fourth item bridges the gap between LGBTQIA+ human rights and the UNSC
mandate for maintaining international peace and security. The item also addresses
the statements and the results of the 20 March 2023 UNSC informal meeting,
co-sponsored by the UN LGBTI Core Group, on Integrating the Human Rights of
LGBTI Persons into the Council’s Mandate for Maintaining International Peace
and Security (United Nations 2023 f). Finally, the paper frames some UNSC’s
characteristics as constraints for this integration, but highlights political alignments
for future advancements.
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The agenda-setting model and the UN
The UN was founded on 26 June 1945, when, after three months of
negotiations, the UN Charter was signed at the UN Conference on International
Organization in San Francisco (United Nations 2023 a). The Charter preamble
states that the organization was created to save future generations from the
sorrows of wars and to “reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the
dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women
and of nations large and small (…)” (United Nations 2023 b), which would be
secured through treaties and other sources of international law. The use of force
would be a last resource to maintain international peace and security, and the
principle of good faith would be the ballast of the UN.
Article two of the Charter established the principle of sovereign equality
as the foundation of the UN. This principle was solidified at the UN General
Assembly (UNGA), the only UN deliberative and policymaking organ with
universal representation. Besides the UNGA, the Charter established a clear
division of labor with the creation of five other main organs: The Security Council
(UNSC), the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), the Trusteeship Council,
the International Court of Justice, and the Secretariat. They were responsible for
guaranteeing, within their mandates, that the UN principles and pillars would
be fulfilled (United Nations 2023 c).
It is also important to note that, on 10 December 1948, the UNGA adopted
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). This breakthrough document
would guide the organizations’ human rights pillar and upcoming treaties, as
it was the first document setting out fundamental human rights that should be
universally protected. In this sense, the UDHR preamble recognized the inherent
dignity and inalienable rights of all human beings, and its first article reinforced
that all are born free and equal in dignity and rights. Articles two and three
highlighted how the rights to life, liberty, and security shall be guaranteed without
distinction of any kind, such as race, color, sex, religion, language, national or
social origin, or any other status (United Nations 2023 d).
The UN agenda is an extensive and non-exhaustive one. Therefore, the
inclusion of new demands in the format of discussion topics is of great relevance
to global governance. In this sense, the UN agenda can help shape and change
the priorities, interests, and identities of states across time (Joachim 2007, 18).
However, these processes are not natural or automatic. Non-state actors, such
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as non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and social movements, play a key
role in internationalizing their agendas and pushing for the inclusion of new
topics of discussion at the UN.
Given this, Joachim (2007, 17-18) exemplifies her agenda-setting model by
demonstrating how NGOs acted for the inclusion of women’s rights on the UN
agenda and conferences, mainly in the 1990s, as the support of the international
community would weigh on their agendas at the domestic level. Rodrigues and
Hernandez (2020, 213) highlight the role of NGOs in the agenda-setting model
for promoting interpretative frameworks, which are understood as “strategic
efforts to shape understandings about problems or solutions to be shared by
the actors who will legitimize collective actions, thus taking advantage of the
opportunities that exist in the choices of the agenda-setting”.
The interpretative framework strategy can be decomposed into three
independent processes, but also commonly articulated by actors — mainly
NGOs — in their agenda-setting efforts. The processes are i) diagnosis, which is
related to the identification of the problem and its cause; ii) prognosis, which is
related to pointing out diversified solutions to the problem; and iii) motivational,
which refers to the political opportunity structure and the mobilization structure
(Rodrigues and Hernandez 2020, 213; Joachim 2007).
The success of these processes, hence the legitimation and inclusion of the
topic on the agenda, depends on the structure of political opportunity faced and
the structure of mobilization: “The first factor concerns the structural context of
the institution that the NGOs are penetrating, which can provide opportunities
or restrictions to mobilization. And the second involves the organizational
resources and communication networks that NGOs have at their disposal to
mobilize themselves” (Rodrigues and Hernandez 2020, 214).
It is important to highlight that international organizations are not passive
spaces where states act. They are International Relations actors, with structures
and forces that can change mainly due to political interactions, which are ruled
by three important elements integrated into the structure of political opportunity
of the agenda-setting model: access to institutions, influent allies, and political
alignments (Rodrigues and Hernandez 2020, 214; Joachim 2007).
There is no possibility of promoting interpretative frameworks without access
to institutions. The post-Cold War era opened a moment at the UN where new
agendas, more focused on development, flourished: NGOs, brokers, and activists
took advantage of the new institutional opportunities for access, mainly through
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specialized events and forums and, in some cases, acquiring consultative status
at organs such as the ECOSOC (Thoreson 2014; Rodrigues and Hernandez 2020).
Having influential allies is also essential, as they can support — or restrict —
mobilization and agendas (Joachim 2007). The UN Secretariat is an important ally,
as its members prepare meetings, conferences, reports, briefings, and much more
to support the topic discussions and decision-making processes. But “governments
are, possibly, the most decisive allies, because they effectively define whether
an agenda will be accepted or not. They have the possibility of presenting draft
resolutions created by NGOs or making statements for or against them” (Rodrigues
and Hernandez 2020, 215). In this sense, political alignment between engaged
countries or groups of countries on a topic is also essential for agenda-setting.
Supported by the analytical framework proposed in this item, the following
aims to demonstrate how the UN has been legitimating and mainstreaming
LGBTQIA+ human rights across its system, especially in the 2000s, when
groundbreaking documents and initiatives were adopted. This was possible
due to greater institutional access to the UN by NGOs and the LGBTQIA+ social
movement in general, but the item shows how having influential allies and
securing their alignments on this agenda in an intergovernmental organization
is key for fighting backlash and promoting its advancement.
The UN and the inclusion of LGBTQIA+ human rights
Gonzaga (2019) highlights that the new social movements gained traction
in the context of profound political, social, and cultural transformations of the
post-Cold War era. These new social movements expressed identity claims that
could surpass class conflict and promote collective action to fight for political,
civil, and social rights. They were also transnational and, sometimes, intersected
with other movements. This was the case with the women’s and LGBTQIA+
movements.
The organizations, activists, and brokers of the LGBTQIA+ social movement
fought domestically for decades, but the institutional opening of the UN to civil
society in the 1990s made their efforts at the international level gain momentum
(Gonzaga 2019). In this sense, in 1993, the International Lesbian and Gay
Association (ILGA) was the first LGBTQIA+ organization to receive consultant
status at the ECOSOC — which was revoked in 1994, in a clear blockade to
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institutional access for agenda-setting (Rodrigues and Hernandez 2020, 221).
Nevertheless, in 1994, the complaint brought by Australian national Nicholas
Toonen to the UN Human Rights Committee was judged. In Toonen vs. Australia,
Toonen argued that his country discriminated against gay men, violating articles 17
and 26 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. He eventually
won the case and ended the last sodomy law in Australia. Following up, Beverly
Ditsie, a South African activist, made history as the first openly lesbian woman to
address the UN on LGBTQIA+ human rights at the 1995 Fourth World Conference
on Women in Beijing, leading up discussions about these rights at the Conference
(UN LGBTI Core Group 2023 b).
From then on, Thoreson (2014, 196) continues, “brokers worked closely
with staff from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), which
was especially supportive of their work at regional mechanisms”, as well as with
the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), to mainstream
LGBTQIA+ human rights and issues. Their advocacy was also extended to other
international organizations, such as Mercosur and the European Union (EU)
(Thoreson 2014, 197).
But it was only in 2000 that the first-ever reference to sexual orientation was
included in a UN resolution, the E/CN.4/RES/2000/31, adopted without a vote,
on the Commission on Human Rights (CHR). It called upon states to ensure the
adequate protection of the right to life of all persons under their jurisdiction and
to investigate promptly and thoroughly all killings, including those based on
sexual orientation (Commission on Human Rights 2000). In this sense, the UNGA
adopted resolution 27/214 on Extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions (EJE)
in February 2003. In its sixth operative paragraph, the resolution reaffirmed the
obligation of governments to promptly and thoroughly investigate all cases of
killings committed for any discriminatory reason, including sexual orientation
or racially motivated violence4 (United Nations General Assembly 2003).
Also in 2003, Brazil introduced draft resolution E/CN.4/2003/L.92 at ECOSOC
and, later, at the CHR, connecting human rights and discrimination based on
sexual orientation. However, the draft faced strong opposition from Egypt, Libya,
Malaysia, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia, and its negotiation was postponed to
4 Since then, the UNGA has adopted more resolutions on EJE: A/RES/77/218, A/RES/75/189, A/RES/73/172,
A/RES/71/198, A/RES/69/182, A/RES/67/168, A/RES/65/208, A/RES/63/182, A/RES/61/173, A/RES/59/197
and A/RES/57/214. Ten years after the first resolution mentioned sexual orientation, resolution 168 included
“gender identity” for the first time in a UN resolution (United Nations General Assembly, 2012).
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2004, when consensus was not reached again. Finally, the draft resolution was
removed from the agenda (Rodrigues and Hernandez 2020, 222).
In 2005, the first joint statement mentioning sexual orientation was made
by New Zealand, on behalf of 32 countries, at the CHR, highlighting how threats
and discrimination based on sexual orientation were against human dignity (Arc
International 2005). Another landmark in this sense was reached in December
2006, when Norway presented the first joint statement on human rights violations
based on SOGI at the Human Rights Council
5
(HRC) on behalf of 54 states, urging
treaty bodies, civil society, and the HRC to keep paying due attention to such
human rights violations (Arc International 2006). Also in 2006, the institutional
access aspect was achieved when ILGA-Europe and two organizations from
Norway and Germany were granted consultant status at the ECOSOC, which was
only possible due to support from the Secretariat and Member States (Rodrigues
and Hernandez 2020, 222).
In 2008, Argentina presented, on behalf of 66 states, a joint statement
at the UNGA on human rights and SOGI, which one-third of Member States
supported. Nevertheless, another one-third launched a counterstatement objecting
to recognizing such human rights and one-third abstained (Arc International
2008; Thoreson 2014, 5).
On 17 June 2011, the HRC adopted resolution 17/19 on human rights and
SOGI. Introduced by South Africa and Brazil, with support from 39 more countries,
the resolution expressed concern about violations based on SOGI and requested
a study by the UN Commissioner for Human Rights on discriminatory laws and
practices and acts of violence against individuals based on their SOGI (Human
Rights Council 2011). This was not an easy approval, as the resolution narrowly
passed due to heavy lobbying, with 23 votes in favor, 19 against, and 3 abstentions
(Thoreson 2014, 5).
In 2013, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
launched the unprecedented public information campaign UN Free & Equal, with
support from UN Member States and multiple stakeholders (United Nations 2023
e). In the following year, the HRC adopted its second resolution on Human rights
and SOGI (A/HRC/RES/27/32), requesting an updated study on discriminatory
laws and practices and acts of violence against individuals based on their SOGI.
5 The HRC was established in 2006 by the UNGA. It replaced the CHR as the main intergovernmental UN body
responsible for promoting and protecting human rights.
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It had 25 votes in favor, 14 against, and 7 abstentions (Human Rights Council
2014). And, in June 2016, the HRC adopted resolution 32/2, on the Protection against
violence and discrimination based on SOGI. Proposed by Argentina, Brazil, Chile,
Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico, and Uruguay, the resolution created the Independent
Expert on SOGI mandate for three years to protect persons against violence and
discrimination based on their SOGI (Human Rights Council 2016).
In 2019, intersex issues were first addressed in an HRC resolution focusing
on discrimination against women and girls in sports, including women born
with variations of sex characteristics (Human Rights Council 2019). In 2021, the
UNGA adopted resolution 76/176 on Strengthening the role of the UN in the
promotion of democratization and enhancing periodic and genuine elections.
It urged states to eliminate laws, regulations, and practices that discriminated
against citizens in their right to participate in public affairs based (amongst
others) on SOGI. The resolution was cosponsored by 87 Member States and was
adopted without a vote, which shows groundbreaking support (United Nations
General Assembly 2021; UN LGBTI Core Group 2023 b).
In what concerns the UNSC, the first meeting focusing on LGBTQIA+
human rights was an Arria-formula 6 hosted by the United States (US) and Chile
in 2015, with a focus on crimes and atrocities committed by the Islamic State
against LGBTQIA+ individuals in Iraq and Syria. At the meeting, the Council
heard testimonies from “Subhi Nahas, a gay Syrian refugee, and an anonymous
gay Iraqi man about threats, violence, and executions of LGBTQ people in Syria
and Iraq by the Islamic State” (Cassell 2023). The meeting also counted with
then OutRight International Executive Director Jessica Stern. This was the first
time the UNSC ever considered the targeting of people based on their real or
perceived SOGI (Outright International 2023 a, 16).
In this sense, even though the meeting was held mainly to discuss the
situation of LGBTQIA+ persons in conflict situations in the Middle East, it was a
historic one, as it signaled that “violence based on SOGI is deemed unacceptable
and that discussions regarding the protection of LGBT persons from violence
have a place in the SC” (UN LGBTI Core Group 2023 b). Furthermore, in 2016,
the UNSC also issued a press release condemning the shooting that killed 49
people and injured more than 50 at an Orlando LGBTQIA+ nightclub, using, for
6 An informal meeting convened by any UNSC member to discuss matters of interest that were not traditionally
included in the agenda. During these meetings, members can hold open dialogues with non-members, including
NGOs, diplomats, and individuals. This practice is named after Venezuelan Ambassador Diego Arria, who
first introduced it in 1992 (Mertus 2009, 116).
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the first time, language that recognized violence targeted towards this specific
minority (United Nations 2016 ).
Nevertheless, LGBTQIA+ persons have been persecuted because of their
SOGI, as well as targeted and victimized in and by armed conflicts, for a far
longer period, without any recognition by the UNSC, the primary UN organ
responsible for maintaining international peace and security. In this sense,
OutRight International highlights that “queer people are largely invisible at the
UNSC and in atrocity prevention efforts, peacebuilding processes, and international
justice” (Outright International 2023 a, 4), a reality which a particular group,
i.e. the UN LGBTI Core Group, has been trying to change.
The UN LGBTI Core Group: A paramount step forward
The UN LGBTI Core Group is an informal cross-regional group established
in 2008 and co-chaired by Argentina and the Netherlands. It is composed of 42
UN Member States, the EU as an observer, the OHCHR, and the NGOs Human
Rights Watch and OutRight International
7
. Its 42 members include Albania,
Australia, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Cabo Verde, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa
Rica, Croatia, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Finland, France, Germany,
Honduras, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico,
Montenegro, Nepal, Peru, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Norway, Portugal,
South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Timor Leste, the United Kingdom (UK), the US,
and Uruguay (UN LGBTI Core Group 2023 a).
The Group’s primary goal is to “work within the UN framework on ensuring
universal respect for the human rights and fundamental freedoms for all,
specifically LGBTI persons, with a particular focus on protection from violence
and discrimination” (UN LGBTI Core Group 2023 a). To do so, the Group follows
three main principles: “raising awareness about LGBTI issues; contributing to
multilateral work and negotiations at the UN; and seeking common ground and
engaging in a spirit of open, respectful and constructive dialogue and cooperation
with UN Member States and other stakeholders outside the Core Group” (UN
LGBTI Core Group 2023 c).
Membership is open to all UN Member States or observer states that share the
goal and principles of the Core Group, as it “strives to have a broad, cross-regional
7 OutRight International is a co-founder and works as the Secretariat of the Group (Outright International 2023 b).
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membership with balanced geographical representation” (UN LGBTI Core Group
2023 d). To ensure this, the interesting thing is that applications are only considered
in pairs: one must be from a Global South country and the other from a Global
North, a mainstreaming strategy across Global South countries for an agenda
sometimes associated with North or Western ones. So, it is key to have Global
South countries taking the lead on the agenda and advocating for LGBTQIA+
human rights (Vance et al. 2018).
Figure 1 — The UN LGBTI Core Group flag
Source: Reppresentanza Permanente d’Italia ONU 2023.
Following Joachim’s (2007) approach, it is possible to say that the Group
has diagnosed a grave problem, i.e. the violations of LGBTQIA+ human rights
worldwide, and is pointing out a prognosis, i.e. to fight against discrimination
and promote universal respect and security for this minority. It is motivated
by the political opportunity that the 1990s and 2000s UN opening to social
movements and civil society has brought to legitimate and include the topic on
the UN agenda.
In this context, each of the 42 UN Member States are influential allies that
can shape political alignment across the UN system, which they have been doing,
as the previous section has shown, by sponsoring and adopting resolutions that
include LGBTQIA+ issues at UN bodies, mainly the UNGA and the HRC. The
presence of NGOs at the center of the Core Group also indicates their embeddedness
across the UN and how they influence countries’ and international organizations’
agendas and discussions.
In this sense, the UN LGBTI Core Group has been advocating for the promotion
and protection of LGBTQIA+ human rights by creating a series of stand-alone events
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(such as the 2021 virtual event Leaving No One Behind: Decriminalization of Sexual
Orientation and Gender Identity and the 2018 Violence against LGBTI Individuals:
Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions, held at the UN headquarters in
New York) and side events held during high-level meetings (such as the 2022
Right to Be Me at the High-level Segment of the 77
th
session of the UNGA and the
2017 ministerial level meeting Ending Violence and Discrimination against LGBTI
Persons, also held at the UN headquarters) (UN LGBTI Core Group 2023 e).
However, its main work has been done with its 42 Member States being
vocal in multiple UN organs, advocating for, and denouncing the disrespect of
LGBTQIA+ human rights. Member States from the Group sponsored most of
the resolutions adopted by the UNGA and the HRC in the 2000s, as shown in the
previous item, but they also have made 50 recorded statements from October
2017 to April 2024, as the image below shows, across the UN system. Usually,
one country makes a statement on behalf of the Core Group as a whole. In this
sense, some contemporary statements and their content are worth mentioning.
Figure 2: UN LGBTI Core Group statements (2017-2024)
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Source: Own elaboration based on data gathered on UN LGBTI Core Group 2023 e.
On 26 October 2021, a joint statement was given by the UN LGBTI Core Group
at the UNGA Third Committee Interactive Dialogue with the Independent Expert
on Protection against Violence and Discrimination based on SOGI. The Australian
representative, speaking on behalf of the Group, welcomed the UNGA’s “increased
focus on the importance of legal recognition as well as the decriminalization of
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persons based on their sexual orientation and gender identity and the protection
of the human rights of trans and gender-diverse persons”, but also remembered
that there were still 68 countries that criminalized consensual same-sex relations,
something that was perceived as a barrier to fully achieving the Sustainable
Development Goals (Australian Government 2021).
This last part is aligned with the 2020 statement made by the UN LGBTI
Core Group at the ECOSOC General Debate, stressing that the achievement of the
2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development was intertwined with the guarantee
of non-discrimination and equality for all, “including for persons belonging
to LGBTI communities, individuals, advocates and human rights defenders in
general” (UN LGBTI Core Group 2020).
It also aligns with Michelle Bachelet’s discourse at the 2020 UN LGBTI Core
Group Side Event: Building Back Better — how to create a virtuous cycle for
inclusion of all LGBTI Persons, delivered at the 75th UNGA. In her statement, the
then-UN High Commissioner for Human Rights thanked the Core Group for its
unique initiative and leadership in working to end violence and discrimination
against LGBTQIA+ persons, which were heavily suffering the consequences of
the COVID-19 pandemic in health and unemployment terms (United Nations
Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner 2020).
In September 2022, the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also made a
statement on behalf of his country at a UN LGBTI Core Group event, just as the
77th UNGA session was starting. He named the diplomats’ co-sponsors of the
Group from Argentina and the Netherlands, Santiago and Wopke, and thanked
them for their leadership and engagement. For Blinken (United States Department
of State 2022), that was a time of encouraging momentum, especially with legal
changes in St. Kitts and Nevis, Antigua and Barbuda, and Vietnam.
The UN LGBTI Core Group also made several statements at the Commission
on the Status of Women (CSW). In March 2022, on behalf of the Group, Belgium
delivered a statement at the 66th session expressing “full solidarity with all women
and girls in all their diversity living in conflict situations and other emergencies.
We know that women and girls, including lesbian, bisexual, trans, and intersex
persons, are particularly impacted by crises” (Permanent Mission of Australia
to the United Nations 2022).
In the 67th CSW General Debate, Thomas Blomqvist, Minister for Nordic
Cooperation and Equality of Finland, made another important statement on behalf
of the Group. He remembered the session’s theme, Innovation and technological
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change, and education in the digital age for achieving gender equality and the
empowerment of all women and girls, and its opportunity for the international
community to commit to ensuring the full, equal, and meaningful inclusion of
queer women and girls in education and technology policies, laws, and programs
(Reppresentanza Permanente d’Italia ONU 2023).
These statement examples, aligned with the resolutions proposed by Core
Group Members States, as shown in section two, demonstrate how the Group has
been able to frame LGBTQIA+ human rights in the UN system and mainstream
its efforts. Political alignments and alliances were built during the 2000s, and
states changed their views, stances, and made this a possibility. Nevertheless, at
the UNSC, the discussion and inclusion of LGBTQIA+ human rights and their
nexus with international peace and security still fall short.
Mégret (2020, 39) states that the UNSC “may be the least obvious organ
within the UN to have a human rights role (…)”, but it is reasonable to assume
that it can be an instance that has exceptional power due to its “(…) very
sought-after resource, in the form of a monopoly of the legitimate authority
to use coercive means against states”. Therefore, the relationship between the
Council and human rights is complex, as the UN Charter did not envisage a
key role for it on this matter, and its involvement is linked to extensive debates
about overstepping and sovereignty.
The UNSC and the UN LGBTI Core Group: Bridging the gap?
The UN Charter established the UNSC mandate in Chapters V, VI, VII, and
VIII. The Council is composed of a fraction of states: It has 15 members, five
permanent (China, France, Russian Federation, UK, US
8
) and ten non-permanent,
as the UNGA elects them for two-year terms. The voting method of the Council
demands at least nine affirmative votes, including the competing votes of its
permanent members, as they hold the veto power. Nevertheless, according to the
UN Charter, all the organization’s Member States have agreed to accept and carry
out the decisions of the UNSC, which are legally binding (United Nations 2023 b).
The Council is the primary organ responsible for maintaining international
peace and security, determining the existence of any threats or breaches to peace,
and acting to restore it. To do so, it must first try to settle disputes by calling all
8 Known collectively as the P-5.
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parties to negotiate by all possible peaceful means. If these efforts are exhausted,
actions under Chapter VII allow the use of force and coercive means (United
Nations 2023 b). The UNSC is known to be the master of its own rules, meaning
that few rules of procedure are defined in the UN Charter: They are Provisional
Rules of Procedure. As a result, most rules are the reflex of practices reinforced
over time (United Nations Security Council 2024).
The UNSC agenda comprises general and thematic issues, such as Children and
armed conflict and Nonproliferation. The Council also discusses the situation of
numerous countries undergoing conflicts. In this agenda context, items’ addition —
or removal — are critical political gestures (United Nations Security Council 2024).
Malone (2009, 120) points out that the UNSC action was restricted during
the Cold War, as both political blocks relied heavily on the veto power. This
resulted in unilateral actions to manage international peace and security crises
such as the Cuban Missile Crisis. This context undermined the Council’s mandate.
But even more important to note is that the UNSC “sought to isolate itself from
human rights concerns and to close its decision-making processes to NGOs that
might push human rights and humanitarian matters into international attention”
(Mertus 2009, 98).
It was only in the post-Cold War era that the P-5 interactions and the
UNSC works gained momentum: from March 1991 to October 1993, the UNSC
approved 185 resolutions, against 685 in the previous 46 years, and authorized
15 peacekeeping and observer missions, against 17 in the last 46 years (Malone
2009, 123). The quantitative rise in its action was accompanied by expanding
old themes and including new ones on its agenda during the 1990s and the
early 2000s. Amongst them were debates on a more significant role for regional
organizations and human rights, with a “renewed interest in various categories
of especially vulnerable categories of people such as women, children, refugees,
and, generally, civilians in armed conflict” Mégret (2020, 63).
Previously insulated by the Secretariat, the instrumentalization of the human
rights agenda by the UNSC became a vital part of the organ’s objectives and
strategies in this new era9, as it (at long last) realized that conflicts could and
would not be resolved if human rights were continuously violated (Malone 2009,
127). In this sense, some patterns were followed in the upcoming years in the
9 The division of labor of the UN system envisaged by the Charter “(…) turned out to be difficult to sustain in
practice in the long run, as the importance of human rights grew, threats to international peace and security
evolved, and challenges to the Council’s interventions arose (…)” (Mégret 2020, 48).
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nexus between international peace and security and human rights, such as racist
regimes, the disruption of democracy, humanitarian crises, and the commission
of certain international crimes (Mégret 2020, 49). However, the discourse of
defending human rights posed a still ongoing challenge to the UNSC, as “some
instances have led to SC authorizations of force, but many have not” (Hampson
and Penny 2009, 541).
The previous specificities mentioned about the Council’s mandate are essential
in this context because they highlight that, through and through, international
peace and security, as well as breaches and threats to it, have been and are
what the Council decides them to be (Mégret 2020; Mertus 2009, 98), and even
more so to cases of human rights violations by states. This is the power to shape
agendas and interpretative frameworks, in Joachim’s (2007) words.
Nevertheless, since the 2015 Arria-formula, no further developments have been
made on LGBTQIA+ human rights in the UNSC until the 20 March 2023 Arria-
formula. The US led the meeting organization alongside multiple UNSC members
and non-members, such as Austria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, and Greece, the
UN LGBTI Core Group, who co-sponsored it (United Nations 2023 f). With the
topic Integrating the Human Rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and
Intersex (LGBTI) Persons into the Council’s Mandate for Maintaining International
Peace and Security, the meeting occurred at the ECOSOC chamber. It was chaired
by US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield. The US Special Envoy to
Advance the Human Rights of LGBTQI+ Persons Jessica Stern10 also participated
in the US delegation (Security Council Report 2023). The presence of the then
Independent Expert on SOGI, Victor Madrigal-Borloz, was also highly anticipated,
as it would be the first time that this UN official would address the Council
(Cassell 2023).
Before the meeting, the US delegation circulated a concept note affirming
that the meeting’s main goal was to “identify steps that the Council can take to
better incorporate the human rights of LGBTI persons in carrying out its mandate
to maintain international peace and security” (Security Council Report 2023).
Furthermore, the note included general questions that should guide the meeting
and any further discussions, such as:
10 Prior to taking office, Ms. Stern was OutRight International’s Executive Director since 2012.
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How can we increase awareness within UN field missions on the need to
better integrate respect for human rights of LGBTI persons into peacekeeping
and peacebuilding?
How can we practically expand the Woman, Peace and Security (WPS)
agenda to promote cross-cutting intersectional identities, including those
related to sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression?
In the proper meeting, Madrigal-Borloz spoke about the atrocities LGBTQIA+
persons face in conflict zones worldwide. He highlighted how many forms
of violence, such as rape, public lashings, beheadings, blackmail, and forced
marriages, are among the most heinous crimes and atrocities committed against
LGBTQIA+ persons in armed conflicts (United Nations 2023 f).
LGBTQIA+ representatives Artemis Akbary from Afghanistan and Maria
Susana Peralta-Ramón from Colombia also addressed the Council. Akbary is
a gay man who fled Afghanistan to Iran with his family in 1996 but had to go
to Turkey, as he grew up being humiliated and tortured there just for being
who he was. Now settled in the Czech Republic, he is the founder and director
ofthe Afghan LGBT Organization and highlighted his story to the Council and
the ongoing “horrors LGBTQ Afghans are currently facing under the Taliban,
such as limited escape routes (…). Unfortunately, LGBT people in Afghanistan
and neighboring countries have neither freedom nor security” (Cassell 2023).
Peralta-Ramón is a Colombian lesbian activist, scholar, and leader of the
peace and transitional justice team at Colombia Diversa, the country’s LGBTQIA+
organization. She highlighted that “resolving war” by omitting issues of SOGI
and the crimes committed against LGBTQIA+ persons is not enough to restore
peace and security. She further “spoke about how the armed forces killing of
a transgender woman protecting villagers became a symbol of how militia
exerted control of a village in her country” (Cassell 2023). Peralta-Ramón also
addressed Colombia’s peace-building success, stating it has been the result of
soliciting feminist, LGBTQ, and other organizations representing marginalized
groups to include and implement their ideas for harm reduction in the peace-
building process.
By the end of the meeting, the US Ambassador introduced a draft resolution
on the topic and stated that “the US was committed to integrating LGBTQ people
into the Council’s work, regularly reviewing conflicts on the Council’s agenda
with an eye for LGBTQ people, encouraging the UN Secretariat and other UN
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officials to integrate LGBTQ concerns and perspectives in their regular reports to
the Council (…)” (United Nations 2023 f). In a final note, she stated that “the
simple fact is, the threats LGBTQ people face around the world are threats to
international peace and security” (United Nations 2023 f).
Other UNSC members and non-members agreed with the Ambassador’s
words and the briefers’ remarks, signaling an intent to further commit to action
to increase LGBTQIA+ awareness and inclusion of their human rights in the
Council’s mandate and objectives. However, “China, Ghana, and Russia objected
to the proposed resolution, arguing there are other UN agencies and mechanisms
that address LGBTQ rights and that the issue did not fall under the Council’s
mandate” (Cassell 2023), a statement that raised strong objections from the
UK and other delegations.
The Council continues to be the master of its own rules. However, the results
of this last meeting were an essential step towards debating a resolution on the
integration of LGBTQIA+ human rights and international peace and security,
an effort for which the UN LGBTI Core Group is due credit for its continuous
efforts to mainstream in the UN system and at the UNSC. The commitment of
the US, the UK, and France, as well as the presence of a member of the UN
Secretariat in the figure of the Independent Expert on SOGI, as well as briefers,
shows a positive way ahead, even though there still lacks alignment with China
and Russia — permanent members who could block the approval a resolution
on the topic.
Furthermore, OutRight International has been documenting the situation of
LGBTQIA+ people in Afghanistan, Ukraine, Myanmar, and many other places.
The organization has also been drafting an internal report that could help their
advocacy at the UNSC and the creation of an agenda about queering international
peace and security as “responses that solely address violence against women
and girls while excluding other forms of violence that stem from patriarchy and
the enforcement of gender norms, are incomplete” (International Outright 2023
a, 18). Their role as Secretariat of the UN LGBTI Core Group could also help the
advancement and even mainstreaming of such an agenda amongst the Group
members and at the UNSC (Outright International 2023 b).
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Conclusions
The paper reconstituted some of the UN efforts — both from within, with
Member States, and from outside, with NGOs, brokers, and activists’ advocacy
— to adequately address, promote, and protect the human rights of LGBTQIA+
persons. Even though the UN Charter and the UDHR guarantee that everyone
is equally entitled to rights and freedoms outlined in them without distinction
of any kind, these minority human rights are still questioned and should never
be taken for granted.
In this sense, the paper presented how the UN has been legitimating and
mainstreaming LGBTQIA+ human rights, especially in the 2000s. The paper
focused on the work made by the UN LGBTI Core Group by being vocal in
multiple organs and creating a series of stand-alone and side events at high-
level meetings. As the Group is mainly formed by UN Member States who were
proposing resolutions on organs such as the UNGA and the HRC, the article
highlighted how forming politically committed alliances is key to the promotion
of this interpretative framework at the organization.
Furthermore, the article investigated the Core Group’s efforts to promote
LGBTQIA+ human rights at the UNSC. The organ is not usually associated with
this agenda, but the 2023 informal meeting on Integrating the Human Rights of
LGBTI Persons into the Council’s Mandate for Maintaining International Peace
and Security showed the importance of its incorporation in the Council mandate
and resolutions.
Finally, the literature on the UN LGBTI Core Group is still scarce, if non-
existent. The opacity of UNSC rules of procedure and meetings, its uneven
distribution of power, and unique characteristics, such as the veto power, make it
even harder to properly analyze the efforts to promote and integrate LGBTQIA+
human rights into its mandate. Nevertheless, this paper is a preliminary effort
to highlight the importance of addressing the nexus between international peace
and security and LGBTQIA+ human rights for global governance.
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