GAY GROUPS GIVEN UN STATUS

The decision by the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) granting consultative status to two groups that work on sexual orientation and gender identity is a victory in the ongoing struggle for inclusion at the UN, a coalition of six human rights organisations said on Wednesday.

The two groups approved on July 21 and 22, 2008 are COC Netherlands and the State Federation of Lesbians, Gays, Transsexuals and Bisexuals of Spain (FELGTB); national organisations representing lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in the Netherlands and Spain.

“COC Netherlands is delighted about obtaining consultative status with the UN,” said Björn van Roozendaal, COC international advocacy officer. “It means we can join the efforts at the UN to address human rights violations against people with an alternative sexual orientation or gender identity.”

“Spanish-speaking LGBT voices will be heard in UN meetings where human rights questions are debated,” said David Montero, FELGTB Spain’s officer for international issues and human rights. “We thank all who have contributed to this exciting outcome, and especially Spain’s UN mission for their support.”

Consultative status is a key means for civil society to access the UN system. It allows nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) to deliver oral and written reports at UN meetings, and to organise events on UN premises. With it, these groups can share their information and analysis of the abuses and discrimination LGBT people confront around the world.

COC Netherlands and FELGTB Spain join approximately 3,000 other NGOs with consultative status at the UN. However, only a handful of LGBT groups have received the status. In recent years, some states have treated LGBT groups’ applications with intense hostility, and ECOSOC has only granted such groups consultative status after first overturning negative recommendations from its NGO Committee.

“ECOSOC has recognised the place of lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender people in the work of the United Nations,” said John Fisher from ARC International, which supported the groups’ advocacy efforts. “Yesterday’s vote sends a clear message that discrimination has no place in the UN system, and that sexual orientation and gender identity issues can, and must, be addressed.”

“Many states that harass or persecute LGBT people at home also try to shut down scrutiny of their records internationally,” said Boris Dittrich, advocacy director of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Program at Human Rights Watch. “This vote ensures that two more voices will be raised to defend basic human rights at the UN.”

The NGO Committee is due to review a number of additional applications from LGBT groups at its next two sessions in January and May 2009.