Media advisories Special Procedures

United States of America: UN expert to assess human rights of LGBT persons

16 August 2022

GENEVA (16 August 2022) –The UN Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, Victor Madrigal-Borloz, will visit the United States of America from 16 to 29 August 2022.

“The visit provides an important opportunity to assess the implementation of human rights standards to combat violence and discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and gender-diverse (LGBT) people in the country,” said Madrigal-Borloz.

“During my visit I will assess the progress towards the eradication of violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, highlight remaining gaps and challenges and provide recommendations to relevant stakeholders. I will also explore root causes of violence and discrimination, including the impact of social prejudice and intersecting forms of discrimination,” the expert said.

During the visit, the UN expert will engage with Government authorities, human rights defenders and advocates, religious and business leaders, and others.

Victor Madrigal-Borloz, mandated by the Human Rights Council, is visiting the country at the invitation of the Government. He will travel to Washington D.C., Birmingham – Alabama, Miami – Florida, and San Diego - California.

A press conference will be held on 30 August at 11 a.m. local time at the UN Headquarters in New York, to share preliminary findings with the media. Access will be strictly limited to journalists.

The expert will present his findings and recommendations to the UN Human Rights Council in June 2023.

ENDS

Mr. / Ms. Victor Madrigal-Borloz was appointed as Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity by the United Nations Human Rights Council on 1 January 2018. Victor Madrigal-Borloz is the Eleanor Roosevelt senior visiting researcher at the Harvard Law School’s Human Rights Program. Until June 2019, he served as the Secretary-General of the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT). A member of the UN Subcommittee on the Prevention of Torture from 2013 to 2016, Mr Madrigal-Borloz was Rapporteur on Reprisals and oversaw a draft policy on the torture and ill-treatment of LGBTI persons. Prior to this, he led technical work on numerous cases, reports and testimonies as Head of Litigation and Head of the Registry at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and has also worked at the Danish Institute for Human Rights (Copenhagen, Denmark) and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (San José, Costa Rica).

His mandate covers all countries and has most recently been renewed by Human Rights Council resolution 41/18.

The Special Rapporteurs are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures’ experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.

Follow news related to the UN’s independent human rights experts on Twitter @UN_SPExperts.

Follow the IE SOGI during his visit on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter

For inquiries and media requests, please contact Manon Beury (+41 22 917 11 87 – manon.beury@un.org)

UN Human Rights country page: United States of America

For media inquiries related to other UN independent experts, please contact Renato Rosario De Souza (renato.rosariodesouza@un.org) or Dharisha Indraguptha (dharisha.indraguptha@un.org)

Follow news related to the UN's independent human rights experts on Twitter @UN_SPExperts

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