Cambodia: UN expert to assess LGBT rights

GENEVA (9 January 2023) – The UN Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, Victor Madrigal-Borloz, will visit the Kingdom of Cambodia from 10 to 20 January 2023.

“This visit is a key step in the compliance of the mandate to carry out dialogue and seek understanding in relation to the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and gender-diverse (LGBT) people,” said Madrigal-Borloz, who is visiting the country at the invitation of the Government. He will travel to Phnom Penh, Siem Reap and Battambang.

The expert will engage with Government authorities, human rights defenders and advocates, religious leaders, and others. He will make note of measures adopted to eradicate violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity and hear evidence in relation to remaining gaps and challenges. He will also gather elements to analyse root causes of violence and discrimination, including the impact of social prejudice and intersecting forms of discrimination. “My assessment will give me grounds to provide advice to the State and other relevant stakeholders,” Madrigal-Borloz said.

The expert will hold a press conference on 20 January at 3PM local time at Sunway Hotel, 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. Víctor Madrigal-Borloz (Costa Rica) assumed the role of UN Independent Expert on Protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity on 1 January 2018. His mandate covers all countries and has most recently been renewed by Human Rights Council resolution 50/10. 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).

The Independent Experts 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.

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