UN expert calls on States to ensure equal electoral participation without discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity

NEW YORK  – In the 2024 bumper year for elections worldwide, as more people have been to the polls than during any year in history, many lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and other gender-diverse (LGBT) persons have been routinely denied equal participation in public affairs based on their sexual orientation or gender identity, a UN expert said today.

“Sexual orientation and gender identity should never be obstacles to electoral participation, but too often they are,” said Graeme Reid, the Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

“Universal and equal suffrage are core international human rights standards that all persons should enjoy without discrimination. In settings where discrimination and violence are rife, participation is hindered; where LGBT people are equally protected, so too are their democratic rights.”

In his report to the General Assembly, Reid highlighted that the electoral disenfranchisement and exclusion of LGBT persons often happens against a backdrop of persecution and exclusion under discriminatory laws and social mores.

There are currently 61 UN Member States that criminalise consensual same-sex intimacy. A criminal conviction in countries that prosecute same-sex relations would also mean automatic disenfranchisement in several countries, thus disproportionally affecting people with a same-sex orientation.

“States must ensure that the human rights of all people are equally upheld, to overcome barriers to electoral participation based on sexual orientation or gender identity,” Reid said. “Toward that end, States should remove discriminatory barriers, including laws against consensual same-sex conduct, and adopt laws that guarantee legal recognition of gender identity.”

At a more procedural level, disenfranchisement frequently arises informally as an outcome of other limitations, such as restrictive identification procedures or voting requirements that disproportionately impact transgender people. The expert received numerous reports of trans people struggling to obtain accurate identification documents corresponding to their gender identity, which may lead to denial of the right to vote at the stage of voter identification.

“As the national institutions in charge of administering elections, electoral management bodies should ensure that voters and candidates can exercise their political rights throughout the election process, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Proactive measures should be taken to address specific administrative and procedural obstacles that arise in a context of legal inequality and social precarity,” Reid said.