About the mandate

The Independent Expert on sexual orientation and gender identity is mandated to explore ways to better protect persons who suffer from violence and discrimination on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity, through means such as: 

• Assessing implementation of human rights standards 
• Identifying best practices and gaps 
• Raising awareness of these issues
• Identifying and addressing the root causes of violence and discrimination 
• Engaging in dialogue and consulting with States and other relevant stakeholders to foster the protection of LGBT and gender-diverse persons 
• Facilitating and supporting the provision of advisory services, technical assistance, capacity-building and international cooperation to combat violence and discrimination

Working methods

In the discharge of the mandate, the Independent Expert:

• transmits urgent appeals and letters of allegation to States with regard to cases of violence and discrimination against persons on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity
• undertakes fact-finding country visits
• submits thematic reports to the Human Rights Council, and General Assembly, on activities of the mandate, trends and methods of work

To learn more about the mandate, read the resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council on 30 June 2016:
PDF: العربية | 中文 | English | Français | русский | Español

Watch the video explaining the work of the Independent Expert, available on the UN Human Rights channel in English with subtitles in other languages:
Full video (العربية | 中文 | English | Français | русский | Español)
Short version (العربية | 中文 | English | Français | русский | Español)