SOGIESC issues at the UN Treaty Bodies (Jan-Apr 2021)

 

Dear friends and fellow activists,
we are glad to share with you the latest issue of our UN Treaty Bodies quarterly reports, covering the period from January to April 2021.

These reports provide with main information on SOGIESC references made by UN Committees in their Lists of Issues and Concluding Observations under countries' periodic review process, as well as on the General Comments and Individual Complaints that were adopted.

If you have any questions or comments regarding this Quarterly Report or engagement with Treaty Bodies, please contact us on [email protected].
The complete list of our reports on Treaty Bodies sessions is available here.

 

Download the latest quarterly Treaty Bodies report

January - April 2021

 

SOGIESC-inclusive Concluding Observations

 

SOGIESC-inclusive Lists of Issues

Þ     Check LGBTI recommendations to your country

Þ     Organize follow-up activities to inform your community about recommendations and to encourage your government to implement the recommendations

 

Þ     See what information was requested from your country before the formulation of recommendations

Þ     Collect information and provide your comments to inform Treaty Bodies’ future recommendations

Finland
Kenya
Latvia
Denmark
Estonia

 

Democratic People's Republic of Korea
Fiji
Grenada
Iceland
Malawi
Nepal
Sao Tome and Principe
Seychelles
United Republic of Tanzania
Bolivia (Plurinational State of)
North Macedonia

Germany
South Africa
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Brazil
China
Hong Kong (SAR China)
Lithuania
Panama
Macau (SAR China)
Namibia
Uganda
Bhutan
Chile

 

Country-specific questions and recommendations

This section contains information about recommendations in Concluding Observations, as well as questions in Lists of Issues to specific countries under country periodic review process. [Bold] =  SOGIESC-inclusive questions or recommendation

 

Committee Session / PSWG

Countries

HRCtee

131 Session: 01 Mar–26 Mar 2021

 

List of Issues:

 

Concluding Observations:

Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Fiji, Grenada, Iceland, Malawi, Nepal, Sao Tome and Principe, Seychelles, United Republic of Tanzania

 

Finland, Kenya

CESCR

68 PSWG: 08 Mar- 12 Mar 2021

 

69 Virtual Session: 15 Feb-05 Mar 2021

List of Issues:

 

Concluding Observations:

Brazil, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong (SAR China), Macau (SAR China), Lithuania, Panama, Portugal

 

Finland, Latvia

CEDAW

80 Virtual PSWG: 01 Mar – 05 Mar 2021

 

 

78 Virtual Session: 15 Feb-25 Feb 2021

Lists of Issues:  

 

Concluding Observations:

China, Hong Kong (SAR China), Macau (SAR China), Hungary, Mauritania, Namibia, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, Bhutan, Chile, Italy

 

Denmark

CRC

88 PSWG: 08 Feb – 12 Feb 2021

Lists of Issues:  

Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Bolivia (Plurinational State of), Germany, North Macedonia, South Sudan, Uzbekistan, South Africa, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

CRPD

24 Virtual Session: 08 Mar-01 Apr 2021

Concluding Observations:

Estonia

PSWG – Pre-Sessional Working Group | HRCtee – Human Rights Committee | CESCR – Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights| CEDAW – Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women | CRC – Committee on the Rights of the Child |CRPD – Committee of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 

 

 

General comments

This section contains information about General Comments (General Recommendations) adopted by Treaty Bodies. These documents provide the Committees’ interpretation of the content of human rights provisions regarding thematic issues or methods of work.

 

Committee

General Recommendation

CRC

General Comment No. 25

on children's rights in relation to digital environment.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Two references to SOGI:

●       The Committee calls upon States parties to take proactive measures to prevent discrimination on the basis of sex, disability, socioeconomic background, ethnic or national origin, language or any other grounds, and discrimination against minority and indigenous children, asylum-seeking, refugee and migrant children, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex children […] (para. 11).

●       The digital environment can enable children to form their social, religious, cultural, ethnic, sexual and political identities and to participate in associated communities and in public spaces for deliberation, cultural exchange, social cohesion and diversity […] (para. 64).

 

 

Individual complaints

This section contains information about decisions made by the Committees on individual complaints. An individual complaint is a formal complaint - from an individual who claims that their rights under one of the treaties have been violated by a State party - which most of the Treaty Bodies are competent to consider.

 

Committee | Decision

Treaty’s articles | Issue | Result

HRCtee

Alekseev v. Russian Federation

Communication No. 2727/2016

Decision published on 16 Oct 2021[1]

 

HRCtee

Alekseev v. Russian Federation

Communication No. 2757/2016

Decision published on 26 Mar 2021[2]

 

HRCtee

M.I. v. Sweden

Communication No. 3246/2018

Decision published on 06 Nov 2020[3]

 

CAT

H.T. v. Switzerland

Communication No. 888/2018

Decision published on 30 Dec 2020[4]

 

CRC

A.B. v. Finland

Communication No. 51/2018

Decision published on 04 Feb 2021

Arts. 21 and 26 of the ICCPR

Unjustified restrictions to the right of peaceful assembly; discrimination against LGBT people

Violation

 

Arts. 21 and 26 of the ICCPR

Unjustified restrictions to the right of peaceful assembly; discrimination against LGBT people

Violation

Art. 7 of the ICCPR

Non-refoulement. Asylum on the grounds of SOGI

Inadmissible

 

 

Arts. 3 and 22 of the CAT Convention

Deportation of a lesbian woman to Cameroon

Inadmissible

Arts. 2, 3, 13, 14, 16, 17, 19, 22 and 29 of the CRC Convention

Best interests of the child; discrimination; asylum based on parent's sexual orientation, non-refoulement

Violation

 

HRCtee– Human Rights Committee| ICCPR – International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights | CAT – Committee against Torture | CAT Convention – Convention against Torture and Other Cruel Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment | CRC– Committee on the Rights of the Child | CRC Convention – Convention on the Rights of the Child.

 

Update! The new forms and guidance notes for individual complaints are available in the main website of the following Committees:

HRCtee, CERD, CESCR, CEDAW, CAT, CRC, CRPD, CED

 

 

[1] Individual Communication from the 130 Session (12 Oct 2020 – 06 Nov 2020) published in 2021.

[2] Individual Communication from the 130 Session (12 Oct 2020 – 06 Nov 2020) published in 2021. The advanced unedited version of the decision does not specify the date of its adoption.

[3] Individual Communication from the 130 Session (12 Oct 2020 – 06 Nov 2020) published in 2021.

[4] Individual Communication from the 70 Session (26 Apr 2020 – 28 Apr 2020) published in 2021.

 

Summary of sessions: country periodic reviews

This section contains more detailed information on SOGIESC questions, recommendations and follow-up reviews adopted by specific Committees under the country periodic review process. To see the summary of sessions, please download the full report.

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