18 UN States Voted For An LGBTQ Watchdog While India Remained Silent

The last day of LGBTQ Pride month was anything but celebratory for the Indian community for two reasons; not only did our Supreme Court deny the hearing of Section 377, but our nation chose to abstain from voting for an office of LGBTQ Independent Expert at the UN Human Rights Council, in Geneva.

As the world was reeling with the aftershocks of the Orlando nighclub attack, a group Latin American countries that included Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Costa Rica, Mexico, and Uruguay decided to lead this effort to prevent such horrifying attacks against humanity. The reasons behind India’s abstaining are unknown at the moment, but luckily the office of an Independent Expert to prevent hate crimes and discrimination against LGBTQ people was solidified with the votes of eighteen countries on Thursday. As reported by the Advocate, more than 520 NGOs from 151 countries signed a joint statement, which declared:

“It is time to move beyond one-off initiatives and piecemeal measures. … The establishment of a dedicated protection mechanism to address [sexual orientation and gender identity]-related human rights violations is a necessary step towards urgently addressing the serious abuses on these grounds in every region of the world.”

Since 2011, this is the third resolution passed by the UNHRC that concerns sexual orientation and gender identity, although, out of the three, this was the only resolution that became institutionalised. This office will now act as a watchdog that helps in catalysing change for the global queer community. It will be responsible for recognising acts of discrimination in the UN member states, consequently mandating possible solutions for the same. It will also conduct country visits with the goal of assessing the wellbeing of LGBTQ persons and connecting with local NGOs or diplomats who are influential in shaping public policy.
Close to seventy three countries have criminalised homosexuality, while in some it is even punishable by death. This statistic proves exactly why this office is the need of the hour, in all time zones.

Feature Image Courtesy: Karan Khosla  

Words: Karan Kaul