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Human Rights Council:

LGBT Rights
(Adapted from BVSMUN 2014)

Director: Mara Jess Salazar


Co-Director: Mara Paula Barquero

Respected delegates,
Welcome to the United Nations Human Rights Council at UCRMUN Mock Debate 2015 hosted
by UCR. This committee has two directors, Mara Jess Salazar (Head director) and Mara
Paula Barquero (Codirector). We are both in our first year here in the UCRs Law School and
we have both participated in several MUNs during our high school years. It is our honor and
privilege to serve you as directors of the LGBT Rights Council for the duration of the
conference. Keeping in mind your busy schedules, we have complied this study guide to help
you with your research. The study guide is in no way enough and is only to provide you with the
basic background information to establish a platform for you to begin research. We would highly
recommend that you do a good amount of research beyond what is covered in our study guide.
The agenda that we will be discussing during the conference is The Recognition and Protection
of LGBT Rights, deeply. This agenda is highly important and affects the entire world in todays
global scenario and offer much for a passionate debate. However, do remember that when you
step into the shoes of a delegate, you must leave behind your personal opinions and represent
your country to the fullest. In case you have any doubts, please feel free to contact us and we
will get back to you as soon as possible. We look forward to diplomacy, solid, passionate,
interesting debate and great fun throughout the time we will share.

Good luck!

Mara Jess Salazar

Mara Paula Barquero

Head Director

CoDirector

marije0397@gmail.com

maripau317@hotmail.com

8479-7179

8877-8989

What is the Human Rights Council?


The United Nations Human Rights Council was established on 15th March 2006,
replacing the UN Commission on Human Rights. It is a subsidiary body of the United Nations
General Assembly (UNGA) and worked closely with the Office of the High Commissioner for
Human Rights. The council is comprised of fortyseven members, elected by secret ballot in the
general assembly; the seats are distributed on the basis of regional groups thirteen seats go to
Africa, thirteen to Asia, six seats for Eastern Europe, Eight seats for countries of Latin America
and the Caribbean, seven seats are reserved for the Western European countries plus others.
The HRCs primary function is to strengthen the promotion and protection of human
rights around the glove, and for addressing situations of human rights violations and make
recommendations on them. It has the ability to discuss all thematic human rights issues and
situations that require attention.
The councils early years faced criticism of focusing disproportionately and the Israeli
Palestine conflict, and acting according to political considerations rather than human right. In
recent years the Council has been seen as being increasingly relevant, and has been able to
use its mandate to make recommendations to the general assembly for further developing
international law in the field of human rights. Since 2006, HRC replaced the old United Nations
Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR) and is now the UNbody responsible for strengthening
the promotion and protection of human rights around the globe.
There is also Human Rights Campaign, which is the largest LGBT civil rights group and
political organization in the United States. It was founded in 1980, its motto is: Working for
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Equal Rights. It is made of two groups, the nonprofit
organizations and the political action committee: HRC Foundation; it focuses on promoting
social welfare.

Tasks and objectives during the conference


1. Protect victims of human rights abuses.
2. Promote the protection and realization of human rights.
3. Development of new concepts and policies.
4. Development of new human rights standards, both at the international and national level.
5. Solving the dispute with samesex marriage.

Introduction
Historically, and still today in many parts of the world, LGBT people have faced grave
discrimination and harassment. The discrimination of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender
(LGBT) persons is prohibited by Article 2 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, but
does this include the explicit right to samesex marriage, or is the samesex relationship,
accepted as some kind of symbiotic community, already enough? Still today, in many countries
LGBT people face imprisonment, violence, degradation and even death.
There has for a long time been a significant lack of effort to even acknowledges that
discrimination again LGBT people exists. Nevertheless this silence was broken when, on 17
June 2011, the Human Rights Council adopted its first resolution on the topic and called on the
High Commissioner of the Human Rights to present a report on discrimination against LGBT
people, which was presented at the end of 2011.
The current debate in the United States gives fresh impetus to this topic and an official
Resolution of the UN Human Rights Council could help to urge governments and people in
general to rethink their positions. Or is the implementation of samesex marriage as an explicit
Human Right nothing more than discrimination of the citizens of countries with strong influence
by the Islam, Catholic Church or any other religion where marriage has a high spiritual value?

Importance of the Issue and History of the Problem

There is a wide field of issues to solve. Samesex marriage or intercourse is just one
little part of the problem. The rights of homosexual people in particular have long been subject
of political debate, with past discussion focused mainly around the legality of sexual relations
between samesex partners.
Until 1960s there was no collective movement either nationally or internationally that
fought openly for LGBT rights. The birth of the LGBT tights movement is commonly attributed to
the Stonewall riots that took place in New York in 1969 where, for the first time, the homosexual
community fought against the governmentled discrimination against them in response to the
police raid of the Stonewall Inn at Christopher Street in Greenwich Village. This day has since
been celebrates every year by the LGBT community, and has given its name to the UK LGBT
organization. At first the movement was mainly about the rights of lesbian (L) and gays (G),
while bisexual (B) and transgender (T) people sought recognition later on. Another sexual
minority that is today generally accepted as part of the LGBT movement are intersex people,
who are people whose biological sex cannot be cannot be classified as clearly male or female.
In international human rights law, samesex couples are not granted the explicit right to marry,
but their rights have been improved by changes in national legislation. In many countries around
the globe, the institution of marriage is changing. Governments consider granting homosexual
couples either the right to marry or to enter into other legally recognized forms of domestic
partnership. Due to the fact that samesex marriage is not allowed in many nations around the
globe, many couples are restricted from financial benefits and security, as well as health
insurance and even hospital visitation rights when their partners are ill.

History of the Issue


A legally recognized marriage brings many advantages with it. First of all, a better
financial position and more safety in general, on the other hand a better social status. In the
20th century civil unions were created in order to give samesex couples a chance for a legal
relationship with equal benefits as an equivalent to marriage. But the idea of really granting the
right of marriage never arose.
This idea first came up when in 1983; a lesbian couple in the US was denied the right to
see each other in hospital after one survived a severe car crash. This was the first case which
motivated gay rights activists to rally for equal rights in samesex relationships. In 1996, the

National Association of Social Workers Code of Ethics was encouraged in the US by


psychologist Hartman to actively take on the issue of gay rights and to make the weight of our
profession (i.e. social workers) felt by those who would reserve the movement toward
acceptance and equity for gay men and lesbians. The dignity which LGBT people were pushing
for came hand in hand with a legally accepted marriage, this because it encapsulated the
respective governments policies and inclinations to not only respect homosexual civilians but to
actually provide equal rights and protection for minorities.
LGBT Rights Today
Today, the political discourse on LGBT rights within Western and Latin American
countries is mostly concerned with civil unions, marriage and adoption, which remain
controversial issues in many countries. This was illustrated by the debates surrounding the
striking down of DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act) in the United States in 2013. Samesex
marriage is legal in Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Iceland, the Netherlands,
Norway, Portugal, South Africa, Spain and finally Sweden, etc. In some parts of the US, such
as New Jersey, Maryland, Rhode Island and California, Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New
Hampshire, New York, Vermont and the District of Columbia amongst others. In the Mexican
states it is recognized and performed in Mexico City and Quintana Roo.
The situation is extremely different in African, Asian and Middle Eastern Countries where
discrimination on moral and religious grounds is often widely accepted in society. LGBT people
are not only openly denied protection of various human rights, but are also often actively
pursued. The public discourse can be very violent and the issues are sometimes used and
abused by populist politicians to rally supporters. An example is the public debate surrounding
the Ugandan antihomosexuality bill, sometimes referred to as the Kill the Gay Bill. The origins
of discrimination and violence against LGBT people in Sahara Africa are mainly Christian
morals. LGBT activism is limited in these countries often because they are criminally persecuted
or publicly harassed and abused.
LGBTs still face harsh discrimination due to the criminalization of their sexual orientation
and gender identity. In areas in which homosexuality and unorthodox gender identities are not
favored, we have seen laws concerning sodomy; varying ages of sexual concurrence depending
on sexual orientation; legislation banning the acceptance, promotion and activities of non
heterosexuals, sometimes even resulting in punishment by death. Nine European countries
have no legislation to protect LGBT individuals at all. Some Muslim majority nations, such as

Turkey, Jordan and Egypt have legislation against samesex intercourse. Consequently, public
discourse has mainly focused on the issue of the decriminalization of sexual relations between
same sex partners, other issues often being overlooked.
At the United Nations, the topic of LGBT rights was taboo for a very long time, due to the
great sociopolitical divide and a strong opposition by many countries, and limited recognition of
the matter from even the now more proLGBT rights countries. For many years the issue was
only addressed marginally in special procedures. The most relevant decisions until recently
concerning sexual orientation and gender identity have been Toonen v. Australia in the UN
Committee on Civil and Political Rights and the General comment 20 of the Committee on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
Toonen v. Australia stated that laws criminalizing consensual sex between adults
violated the right to privacy under Article 17 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights. The general Comment 20 paved the way for the inclusion of sexual orientation and
gender identity as a prohibited ground of discrimination under Article 2 of the International
Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
In 2008, a joint statement on sexual orientation, gender identity and human rights at the
United Nations was issued by initially 33 member states. In response to this, a statement was
issued on behalf of 57 other states by Syria, which expressed concern at devoting special
attention to the human rights of one particular group. After many attempts the Human Rights
Council finally adopted its first resolution on Human Rights, Sexual Orientation and Gender
Identity on 17 June 2011. This resolution, introduced by South Africa, called for a report to be
issued by the High Commissioner for Human Rights on discrimination and violence against
LGBT people and for a panel discussion among member states.
In 2006, a group of human rights experts from diverse regions and backgrounds
including judges, academics, a former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, members of
treaty bodies and NGOS and others established the Yogyakarta Principles. They are set of
principles or the application of internal human rights law in relation to sexual orientation and
gender identity. The Principles affirm binding international legal standards with which all States
must comply. Although different United Nations experts participated in the elaboration of the
Yogyakarta Principles, the document was never officially endorsed by the United Nations.

The discussion of human rights, sexual orientation and gender identity is part of the
ongoing discussion of cultural relativism in the HRC. For a long time, some countries have
argued that human rights are not forced on every human being but also depend on the persons
cultural origin. As a consequence, they argue that some human rights originated from the
Western cultures since due to Western domination in the writing of the universal Declaration of
Human Rights. The matter was addressed at the World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna
in 1993 where the notion of cultural relativism in human rights law was rejected. However, some
countries continue to pose their arguments against the wider application of existing human
rights norms, and turn to the notion of cultural relativism.
In the case of this topic, many African and Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)
states refuse the introduction of the topic to the HRC not only based on religious grounds, but
also on the basis that sexual orientation and gender identity is a purely Western concept that
has nothing to do with human rights law.

Religion
In many Islamic states, samesex marriage is a far cry, as openly declared LGBT people
are viewed as criminals by the law. However, samesex marriage is a heated debate in other
parts of the world primarily because of the conflict of the religious principles of Scripture and the
liberal prosamesex marriage views of the general population.
For example, since 1979 homosexuality has been legalized in Spain, which is a
traditionally Catholic country. It was the third European country to legalize samesex marriage
and although the Church and the Vatican largely opposed the law, 62% of the population
supported same sex marriage. The Church s position on the recent HRC Resolution (Res.
A/HRC/17/L.9/Rev. 1) is that samesex marriage undermines the authenticity of marriage, which
is tied to the biological and organic reality of man and woman.

Samesex parents
A US Department of Health And Human Services study cites the benefits of children
living in nuclear families. A nuclear family is defined as one or more children living with two

parents who are married to one another and are each biological or adoptive parents to all the
children in the family.
On the one hand, the study does not refer to the gender roles of the parents. The study
claims from statistics that children who grow up with their biological or adoptive parents were
generally healthier and happier, had better access to healthcare, and were less likely to suffer
mild or severe emotional problems.
With the growing of divorce rates amongst heterosexual couples, and the low one
among homosexual parents in countries such as the USA proponents of samesex marriage
see this as a big argument in favor. However, adopting children is still a fairly new concept for
homosexual partners and the debate probes into whether this new revelation of marriage and
family undermines the original heterosexual nuclear family. On the other hand, the divorce
argument is a very controversial point, of course.
Adversaries of samesex marriage regularly advocate several points against samesex
couples adopting children. One of their arguments is that, to grow up to be wellbalanced adults,
children need role models of both sexes. Boys without fathers underachieve, especially since
there are now fewer male teachers in primary schools.

Efforts to Address the Issue


Universal Declaration of Human Rights:
Article 16 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights discusses the right of all men
and women to equality in marriage. The Declaration does not explicitly advocate either same
sex or heterosexual marriages, but rather states that all humans have the same rights
regardless of their beliefs.
In addition, Article 2 which prohibits the discrimination of LGBT persons, may be an
argument in favor of samesex marriage, but just as Article 16, it does not clarify expressly
whether samesex couples have the right to marry by international law or not. Therefore, this
HRC conference shall not only focus on interpreting these Articles. Human Rights Council:
Resolution on Human Rights, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (Res. A/HRC/17/L.9/Rev.
1):

On June 17, 2011, the HRC, by a narrow margin of 2319, adopted its first Resolution on
rights for homosexuals and transgender individuals, calling for an end to sexual discrimination
and recognizing it as a "priority issue" of the U.N. (Julia Zebley, UN Rights Council Passes First
Gay Rights Resolution, PAPER CHASE NEWSBURST (June 17, 2011)).
This nonbinding Resolution on "human rights, sexual orientation and gender identity"
expresses "grave concern at acts of violence and discrimination, in all regions of the world,
committed against individuals because of their sexual orientation and gender identity" and calls
upon the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights to commission a study to be finalized, to
document discriminatory laws and practices and acts of violence against individuals based on
their sexual orientation and gender identity, in all regions of the world, and how international
human rights law can be used to end violence and related human rights violations based on
sexual orientation and gender identity.
The report, which came out in December 2011, documented violations of the rights of
LGBT people, including hate crime, criminalization of homosexuality, and discrimination. High
Commissioner Navi Pillay called for the abolishment of laws criminalizing homosexuality;
equitable ages of consent; comprehensive laws against discrimination based on sexual
orientation; prompt investigation and recording of hate crime incidents; and other measures to
ensure the protection of LGBT rights.
European Court of Human Rights and Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU:
The European Court of Human Rights no longer considers that the right to marry under
the European Convention of Human Rights must in all circumstances be limited to differentsex
couples and has found it artificial to maintain that a samesex couple cannot enjoy family life
for the purposes of Article 8 of the Convention. This landmark ruling from 2010 in the case of
Schalk & Kopf v. Austria reflects a decade of rapid change that saw some Council of Europe
Member States introduce the right to marry for same sex couples.
The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union includes a genderneutral
Article 9 on the right to marry and found a family, but recognizes the principle of subsidiarity,
which stipulates the precedence of national legislation in this field. Yet, Member States that do
not give cohabiting samesex couples the opportunity to marry or enter into a legal partnership
cannot treat such couples less favorably than cohabiting differentsex couples in the same
situation, unless the less favorable treatment can be justified by very weighty reasons.

The Yogyakarta Principles:


On 26 March 2007, a group of human rights experts launched the Yogyakarta Principles
on the Application of Human Rights Law in Relation to Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity
(the Yogyakarta Principles). The Principles are intended as a coherent and comprehensive
identification of the obligation of States to respect, protect and fulfill the human rights of all
persons regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Since their launch the
Principles have attracted considerable attention on the part of States, United Nations actors and
civil society. It is likely that they will play a significant role within advocacy efforts and, whether
directly or otherwise, in normative and jurisprudential development.
The most important point for our discussed issue is Principles 24 to 26. These address
the rights of people to participate in family life, public affairs and the cultural life of their
community, without discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. States have an
obligation to not discriminate between differentsex and samesex relationships in allocating
partnership benefits such as survivors pensions.

Different Issues and Aspects


(DE) CRIMINALIZATION:
The criminalization of the samesex sexual conduct is the most important aspect of the
present topic as it is the main issue that prevents LGBT individuals from enjoying universal
human rights. According to the British organization Stonewall, Being gay is illegal in 78
countries across the world and being a lesbian is illegal in 49. In five countries samesex sexual
activity carries the death penalty. The laws that criminalize specific sexual acts are called
sodomy laws and refer to any kind of sexual practice between partners of the same sex and
generally define it as gross indecency. Preservation of public morality is the main objective in
countries where homosexuality is outlawed.
On the other hand, in 1967 the British Committee on Homosexual Offences and
Prostitution published a revolutionary report named the Wolfeden Report. The report led to the
amendment of the Sexual Offences Act and the decriminalization of homosexuality considering
consenting sexual relations to be a private matter and that criminal law should not regulate
moral values. However this change in law applied only to England and Wales, homosexuality

remained illegal in Northern Ireland until 1982 when the case Dudgeon v. United Kingdom
(1981) was bought to the European Court of Human Rights which ruled that this law was
against the right to privacy guaranteed by the European Convention for the Protection of Human
Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. Even today, in many legal systems LGBT individuals are
still considered criminal and denied fundamental rights.

FREEDOM OF RELIGION AND NONDISCRIMINATION:


LGBT equality is generally seen as contrary to religious values and institutions.
Nonetheless, the right to equality and nondiscrimination in freedom of religion is guaranteed by
international human rights standards. Article 18 (1) of the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights ensures a persons freedom to have or to adopt a religion. Article 18 (3) declares
that this freedom may be limited by law only when its necessary to protect public safety, order,
health, or morals or the fundamental rights and freedoms of others. Therefore, as many
religions consider samesex sexual activities and LGBT people immoral, the right to non
discrimination interferes with the right to manifest ones religion or beliefs. This is reflected in the
rights to education, employment, partnership and marriage.

PARENTING
Article 16 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights guarantees to men and women
of full age the right to marriage and to found a family. But does sexual orientation and gender
identity affect individuals ability to found a family? Even if in recent years some countries have
tended to adapt their adoption laws to allow lesbian and gay people to adopt, in the majority of
countries gay parenting is still perceive as immoral. Therefore LGBT individuals encounter legal
and moral difficulties when founding a family.

MARRIAGE, PARTNERSHIP, BENEFITS AND RECOGNITION


With regard to marriage, legislation does not usually equally treat same-sex and opposite sex
partners because marriage is a term generally used to define the union of one man and one
woman. Therefore, in the case of samesex relationships, legal recognition an protection by civil

unions or domestic partnerships is more difficult, some may argue impossible, to obtain. In
Western Europe, North America and South America, legal recognition for samesex
relationships has become more commonplace. Furthermore the recognition for samesex
relationships depends on if a country criminalizes samesex sexual activity. The issue of
partnership recognition is not merely a matter of obtaining a moral or legal status but is related
to economic rights and responsibilities like ownership heal insurance and inheritance.

Questions a Resolution Should Answer


1. Do we need a common definition of marriage first?
2. How to address the issue of samesex marriage on a global scale while respecting
cultural/religious boundaries?
3. What methods of raising awareness could be adopted, which are more effective than the
ones already used?
4. How can the different development level within the countries referring to LGBT rights and its
implementation be taken into account?
5. What is the legal status of LGBT people in my country; to what extent are they protected or
persecuted?
6. Which Principles and Declarations, if any, have my country already endorsed?
7. Regardless of laws, how are LGBT people viewed within my countries society?
8. How willing is my country to engage in international LGBT rights promotion?

Conclusion
With the previous background information, and basis for the committee to have a full
developed debate, we will leave the possible solutions to you, the delegates to decide, think and
create your own ideas that can be helpful to the problem with the LGBT Human Rights.
This topic is very controversial among member states because for many countries LGBT
rights are culturally based rights and therefore are not universal. It is crucial for the HRC to take

on the challenge of discussing this issue and come up with innovative solutions. In particular,
member states will have to discuss the explicit recognition of discrimination against LGBT
people and ways to solve it. This will especially include the discussion and possible official
recognition of the Yogyakarta principles, which have marked a turning point in the history of
LGBT rights.

Bibliography
http://berlinmun.de/wpcontent/uploads/2012/07/HRCStudyGuideSameSexMarriage.pdf
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http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/europe/06/17/un.lgbt.rights/
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resolution/
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endangerschurchs freedom/
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http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/docs/19session/A.HRC.19.41_en.pdf 11

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=40743
http://www.sexualorientationlaw.eu/news/20100624%20European%20Court%20of%20Human
%20Rights.html
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Free

and

Equal,

The

UN

initiative

dedicated

to

the

rights

of

LGBT

people

http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Discrimination/Pages/LGBT.aspx This is a comprehensive with


a lot of information on the topic.
The

UN

Human

Rights

Council

http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Discrimination/Pages/LGBT.aspx This website has links to all


UN relevant information (speeches, videos, documents, reports etc.)
Amnesty International http://www.amnesty.org/en/sexualorientationandgenderidentity
The Yogyakarta Principles http://www.yogyakartaprinciples.org
International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Organization http://ilga.org
See also the associated regional sections of this organization
International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission http://iglhrc.org
Global Respect in Education (GRIN) Campaign http://www.grincampaign.com/Home.html
Organization for Refuge, Asylum and Migration http://www.oraminternational.org
An international organization concerned solely for LGBT and intersex refugees.

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