During the 29th regular session of the UN Human Rights Council, four UN Special Procedures — the Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and in practice, the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, the Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, and the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography — sent a letter to the President of the Human Rights Council expressing concerns regarding the debates on the Protection of the Family resolution.

The 29th session of the UN Human Rights Council will take place from the 15th of June to the 3rd of July 2015.

Abstract:

The 22nd session of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) was held at the UN Human Rights Council, in Geneva, from 4 – 21 May 2015.

Fourteen countries were reviewed during UPR22 including: Andorra, Belarus, Bulgaria, Croatia, Honduras, Jamaica, Liberia, Libya, Malawi, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Mongolia, Panama, and the United States of America.

Written by Fernando D’Elio of Akahata (with input from Neha Sood of Action Canada for Sexual Health and Rights) as part of the 2015 ILGA Report on State-Sponsored Homophobia. 

The 22nd session of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) will take place at the UN Human Rights Council, in Geneva, from 4 – 21 May 2015.

The Sexual Rights Initiative (SRI) welcomes the adoption by the UN Human Rights Council (the Council or the HRC) on 27 March 2015 of its annual resolution on the rights of the child, entitled ‘Towards better investment in the rights of the child’. By means of this resolution, the Council calls upon governments to ensure access of all people, including children, without discrimination, to a range of health services, including sexual and reproductive health care services (paragraph 28).

Alongside the Iranian Queer Organization (IRQO), the Sexual Rights Initiative submitted a joint stakeholders report for the Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review of Iran.

During the 28th session of the UN Human Rights Council, the Sexual Rights Initiative (SRI) collaborated with national-level organizations and advocates to deliver oral statements regarding outcomes from the Universal Periodic Review ‘s (UPR) of Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, El Salvador and Madagascar. Responses were also prepared for Egypt and Iran but not delivered due to time limitations

Organized by the SRI, the panel will address some issues under discussion at the 28th session, including disability, racial discrimination, and the rights of the child, and how they relate to sexual rights.

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The 28th session of the UN Human Rights Council will take place from the 2nd to the 27th of March 2015.

The 21st session of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) was held at the UN Human Rights Council, in Geneva, from 19 – 30 January 2015.

Fourteen countries were reviewed during UPR21 including: Kyrgyzstan, Kiribati, Guinea, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Spain, Lesotho, Kenya, Armenia, Guinea-Bissau, Sweden, Grenada, Turkey, Guyana, and Kuwait.

The 21st session of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) will take place at the UN Human Rights Council, in Geneva, from 19 – 30 January 2015.

Fourteen countries will be reviewed during the session, including: Kyrgyzstan, Kiribati, Guinea, Lao Peopl’s Democratic Republic, Spain, Lesotho, Kenya, Armenia, Guinea-Bissau, Sweden, Grenada, Turkey, Guyana, Kuwait

The Sexual Rights Initiative (SRI) collaborated with national NGOs and activists in four countries up for review to prepare five stakeholder submissions:
 

The SRI is pleased to announce the upcoming launch event of the UNFPA report Lessons From the First Cycle of the Universal Periodic Review: From Commitment to Action on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights.

Developed by the UNFPA and based on research and analysis conducted by Action Canada for Population and Development (ACPD) on behalf of the SRI, the report examines the role the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) mechanism can play in advancing the realization of human rights related to sexuality and gender at the global, regional and country levels.

The 20th session of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) will take place at the UN Human Rights Council, in Geneva, from October 27 – November 7 2014. Fourteen countries will be reviewed during the session, including: Italy, El Salvador, Gambia, Bolivia, Fiji, San Marino, Kazakhstan, Angola, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Madagascar, Iraq, Slovenia, Egypt, and Bosnia Herzegovina.

The north-south divide between member states at the Human Rights Council continued to intensify during its 27th session. Why has the growing polarisation between a cross section of global north and global south States come up in both formal events and informal negotiations?

The Sexual Rights Initiative (SRI) is pleased to announce the publication of the UNFPA report Lessons From the First Cycle of the Universal Periodic Review: From Commitment to Action on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights.

Developed by the UNFPA and based on research and analysis conducted by Action Canada for Population and Development (ACPD) on behalf of the SRI, the report examines the role the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) mechanism can play in advancing the realization of human rights related to sexuality and gender at the global, regional and country levels.

During the 27th session of the UN Human Rights Council, the Sexual Rights Initiative (SRI) collaborated with national-level organizations and advocates to deliver oral statements regarding outcomes from the Universal Periodic Review ‘s (UPR) of Costa Rica, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Dominica, Nicaragua, Norway and Portugal.

Side-event on maternal mortality and morbidity and human rights taking place during the 27th session of the Human Rights Council. The event will be held on 10 September 2014 in Room XXVII and includes French interpretation.

The 27th session of the UN Human Rights Council will take place from 8-26 September 2014. Here you will find information regarding some sexual rights-related resolutions, discussions, UPR outcomes and parallel events taking place during the session.

Click here to access the full programme of work for the 27th session

Expected Sexual Rights-related Resolutions

To commemorate the 2014 Global Day of Action for the Decriminalization of Abortion, the panel will explore the linkages between abortion stigma, criminalization and restrictive laws and policies, and examine their impact on the rights of women, particularly adolescent girls.

In preparation for the 21st session of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), the SRI, with support from coalition-member Akahata, collaborated with the Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD) (a Guyanese human rights organization dedicated to achieving equality and justice for all, particularly those who experience discrimination based on their sexuality, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression), to prepare a stakeholder submission for Guyana’s review.

Action Canada for Population and Development reports back from 26th session of the UN Human Rights Council:

The 26th session of the UN Human Rights Council took place from 10 – 27 June 2014. Below are some highlights of sexual rights-related to Resolutions, discussions, UPR outcomes and parallel events that the SRI engaged with during this session.

Alongside the ongoing 26th session of the Council, the Sexual Rights Initiative, in partnership with, Ipas, Amnesty International and UNAIDS, hosted a parallel event examining the interplay of the criminalization of sexuality and reproduction with the international human rights framework.