- We are appalled by the government’s egregious human rights violations against migrants at the Belarus border, often pushed back without access to essential health care or deprived of liberty in closed detention facilities. This includes pregnant women, children, and persons with mental health conditions.
HRC 53 SRI statement: Interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health
Technology and digital innovation have advanced health coverage, particularly sexual and reproductive health, providing spaces for youth, adolescents, and other marginalized communities to access these services without stigma. However, it is essential to underline that we are facing a context where regressive actors are using these same digital platforms to assault women human rights defenders, attacking their privacy and propagate misinformation and disinformation, particularly related to abortion, the rights of trans persons, adolescent sexual and reproductive health and comprehensive sexuality education.HRC 53 Joint Statement: Interactive dialogue with the Working Group on discrimination against women and girls
Feminists have long understood that poverty is the result of violent impoverishment and (neo)colonial economic exploitation. We know that economic justice is essential for the realization of gender justice - just as it is for racial, disability or climate justice. However, members of this Council continue to treat these issues in siloes, or even as competing human rights concerns.Here’s What to Expect at HRC 53
The 53rd session of the UN Human Rights Council will take place from 19 June to 14 July 2023. Below you can find information about: Anticipated sexual rights-related resolutions, panels and reports UPR outcomes SRI’s online events taking place during the 53rd sessionQué esperar de la sesión 53° del CDH 53
La sesión 53° del Consejo de Derechos Humanos se desarrollará del 19 de junio al 14 de julio de 2023. A continuación podrán encontrar información sobre: Resoluciones, paneles e informes previstos relacionados con derechos sexuales Resultados del EPU Eventos virtuales de la Iniciativa por los Derechos Sexuales (SRI) durante la sesión 53°À quoi s’attendre de la 53e session du CDH
The 53rd session of the UN Human Rights Council will take place from 19 June to 14 July 2023. Below you can find information about: Anticipated sexual rights-related resolutions, panels and reports UPR outcomes SRI’s online events taking place during the 53rd sessionUPR 43 Highlights: Sexual Rights-Related Recommendations
Below are some sexual rights-related highlights from each UPR 43 review. This list presents recommendations made related to sexual rights, including State responses to date.
In collaboration with our partners, the SRI submitted reports for Romania and Botswana.
Puntos destacados del EPU 43: Recomendaciones relacionadas con los derechos sexuales
A continuación compartimos algo de lo más destacado en relación a los derechos sexuales para cada uno de los Estados examinados en el EPU 43.
Trabajando en conjunto con otras organizaciones, la Iniciativa por los Derechos Sexuales (SRI) presentó informes sobre Rumania y Botsuana.
Points Saillants de l'EPU 43: Recommandations relatives aux droits sexuels
Vous trouverez ci-dessous quelques points saillants relatifs aux droits sexuels dans chaque examen de l’EPU43.
En collaboration avec ses partenaires, la SRI a soumis des mémoires concernant la Roumanie et le Botswana..
Call for collaborations : Universal Periodic Review
For UPR 45 (deadline 18 July) - we are interested in supporting English-language submissions by feminist activists in the review of the following countries: Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Mauritius, Jordan, Central African Republic, Monaco, Chad, Congo, and Malta.
HRC 53 SRI Side Event: Autonomy v/s Protectionism: Register Now
Protectionism views women, girls, and other marginalised individuals as inherently vulnerable and in need of state and patriarchal protection. However, these policies sacrifice autonomy and freedom and do not address systemic inequality and root causes of discrimination and violence. Join us at this side event that delves into the underpinnings and impact of protectionist policies and proposes alternative frameworks including prioritising bodily autonomy.UPR 43 Botswana Submission - Sisonke Botswana, ASWA and SRI
Whilst the buying and selling of sex is not llegal in Botswana, there are a number of legal provisions in place that prohibit a wide range of activities associated with sex work such as soliciting clients, public indecency or living on the earnings of sex work. This means that sex work is nevertheless criminalised - a status quo that poses a material risk to sex workers, and violates their rights to work, to health, to bodily autonomy and to be free from violence.
UPR 43 Botswana Submission - SHRH Africa Trust, The PACT and SRI
In September 2022, SAT Botswana, a youth-focused organisation, convened a workshop to consult with other youth-led and focused organisations, with ten organisations present. The objective of the meeting was to deliberate and develop a report for the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) on critical issues, focusing on the state of adolescent and youth sexual and reproductive health and rights in Botswana. In addition, the workshop discussed issues concerning adolescents and young people, highlighting some of the increasing sexual health challenges emanating from the COVID-19 pandemic.
UPR 43 Romania Submission: ACCEPT, ECPI and SRI
The Romanian Constitution guarantees equal treatment of all citizens before the law and public authorities, without any privilege or discrimination. This includes explicit reference to sexual orientation as a protected ground, and legal protection against hate crimes. Despite this, Romania is not respecting, protecting and fulfilling a broad range of rights related to sexuality and gender, particularly as pertains to sexual and reproductive health and rights. This failure is marked by an inability to provide adequate access to contraceptives, the lack of accessibility and availability of abortion services despite abortion being legal in the country, and the failure to invest in HIV/AIDS programming to prevent new cases in the country.
UPR 43 Botswana Submission - Banana Club, Back Queer DocX, Botswana Trans Initiative, Love|Loss|Life, Mmammati Human Rights Hub, Iranti, SALC and SRI
This report is a joint submission by autonomous collectives in Botswana, whose work is centred on the promotion and protection of LGBTIQ persons, women in the margins of society and young queer persons ’rights and freedoms, with the support of Iranti, Sexual Rights Initiative and Southern Africa Litigation Centre.
UPR Submissions - 42nd session
The 42nd session of the Universal Periodic review begins on the 23rd of January 2023. The working group session will take place from 23 January to 3 February 2023. 13 Countries will be under review during the session: Czechia, Gabon, Benin, Switzerland, Argentina, Ghana, Guatemala, the Republic of Korea, Pakistan, Japan, Sri Lanka and Zambia. In collaboration with our partners, the SRI collaborated on reports for Guatemala, Japan, Pakistan, Switzerland and Zambia.
Joint submission to the Independent Expert on foreign debt: multiple crises, fiscal systems and human rights
This joint submission by SRI, AWID and IWRAW AP responds to a call for input issued by the Independent Expert on foreign debt for her upcoming report on multiple crises, fiscal systems and human rights. The submission aims to address the current situation as a crisis of neo-liberal capitalism, white supremacy, colonialism and patriarchy, and calls for an intersectional approach to these crises, their causes and their human rights impacts.
UPR Submissions - 43rd session
The 43rd session of the Universal Periodic review begins on 1 May 2023. The working group session will take place from 1 to 12 May 2023. 14 Countries will be under review during the session: France,Tonga, Romania, Mali, Botswana, the Bahamas, Burundi, Luxembourg, Barbados, Montenegro, the United Arab Emirates, Israel, Liechtenstein and Serbia. In collaboration with our partners, the SRI collaborated on reports for Romania and Botswana.
Submission to OHCHR Promoting and protecting economic, social and cultural rights within the context of addressing inequalities in the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic
This submission argues that one of the essential elements to “profoundly transform economies to make them greener, fairer and more inclusive” is to review the current macroeconomic system, which itself is a continuation of the historical and ongoing consequence of colonialism: its impact on people and to embark on a radical global system change - one which places people and the planet before profits.
SRI BRIEFS: CERD submission summary: Racial Discrimination and the Right to Health
Summary of the submission to the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) to inform the elaboration of General Recommendation no 37 on racial discrimination and the right to health
Submitted by: Sexual Rights Initiative (SRI), National Council of Women Leaders (NCWL), Dalit Human Rights Defenders Network (DHRDNet), International Dalit Solidarity Network (IDSN), The Association for Women’s Rights in Development (AWID), Her Rights Initiative (HRI), and Alisa Lombard
SRI submission to the Special Rapporteur on unilateral coercive measures: sanctions and the right to health
In response to the Special Rapporteur’s call for input about unilateral coercive measures and the right to health, SRI made a submission examining unilateral sanctions as forms of economic and racial injustice and imperial domination, and a violation of the right to development.
Request for Expressions of Interest: Consultancy Services: Communications support
The key objective of this consultancy is to support the communications and knowledge translation work of the Geneva office. The consultant will be responsible for creating and delivering content in accessible ways via diverse communications tools and platforms (including website, social media, and earned media); and documenting the challenges, successes, opportunities, and learnings of inter-linked advocacy in global, regional, and national policy processes.Did you miss it? Here’s what happened at HRC 52!
The 52nd session of the UN Human Rights Council took place from 27 February to 4 April. Below you will find information on some of the key sexual rights-related to resolutions, panel discussions, oral statements and side events.¿Se lo perdieron? Miren todo lo que ocurrió en el CDH52
La sesión 52° del Consejo de Derechos Humanos (CDH) de la ONU se desarrolló del 27 de febrero al 4 de abril de 2023.Vous l’avez manquée? Voici ce qui s’est produit lors de la 52e session du CDH!
Le Conseil des droits de l’homme (CDH) des Nations Unies a tenu sa 52e session du 27 février au 4 avril. Vous trouverez ci-dessous des informations sur certains des principaux points touchant les droits sexuels: Résolutions, Panels de discussion, Déclarations orales, Événements parallèles.