Colonialism

This council must act now to prevent itself from collapsing under the weight of its own compromise and complicity. We call on all states to end colonial domination and oppression, discrimination and persecution - we ask the states, if you can't hold genocidal regimes to account, how can we expect anyone else to adhere to accountability mechanisms.

The principle of universality must be applied to challenge which families are considered to be worthy of state protection and therefore which family members are entitled to human rights, according to the state. At this very moment, we are witnessing families being decimated in service of a racist, colonial state and its expansionist aspirations. Are these family members not entitled to human rights?

Human rights economy seeks to prioritize investment in economic, social and cultural rights, as well as the right to development. However, the transformative potential of a human rights economy will remain hollow without addressing the global financial architecture as a colonial structure that exerts control over countries in the Global South through debt burdens, austerity measures, structural adjustment programs and loan conditionalities through international financial institutions.

As noted in the report, military spending by Global North states reflects their priorities and disregard for basic human rights - and we remind states in the Global North that their military aid and arms exports currently contribute to the genocide of the Palestinian people in Gaza, in violation of the current ICJ provisional measures order.

President, this panel comes at a critical juncture for the premier multilateral body responsible for promoting and protecting human rights. UNDP has documented that “twenty-five developing economies, the highest number since 2000, spent over 20 percent of their government revenues in 2022 on total external debt servicing.”

We urge Canada to honour its treaty obligations, fully implement the calls to action set out in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the calls to justice in the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women’s National Inquiry, and to guarantee in law and practice the rights set forth in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Until all neocolonial and occupying states and forces are withdrawn, until transnational corporations and foreign military bases and operations are expelled, until extractivist industries are stopped, until debt is cancelled and the international economic order reframed to put people before profit, people living under occupation and those who bear the brunt of neocolonialism as well as their allies will continue to fight to be free.

When we talk about debt, let us also talk about the unpaid reparations, current and historical illicit financial flows, and the global tax abuses that benefit Global North countries, corporations, and economic elites across the world.

The current economic, geopolitical and global health context is a reflection of colonial power dynamics and structures shaping racist inequalities in resources, health access and outcomes within and among countries. COVID-19 highlighted the impacts of decades of systematic underfunding of health systems partly fuelled by austerity, privatisation and structural adjustment programs, underpinned by neoliberal ideologies and approaches.

We strongly believe that a deeper and more critical scrutiny is needed on the wide range of other rights violated by these measures, including the right to development.

SRI is undertaking a series of conversations to explore the political economy of sexual rights and its implications for global advocacy. Our first conversation will be on the following theme: legacies and contemporary forms of colonialism, imperialism, and occupation, and their impact on sexual and reproductive rights. Join us for this exciting online event on 30 August 2023 from 14:00 to 15:30 CEST. Speakers will be announced shortly. Register now for this event using the form below.

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.

SRI Statement to the Full-Day High-Level Meeting on the Right to Development at the 52nd session of the Human Rights Council.

As we embark on another year of activism for sexual rights, we wanted to share with you our highlights of 2022. While the UN human rights system continues to be confronted by multiple challenges –from funding shortages, geopolitical tensions and polarisation and attempts to undermine multilateralism to the presence and influence of regressive and conservative actors, we have made steadfast progress in advancing sexual rights in this system. Read below for our highlights of 2022.

The 51st session of the UN Human Rights Council took place from 12 September to 7 October. Below you will find information on some of the key sexual rights-related:

Resolutions
Panel discussions
Oral statements
Side Events

The rising inequalities, made even starker due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, are a symptom of the failed economic system that prioritises profit over people and impoverishes people. It is very important to look at the impact of the erosion of public systems through privatisation and financialisation and resulting human rights violations and abuses. In particular, to delve deeper into why public health systems were woefully inadequate to deal with the Pandemic.

Statement by the Sexual Rights Initiative, Al-Haq, IWRAW Asia-Pacific, ILGA and AWID on the Panel discussion on the negative impact of the legacies of colonialism on the enjoyment of human rights at the 51st session of the Human Rights Council.

Statement by Sexual Rights Initiative to the interactive dialogue with the  Expert Mechanism on the Right to Development at 51rst session on the Human Rights Council.

SRI Statement to the Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants at 50th session of the Human Rights Council

The 36th session of the UN Human Rights Council took place from 11-29 September 2017. Below you will find information on some of the key sexual rights related: Resolutions, Oral Statements, Side Events and Panels.

The 36th session of the UN Human Rights Council will take place from the 11th to the 29th of September 2017. Find below information about anticipated sexual rights-related resolutions, panels and reports, UPR outcomes, and parallel events taking place during the 36th session.

The 33rd session of the UN Human Rights Council took place from the 12th to the 30th of September 2016. Here is an overview of resolutions, panel, oral statements and side events related to sexual rights that took place during the session.

HRC33 Oral Statement on Violence Against Indigenous Women & Girls