HRC 58: SRI Statement to the Interactive dialogue with the Independent Expert on foreign debt
HRC 58: Rising Flame Joint Statement: ID with the SR on the rights of persons with disabilities
HRC 58: SRI, YWCA Hamilton and Barbra Schlifer Clinic statement to the Interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on housing
HRC 58: Joint Statement to the Annual high-level panel discussion on human rights mainstreaming
Intersectionality, Economic Justice and the Right to Development
UPR Submissions - 49th session
HRC 57: Joint Civil Society Statement on Abortion : General Debate Item 8
HRC 57: SRI Statement to the Panel discussion on the implementation of States’ obligations on the role of the family in supporting the human rights of its members
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?
HRC 57 Side event: Feminist approaches to the right to development
Join us for this side event that will feature a discussion on the definitions and understandings of the term development, and examine its uses from a feminist and Global South perspective.
HRC 57 SRI statement to the Interactive dialogue with the Expert Mechanism on the right to development
HRC 57: SRI statement to the Interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on water and sanitation
HRC 57: SRI statement to the Interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on unilateral coercive measures
HRC 57: SRI, IPPF and AWID Statement to the panel discussion on promoting and protecting economic, social and cultural rights within the context of addressing inequalities.
Everything You Need to Know About UPR 45
UPR Submissions - 48th session
The 48th session of the Universal Periodic will take place from 20 to 31 January 2025. 14 Countries are under review during the session: Italy, the Gambia, Fiji, Kazakhstan, Iran, El Salvador, Bolivia, San Marino, Angola, Madagascar, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iraq and Egypt. In collaboration with our partners, the SRI submitted reports for Angola and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
HRC 56: SRI and AWID statement to the annual full-day discussion on the human rights of women: Panel 2: Human rights economy and women’s rights
HRC 56: SRI statement to the annual full-day discussion on the human rights of women: Economic violence against women and girls
HRC 56: Women Deliver statement to the Interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls
Submission to the Special Rapporteur on cultural rights: the right to participate in sports
Prepared in response to the call for inputs issued by the Special Rapporteur on cultural rights to inform her report on the right to participate in sports, this submission advocates for an intersectional approach that examines the colonial, racist, patriarchal and capitalist underpinnings and root causes for violations of the right to participate in sports.
UPR Submissions - 47th session
UPR Submissions - 45th Session
HRC 55: SRI Statement to the Annual meeting on the rights of the child
HRC 55: SRI, CREA & TCIG Statement to the Annual interactive debate on the rights of persons with disabilities
HRC 55: SRI Statement to the Interactive dialogue with the Independent Expert on Foreign Debt
HRC 55: SRI Statement to the panel discussion on challenges and good practices to realize the right to social security and to provide quality public services
SRI Conversations Summary: The Political Economy of Sexual Rights 2023
Sexual rights are profoundly impacted by the interrelated global crises brought on by capitalism through rampant neoliberalism, unchecked extractivism and climate degradation, violent populism and nationalism, soaring inequality within and between states, and entrenched patriarchal, racist, classist and ableist systems of oppression. As part of the development of a new ten-year strategy, SRI sought to deepen its analysis of the political economy of sexual rights. Using a participatory approach, SRI convened a series of three conversations that teased out different dimensions of the overarching theme. Each conversation drew in various actors working nationally, regionally, and globally.
This document contains a summary of the interventions of our 3 conversations of 2023 on the political economy of sexual rights.
SRI Side-event at HRC 55: Political Economy of Sexual Rights
Opportunities for feminist engagement in the UN human rights system
Summary of SRI Conversation 3: Coercion, cooption, and collusion: Global governance under neoliberalism.
Summary of SRI Conversation 2: Coercive and punitive economic measures and their impact on sexual and reproductive rights
SRI Conversation 3: 22 November: Coercion, cooption and collusion: Global governance under neoliberalism
Summary of SRI Conversation 1: Legacies and contemporary forms of colonialism, imperialism, and occupation, and their impact on sexual and reproductive rights
Register Now: SRI Conversations: 27 October: Coercive and punitive economic measures & Sexual Rights
HRC 54 SRI Statement on the ID on OHCHR report on panel discussion on the negative impact of the legacies of colonialism
HRC 54 SRI & IWRAW Asia Pacific Joint Statement to the Interactive Dialogue with the SR on the Right to Development
HRC 54 SRI Statement to the ID on the OHCHR report on economic, social and cultural rights, and COVID-19 recovery
HRC 54 SRI Statement to the ID with the SR on Unilateral Coercive Measures
SRI Side-event at HRC 54: Preventing Maternal Mortality: Autonomy, Abortion and Access: The Role of the Human Rights System
SRI Submission on the Draft General Recommendation n°37 on Racial discrimination in the enjoyment of the right to health to be adopted by the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
Submission to the Special Rapporteur on the right to development: thematic priorities for the mandate
Prepared in response to the call for inputs issued by the Special Rapporteur on the right to development to inform his 2023 thematic reports and priorities for the mandate, this submission recommends adopting an intersectional approach to the right to development by engaging with gender, racial and economic justice, among others.
HRC 53 SRI Statement to the Annual full-day discussion on the human rights of women: Social Protection
Akãhatã & SRI Statement to the Interactive Dialogue with the Working Group on Transnational Corporations
HRC 53 Joint Statement: Interactive dialogue with the Working Group on discrimination against women and girls
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.
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 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.
HRC 52 SRI Statement to the Interactive Dialogue on Access to COVID-19 Vaccines
Statement by SRI and Akãhatã to the Interactive Dialogue with the IE on the effects of foreign debt
HRC 52 SRI Side-event: Health, Human Rights and Capitalism: Implications for the Human Rights Council
Here’s What to Expect at HRC 52
The 52nd session of the UN Human Rights Council will take place from 27 February to 4 April 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 52nd session
2022 In Review
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.
Joint submission to the Working Group on discrimination against women and girls: poverty and inequality
SRI, IWRAW Asia Pacific and AWID made a joint submission in response to the Working Group’s call for inputs on “Human security of women and girls in the context of poverty and inequality.” The submission advocates for an economic justice approach and class analysis of poverty and inequality.
UPR Submissions - 41st session
The 41st session of the Universal Periodic review begins on the 7th of November 2022, and this session marks the beginning of the fourth cycle of the UPR. The working group session will take place from 7 November to 18 November 2022. 14 Countries will be under review during the session: Bahrain, Ecuador, Tunisia, Morocco, Indonesia, Finland, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, India, Brazil, Philippines, Algeria, Poland, Netherlands and South Africa. In collaboration with our partners, the SRI collaborated on reports for South Africa, India, Poland and the Netherlands.
HRC 58: SRI Statement to the Panel discussion on the realization of human rights in sustaining and increasing the gains made in the HIV response and leaving no one behind
Statement to the OHCHR workshop on on promoting and protecting economic, social and cultural rights within the context of COVID-19: Session 4
Around the world, health systems and health financing have been eroded, undermined and weakened by decades of neoliberalism, austerity, privatisation and structural adjustment programs and an emphasis on minimising State intervention and relying on a discourse of “personal responsibility.
Statement to the OHCHR workshop on on promoting and protecting economic, social and cultural rights within the context of COVID-19: Session 2
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.
UPR 42 Pakistan Submission - FDI, APA and SRI
This joint stakeholder report assesses Pakistan’s progress since its third cycle review in meeting its obligations to respect, protect, and fulfill the sexual and reproductive health and rights obligations it has towards young people, particularly women and transgender persons. The submission focuses on access to safe abortion, the sexual rights of LGBT people, and access to sexual and reproductive health information, education and services.
UPR 41 South Africa Submission - Sisonke, African Sex Workers Alliance (ASWA) and SRI
This report has been jointly prepared by the African Sex Workers Alliance (ASWA), the Sexual Rights Initiative (SRI) and Sisonke, South Africa. It seeks to highlight the existing and ongoing human rights violations against sex workers due to restrictive and punitive laws and policies in South Africa It also outlines South Africa commitment to provision and protection of rights through various national and international mechanisms, including the previous cycle of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) and the relevant recommendations.
HRC36 Oral Statements
The 36th session of the UN Human Rights Council is took place from 11-29 September 2017. Here are transcripts of oral statements made by the Sexual Rights Initiative.
Sexual Rights at the 27th UN Universal Periodic Review
The 27th session of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) was held at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva from 1-12 May 2017. Eleven countries were reviewed during UPR27: Bahrain, Ecuador, Tunisia, Morocco, Indonesia, Finland, United Kingdom, India, Brazil, Philippines, Algeria, Poland, Netherlands, and South Africa.
Gender parity: Game changer or gamble?
Gender parity is designed to reduce gender gaps in all sectors, from access to education and parliamentary elections to women’s economic empowerment. But what does parity mean and how does it work in practice?
Briefing on the 25th session of the UN HRC
The 25th session of the UN Human Rights Council will take place from March 3 – 28 2014. The first week of the four-week session will comprise of a ‘High-level segment’ during which high-level dignitaries will address the Council.
SRI welcomes UN Women’s strong position on sex work, sexual exploitation and trafficking in persons
On November 12th, the Sexual Rights Initiative sent a letter to UN Women, welcoming its strong, human rights-based approach, to issues of sex work, sexual exploitation and trafficking in persons. The original letter and UN Women’s note can be accessed below.
Reparations and remedies for violence must be transformative
Transformative reparations must also take into account that marginalized women have the least access to judicial or administrative remedies. Multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination serve to disempower, exclude, and stigmatize women, which if not considered in reparation schemes, will only reinforce existing inequalities.