SRI Statement to the Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants at 50th session of the Human Rights Council
In response to the Special Rapporteur’s call for inputs on violence and its impact on the right to health, SRI made a submission addressing violations of bodily autonomy and the operation of systems of oppression as structural violence
This is the moment to radically reimagine our systems and institutions so that they serve the people. The pandemic has shown that when states choose to, they can act swiftly to implement policies and spend resources that would have been unthinkable two years ago. At the Human Rights Council, we must recognize this moment for what it is -a chance to breathe new and transformative life into the human rights system and everything that it is supposed to stand for.
Transitional justice mechanisms must respond to historic causes of violence and conflict by addressing structural oppressions that affect people based on their race, class, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, amongst others. Redress comes only when acknowledging how intersectional oppression continues to operate through associated stereotypes, stigma and discrimination, including those related to race, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression. Intersectionality is crucial to ensure a truth and reconciliation process.
The Sexual Rights Initiative has signed on a coalition letter addressed to the members of the Human Rights Council led by the ACLU to demand for an independent UN inquiry into the escalating police violence and repression in the US.