2019 ANNUAL REPORT TM 1 ILGA World - the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association is grateful for the support of its member organisa- tions, staff, interns and Board and Committee members who work tire- lessly to make everything we do possible. A heartfelt shout-out and thank you goes to all the human rights defenders around the world for the time and energy they commit to ad- vancing the cause of equality for persons with diverse sexual orienta- tions, gender identities and gender expressions, and sex characteristics everywhere. Our deepest thanks to those who have financially made our work – including the World Conference – possible in 2019: and many individuals who have made donations. 2 2019 ILGA World launches its new logo and visual identity JANUARY in the run up to the World Conference. AT A GLANCE The first session of the Human Rights Council begins. FEBRUARY Throughout the year ILGA World and our allies made sure to keep raising queer voices at the United Nations! Nearly 600 human rights defenders from 93 countries and territories gather MARCH in Aotearoa New Zealand for the 29th ILGA World Conference. Activists from around the globe pass a resolution call- An historic meeting takes place in the Vatican City: we join ing for a worldwide decriminalisation of APRIL other LGBTI organisations in calling on the Roman Catholic sex work. Church to take action against the violence, discrimination The UN passes a resolution calling for and criminalisation faced by our communities. an end to discrimination of women and girls in sports – including women born with variations of sex characteristics. This represents the first UN resolution We rejoice with trans communities on the rights of intersex persons! worldwide, as the World Health Or- MAY ganisation adopts the 11th revision of the International Classification The world celebrates the 50th anni- of Diseases (ICD-11) that formally JUNE versary of the Stonewall uprising. de-psycho-pathologises most trans “Because of Stonewall, we have identities. Now it’s time to engage now brought our activism to the in the review process to finally world stage - we are no longer in reach full depathologisation! the closet in terms of fighting for our rights and we will no longer be silenced.” The Human Rights Council renews the mandate of the Independent Expert on Sexual Orientation and JULY Gender Identity. Together with others, ILGA World mobilised 1,312 organisations from 174 countries ILGA World hosts an holistic security to reach this result. AUGUST workshop in South Korea in the wake of the ILGA Asia conference for LGBTI defenders from across Asia - an initiative Our board meets in Geneva. falling under our involvement with the The World Conference gave SEPTEMBER ProtectDefenders.eu mechanism. us a new strategic plan and governance structure: now it’s time to put plans for the “We are stronger together!” Our Co-Secretaries General address the ILGA-Europe years ahead into action! OCTOBER conference in Prague, calling for unity in our movement. Throughout the year, more than 1,200 LGBTI human rights defenders gathered together for our three regional conferences of 2019 in Seoul, Prague and Bogotá. ILGA World raises LGBTI youth voices at the Nairobi Summit on ICPD25, and NOVEMBER takes part in the Sporting Chance Forum to raise awareness about the barriers to fully participate in sports We launch the second update of the year to the that our communities keep facing. In DECEMBER State-Sponsored Homophobia report. In 2019 Bogotá, Colombia, ILGA World supports we released ground-breaking new research, the 2019 ILGALAC conference. including the first Treaty Bodies Strategic Litigation Toolkit focusing on SOGIESC issues, and contributed to analyses of how trans persons are criminalised across the world. 3 ear friends, D in this 2019 Annual Report we are happy to report about the initia- tives of international significance that ILGA World has continued to under- take to put the spotlight on current and emerging LGBTIQ human rights intersectionalities, and in effecting real change in our communities across the globe. 2019 proved to be a great year for ILGA World and many of our mem- bers, allies and communities – despite the daily, ongoing struggle against LGBTI-phobia, racism, nationalism and intersecting forms of discrimina- tion that our communities are forced to endure. We saw real progress through- out the year, including a defining vote by the United Nations to renew the mandate of the Independent Expert 4 on SOGI. This was a historic victory made possible by the extraordinary work of hundreds of human rights We stand with you in our endless fight for love in the face of hate, unity in the face of division, peace in the face of violence, and diversity in the face of lesbophobia, homophobia, biphobia, transphobia, interphobia, ageism, racism, sexism, ableism, hostility against indigenous communities, and all other forms of discrimination and non-governmental organisations Angola and Botswana decrimi- state in India implemented a ban on from across the world, including nalised consensual same-sex sexual non-consensual surgeries on intersex many of our members. Your advocacy relationships. A number of historic infants. In Brazil, the Federal Supreme prompted over half of the States who rulings also saw Zimbabwe, Kosovo Court voted in favour of making ho- were able to vote to support the re- and Sweden acknowledge and affirm mophobia and transphobia crimes newal: a tremendous increase in com- the rights of trans persons. Taiwan similar to racism. mitment in only three years, since the became the first territory in Asia to mandate was first created! adopt marriage equality, which be- 2019 also brought more focus And we had even more successes came a reality also in Austria and Ec- on the realities of existing harmful to celebrate. uador during the year. The Tamil Nadu medical practices, not only in terms of the violent erasure of intersex bodies. for our World Conference in Welling- are all treated and recognised both Trans and gender diverse identities ton, Aotearoa New Zealand. Despite legally and socially as being truly free were declassified as a mental illness in the world reeling from the tragedy and equal citizens of our planet Earth. the latest version of the International that took place in Christchurch only Finally, we want to thank and Classification of Diseases (ICD-11), three days before our opening cer- acknowledge the work of Ruth Bal- and our communities kept speaking emony, we managed to continue de- dacchino and Helen Kennedy, whose up against the harmful and discredit- veloping new ways of advocating for work and leadership as our former ed practice of ‘conversion’ therapy, re- our rights, sharing our truths and our Co-Secretaries General we are most sulting in positive legislation in a num- stories, and empowering our commu- grateful for. We see you, we hear you, ber of cities and states. Moreover, at nities. Perhaps our connections were and we acknowledge your commit- least 10 countries and counting are even stronger in the immediate face ment to ILGA World and your work in backing calls for a potential ban in the of that hate – connections that cut protecting and promoting the human coming months! across religion, gender identity, race, rights of all our LGBTIQ communities gender, gender expression, nation- everywhere, everyday: a mission that Unfortunately, with light comes ality, sex characteristics, and sexual you have passed on to us. darkness and some losses. In Africa, orientation. Gabon formally criminalised same-sex At the conference, we were In solidarity, sexual activity (in what luckily became elected as the new Co-Secretaries a short-lived provision), and all over General of ILGA World ushering in a the world more and more countries new era of visibility for bisexual and are showing worrying signs of back- trans women leadership from the Luz Elena Aranda - Tuisina Ymania Brown sliding on their human rights obliga- Global South among international tions, or are culpably stalling progress NGOs. Co-Secretaries General, ILGA World to a truly free an equal society. In just a few months, we had Despite our advancements, our multiple occasions to witness once people are still at disproportionate again just how resilient, creative and risk of violence, poverty, homeless- passionate our communities and our ness and illness in every single region. fellow human rights defenders are. As much as the past year gave us rea- We saw the incredible work that sons to rejoice, the work is not yet you do to advance laws to protect done, and we will continue to support and recognise our communities, and LGBTI communities on the ground to provide immediate support to the who keep pushing for change. most marginalised among us. To all our members, we congrat- In 2019, we continued creating ulate you on your work, and remind communications to win over hearts you all that we stand with you in our and minds, spaces for defenders to endless fight for love in the face of come together and strategise, and op- hate, unity in the face of division, portunities to advocate our rights in peace in the face of violence, and international fora. diversity in the face of lesbophobia, We also released and updated homophobia, biphobia, transphobia, ground-breaking research on laws interphobia, ageism, racism, sexism, that affect us and on how human rights ableism, hostility against indigenous bodies are looking into our lived real- communities, and all other forms of ities - including our State-Sponsored discrimination. Homophobia report, an unprecedent- We will continue to advance to- ed guide on strategic litigation with wards full global decriminalisation, the UN Treaty Bodies, and referenc- to focus and expand our research es to SOGIESC issues made by these capabilities, to find new ways to en- bodies during the past few years.