US Ambassador to Chair Meeting on Integrating LGBTI Human Rights in UN Security Council Work

The United States held an Arria-Formula meeting on Monday, March 20 at 3 p.m. in the ECOSOC Chamber at UN Headquarters on integrating the human rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Intersex (LGBTI) persons into the UN Security Council’s work to maintain international peace and security. United States Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, chaired the meeting, which was co-sponsored by Albania, Brazil, Cyprus, Czechia, France, Greece, Japan, Malta, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, as well as the UN LGBTI Core Group.
The United States first brought the issue of protection of the rights of LGBTI persons before the Council in August 2015 in the context of ISIL’s crimes against LGBTI persons in Iraq and Syria.
Expanding upon a recent report of the UN’s Independent Expert on Protection Against Violence and Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI), this year’s meeting focused on how gender, sexual orientation, and gender identity dynamics figured into the context of armed conflict and recommended actions the Security Council can take to further incorporate LGBTI perspectives in peacebuilding and peacekeeping. The U.S. Special Envoy to Advance the Rights of LGBTQI+ Persons, Jessica Stern, participated as part of the U.S. delegation.