The legal obligations of States to safeguard the human rights of LGBTI people are well established in international human rights law on the basis of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, international human rights treaties, and customary international law. All people, irrespective of sexual orientation, gender identity or sex characteristics,6 are entitled to enjoy the protections provided by international human rights law, including rights to life, security of person and privacy, the right to be free from torture, arbitrary arrest and detention, the right to be free from discrimination, equality before the law, and the right to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly.
The purpose of this publication is to set out the core obligations that States have towards LGBTI persons, and to describe how United Nations mechanisms have applied international law in these contexts. For more than two decades, United Nations human rights treaty bodies and special procedures have documented violations of the human rights of LGBT, and more recently, intersex people, and analysed State compliance with international human rights law. The sections that follow summarize their findings and advice to help States take the necessary steps to meet their fundamental human rights obligations.
