by Sarah Mann
Sarah is a British diplomat who has just finished a three-month posting to the UK Mission to the UN (UKMIS) in New York working primarily on human rights issues.
Today is my last day working at UKMIS in New York, which makes it a very sad day for me. But it is also a good day on which to finish a three month tour working primarily on human rights in the UN General Assembly’s third committee. It is somehow fitting to finish on Human Rights Day. And even more fitting that my last official meeting is a moving and important event in honour of that day – a panel discussion on ending violence and criminal sanctions on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.
One of the most controversial issues in recent years has been that of LGBT rights. Now just to be clear, we’re not talking here about special rights for LGBT people. We’re talking simply about ensuring their enjoyment of the human rights that belong to everyone. As the UN Secretary General pointed out, human rights day is not celebrating the “partial” or “sometimes” declaration of human rights. We are celebrating the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This is why one of the most disappointing moments in this year’s third committee was the removal of a reference to sexual orientation in a resolution on extrajudicial killings. It was a sad reminder that some believe human rights are not universal, but can be denied on the basis of objections to a person’s behaviour or identity.
Today’s event was a testament to the importance of fighting for these references, if that was needed. It was also a reminder of the “reality on the ground”, of the serious rights abuses that many face on a daily basis. The UN is not known for emotive and personal meetings but this definitely countered that stereotype. It combined personal testimony from human rights defenders who literally risk their lives in the fight for equal treatment for LGBT people with powerful contributions from the United Nations Secretary-General, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and US Permanent Representative Susan Rice. The support of such leaders is essential. Listening to them made me hope that, in the next few weeks, we can take that small step forward that we took backward in third committee and, as Ambassador Rice promised, win the argument to reintroduce sexual orientation language into the extrajudicial killings resolution.
I still find it shocking that this debate is still being had more than 60 years after the Universal Declaration was signed. And it seems to me that the question of people’s freedom to openly express their sexual and gender identity and fully enjoy their human rights will become ever more polarised. This is difficult. It is difficult to be a part of a debate which you feel should already be won, and it is difficult to listen to views that fundamentally oppose the principles you hold most dear. But, as with all massive changes, we will only reach the place we want to end up by taking incremental steps. The debate itself is – one has to hope – a sign that progress can and will be made.