In the first ever high-level meeting on gender diversity and non-binary identities held at UN headquarters in New York, Member States, UN entities and civil society came together to discuss the current state of LGBTI rights globally.
“We are at a stage where there is tremendous, one might say unprecedented progress,” said Imara Jones, journalist and moderator of the event. “There are trans people and gender nonconforming people and gay people, and lesbian people and bisexual people who have been elected to offices around the world. There’s a tremendous amount of advance of rights, both in the global north and the global south, and of course tremendous representation in the media… But the violence and the backlash is also unprecedented and in some places in the world, historic.”
The event, hosted by UN Women, OutRight Action International, The Permanent Mission of Argentina to the United Nations, UN Globe, UN OHCHR and the Kingdom of the Netherlands, gave space to trans and gender non-conforming individuals to speak on their experiences and call for the UN and the global community to take action to protect their human rights.
Activist, multidisciplinary artist and Religion Fellow for OutRight Action International, Katlego Kai Kolanyane-Kesupile, emphasized the importance of seeing and hearing from trans and gender-diverse persons in all spaces on all issues.
“Trans people aren’t just surgery, psychoanalysis and body politic. Some of us care about the climate, some of us really care about farming, or fashion. We are whole human beings and if you don’t allow trans and gender diverse persons to really be more than the politic of you trying to figure out how and when they exist, you really cease to let them fully exist,” she said.
Geena Rocero, founder of Gender Proud, agreed about the significant impact that representation has on the community.
“I believe that dignified, nuanced and accurate representation of trans and gender diverse people, saves lives. It could save thousands, all of our lives,” Rocero said. “If you’re not getting accurate representation, you’re being dehumanized… If we’re going to use media as an advocacy tool, I want to centre the voices of the most marginalized.”
Un women