IACHR and REDESCA call on States to guarantee economic, social, cultural and environmental rights of LGBTI persons

June 28, 2024

Washington, D.C. - In the framework of LGBTI Pride Month, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) and the Office of the Special Rapporteur on Economic, Social, Cultural and Environmental Rights (REDESCA) call on the States of the region to adopt concrete measures to put an end to violence, discrimination and social, cultural and economic exclusion against these people.

In recent years, the Commission has received information on various advances in the region that seek to guarantee the economic, social, cultural and environmental rights (ESCR) of LGBTI people. In the cultural sphere, for example, initiatives have been launched to make sexual and gender diversity visible, promoting spaces for the artistic expression of LGBTI experiences. In the educational sphere, various States in the region have developed manuals against bullying or policies that guarantee respect for the social name and gender identity of trans persons.

In the labor sector, there are reforms that seek to encourage the hiring of transgender people, as well as jurisprudential advances in the area of social security. In terms of access to health, several States have advanced inclusive public policies that seek to ensure adequate access to health services for these people, including proposals to prevent medical violence against intersex people.

However, there are still challenges that require urgent attention to guarantee the rights of LGBTI people, such as acts of discrimination and violence. Among the challenges observed, for example, are the restriction of teaching materials on sexual and gender diversity in schools; discrimination in the health and employment sectors, including setbacks in terms of job quotas for trans and gender-diverse people. Regarding environmental rights, studies warn of particular vulnerability of LGBTI people in the context of climate change in those States most susceptible to the effects of the environmental crisis.

The Additional Protocol to the American Convention on Economic, Social, Cultural and Environmental Rights (Protocol of San Salvador) establishes, among others, the obligations of the States to guarantee the participation of persons in the cultural and artistic life of the community, and to orient education towards respect for human dignity and human rights. It also establishes the obligation to adopt measures to guarantee fair labor conditions and decent work for all persons, as well as the obligation to guarantee the right to health, including physical, mental and social health, facilitating access for groups in situations of vulnerability, which includes LGBTI persons.

In this context, States are required to develop legislation and public policies, based on human rights, that guarantee access to ESC rights without discrimination, and that put an end to the difficulties of access to education, employment, health and social security services and thus break the poverty of the most vulnerable LGBTI people.

The IACHR expresses its willingness to collaborate with States and civil society in the promotion and protection of the human rights of LGBTI persons, including access to ESCR as part of comprehensive measures to prevent violence and discrimination based on prejudice.

The Office of the Special Rapporteur on Economic, Social, Cultural and Environmental Rights is an office created by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) to strengthen the promotion and protection of economic, social, cultural and environmental rights in the Americas, leading the Commission's efforts in this area.

The IACHR is a principal and autonomous organ of the OAS, whose mandate arises from the OAS Charter and the American Convention on Human Rights. The Inter-American Commission is mandated to promote the observance and defense of human rights in the region and acts as a consultative body to the OAS in this area. The IACHR is composed of seven independent members who are elected by the OAS General Assembly in their personal capacity and do not represent their countries of origin or residence.

No. 150/24

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