United Nations Committee Condemns US Record on LGBTQ+ Rights

“Despite five decades of progress, equality is not within reach, and often not even within sight, for all persons impacted by violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in the United States,’’ says Victor Madrigal-Borloz, the United Nation’s Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination on the basis of on sexual orientation and gender identity.

The United Nations Human Rights Committee (HRC) issued a rebuke of the United States’ record on civil and political rights, especially in the wake of record numbers of discriminatory state legislation targeting the human rights of the LGBTQ+ community. The HRC review was released on November 3. 

Mr. Madrigal-Borloz delivered his sobering conclusions in late August following a 10-day visit to Washington D.C.; Birmingham, Alabama; Miami, Florida; and San Diego, California. The expert met with state officials and members of the community who shared their experiences with him.  Madrigal-Borloz added that LGBTQ+ people, especially people of color, continue to face significant inequality in health, education, employment, and housing, in addition to being disproportionately impacted by violence. 

Although the committee recognized that the Biden administration has adopted measures to address the challenges Madrigal-Borloz identified, it also pointed out that these measures have been under attack. 

“I am deeply alarmed by a widespread, profoundly negative riptide created by deliberate actions to roll back the human rights of LGBT people at the state level,” says Madrigal-Borloz, noting that these discriminatory measures seek to limit comprehensive sexual and gender education, access to gender-affirming care, and rebuild stigma against the wider queer community. “The evidence shows that, without exception, these actions rely on prejudiced and stigmatizing views of LGBT persons, in particular transgender children and youth, and seek to leverage their lives as props for political profit.”

The committee points to a slew of state laws popping up across the United States. Among these laws are those banning books, prohibiting classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity and LGBTQ+, and prohibiting transgender children from participating in school sports or using bathrooms that align with their gender identity. In its concluding observations, the HRC underscored the prevalence of discrimination against LGBTQ+ people in the U.S. The UN committee went on to condemn the troubling rise in derogatory speech aimed at queer people, including from public officials, adding that violence against LGBTQ+ people is on the rise. 

The UN committee went on to urge the Biden administration to ‘redouble’ its efforts to support the human rights of all LGBTQ+ people in its jurisdiction. The committee’s findings should act as a wake-up call for lawmakers in the United States, both state and federal, to stop actively undermining U.S. human rights obligations and repeal these discriminatory laws. Whether or not the United Nations’ rebuke will be heeded by a conservative wing of U.S. politics that is growing more extreme is yet to be seen.