IACHR
Press Release
IACHR and OSRESCER Publish Thematic Report: “Trans and Gender-Diverse People and Their Economic, Social, Cultural, and Environmental Rights”
November 24, 2020
Washington, D.C. - The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) and the Office of the Special Rapporteur on Economic, Social, Cultural, and Economic Rights (OSRESCER) have published a thematic report on trans and gender-diverse people and their economic, social, cultural, and environmental rights. The report was published to mark International Transgender Day of Remembrance, which is observed on November 20 to honor the memory of trans and gender-diverse people who were victims of violence rooted in prejudice.
The IACHR has emphasized that trans and gender-diverse people are the most vulnerable of the universe of LGBTI people and are often victims of high levels of exclusion, stigma, and social prejudice. In response to this, the report entitled “Trans and Gender-Diverse People and Their Economic, Social, Cultural, and Environmental Rights” analyzes this aggravated social exclusion experienced by trans and gender-diverse people in the Americas and examines the main barriers preventing them from accessing basic rights from an early age and developing their potential on an equal footing.
To this end, the report analyzes how the recognition of the rights to
gender identity and expression has evolved within the Inter-American System
of Human Rights. This analysis draws attention to the legal grounds for the
protection of the rights of trans and gender-diverse people in the region,
based on the principle of equality and nondiscrimination. It also takes in
account the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, specifically the
promise to “leave no one behind.” The IACHR and the OSRESCER take an
intersectional approach to exploring the gender identities and expressions
in use in the Americas, including trans femininity, trans masculinity, and
nonbinary and ancestral identities such as muxes, wigunduguid, or
two-spirit.
In drafting the report, the IACHR and the OSRESCER drew on information from
various monitoring mechanisms, survey responses from States and members of
civil society, and statements by various international organizations,
working groups, and mechanisms with a mandate to monitor international
agreements.
In each of the main chapters of the report, the IACHR and the OSRESCER use this information to analyze best practices around guaranteeing the rights to education, culture, work, and health and the ongoing challenges to these. Taking into account the effects of the global COVID-19 pandemic, the report devotes a chapter to analyzing the economic, social, cultural, and environmental rights of trans and gender-diverse people in the region. The final chapter of the report contains a series of conclusions and recommendations to States in the region to eradicate the structural exclusion of trans and gender-diverse people by designing and implementing regulatory frameworks and public policies that explicitly address the concrete effects of the historic exclusion of this group, as part of a comprehensive strategy seeking to reduce inequality.
The main findings contained in the report include the growing number of measures adopted by States to ensure that the gender identities of trans and gender-diverse people are recognized and to prevent and provide reparation for the structural violence they experience. The IACHR and the OSRESCER acknowledge that there is still a long way to go to fully meet trans and gender-diverse people’s needs for protection and recognition in the Americas.
In light of this, the IACHR and the OSRESCER note once more how important it is for OAS Member States to adopt a range of legislative, legal, and executive measures and public policies that prohibit discrimination on the grounds of gender identity and expression, and other specific actions in favor of the legal recognition of gender identity. They also underscore that the effects of structural exclusion that trans and gender-diverse people are forced to live with will only be eliminated through ongoing work, given the high levels of persecution, violence, and discrimination that they continue to face. Finally, the IACHR reiterated its willingness to provide States with technical cooperation to implement the recommendations contained in this and other reports relating to the rights of LGBTI people.
A principal, autonomous body of the Organization of American States (OAS), the IACHR derives its mandate from the OAS Charter and the American Convention on Human Rights. The Inter-American Commission has a mandate to promote respect for and to defend human rights in the region and acts as a consultative body to the OAS in this area. The Commission is composed of seven independent members who are elected in an individual capacity by the OAS General Assembly and who do not represent their countries of origin or residence.
No. 282/20