ACTSA co-signs letter to UK government on LGBT+ rights

The UK Alliance for Global Equality is a coalition of UK-based civil society organisations (CSOs) working together to promote and support progress on global LGBT+ rights.

We wish to thank the UK’s All Party Parliamentary Group on Global LGBT+ Rights, and the UK government, for its ongoing commitment to global leadership and continued support for LGBT+ rights, including:

• Taking up the role of Co-Chair of the Equal Rights Coalition (ERC)
• Using its role as host of the 2018 CHOGM and its position as Commonwealth Chair in Office to advance the rights of LGBT+ people in the Commonwealth
• Supporting the work of LGBT+ civil society globally to defend the human rights of LGBT+ people through the Magna Carta Fund and other resources
• Supporting Commonwealth governments to, amongst other things, reform the laws that criminalise and discriminate against LGBT+ people through the Equality & Justice Alliance
• Increasing its contributions to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria which will help save a further 2 million lives and help 3 million access antiretroviral treatment across the world over the next 3 years.

Yet it is imperative that the UK’s role as a global leader on LGBT+ rights continues to be matched with action, including:

Equal Rights Coalition

Using its term as ERC Co-Chair to elaborate a strategy for the ERC with ambitious, transformative targets which are also realistic, clear and time-bound. The UK government should further use its co-chairpersonship to promote south-south cooperation among CSOs to promote LGBT+ rights. This should be a clear priority of the ERC, as outlined within its strategy. The expertise of civil society, both in the UK and globally, should inform, support and shape the ERC through systematic engagement, and the UK government should commit substantial resources to ensure that any such engagement is fully realised and meaningful.

Embassies and High Commissions

LGBT+ people around the world continue to face violence and discrimination due to their sexual orientation and gender identity and expression (SOGIE). We urge the government to provide protection for LGBT+ people by offering safe spaces through its embassies and High Commissions, to LGBT+ activists and community members in crisis, through a formalised emergency response model. Furthermore, British government on occasion accepts responsibility for LGBT refugees living in hostile countries, as recommended by the UNHCR. Yet relocation to the UK can often take months due to a lack of housing. We recommend that the UK government works with UK-based LGBT refugee organisations to ensure prompt arrival to the UK and safe housing of LGBT refugees recognised by UNHCR. 

Asylum

We recommend all government departments promote and uphold the rights and dignity of all LGBT+ people. We stand by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Global LGBT+ Rights’ 2016 inquiry recommendation, that ‘the decision-making process needs to be improved in assessing LGBT+ asylum cases’. The government should introduce a time limit on immigration detention to reduce harm experienced by LGBT+ people in these settings. We urge the government to allocate core funding to LGBT+ specific refugee organisations to ensure LGBT+ people fleeing persecution are adequately supported.

Decriminalisation and Legal Reform

70 jurisdictions still criminalise same-sex sexual activity, and the majority of Commonwealth countries (34 of 54) still do so. We encourage the continued support of legislative reform to protect LGBT+ people, by committing further funding to programmes such the Equality & Justice Alliance, both in the Commonwealth and beyond, as well as new funding initiatives to tackle homophobia and transphobia globally.

The Global HIV Response

There has been incredible progress in the global HIV response but new infections remain stubbornly high, with LGBT+ communities being disproportionately affected. For example transgender people are 49 times more likely to acquire HIV compared to the general population. At this critical moment in the response, key donors including the UK are stepping back financially, politically and programmatically. The government should increase bilateral HIV spending to compensate for previous significant funding cuts and ensure greater support for civil society. DFID should also publish a new cross-departmental Global Health strategy that articulates the UK’s role in the global HIV response and increasing the health rights of LGBT+ communities, and ensure HIV and the rights of LGBT+ persons are included within the Ending Preventable Deaths Action Plan.

Role of the Private Sector 

We want to acknowledge the UK government’s leadership in advancing the rights of LGBT+ people through the role of the private sector, including at the UN Forum on Business and Human Rights and in its efforts to promote the UN Standards of Conduct for Business on Tackling Discrimination Against LGBT+ people. We welcome the support in 2020 of the UK government to provide leadership at the UN Forum by bringing together governments, business and civil society to look at the role we can play together in advancing the human rights of LGBT+ people globally.

Economic Empowerment

Millions of LGBT+ people live in poverty due to the rejection and discrimination they face. New studies from the World Bank show how poverty reduction programmes could be a new entry point to equality. The SDGs emphasise the importance of not leaving anyone behind. However, only 1% of LGBT+ funding is dedicated to economic empowerment. We urge the government to increase and promote funding for LGBT+ economic empowerment initiatives.

Key Events

Our members would welcome a meeting with you in the near future, to discuss the issues raised in this letter.

Yours sincerely

Ross Othen-Reeves

Chair, The UK Alliance for Global Equality