40. Sexual Orientation Discrimination: A Necessary And Emerging Area Of United Nations Concern

Abstract

While sexual orientation discrimination is a relatively recent notion in human rights law, in the past two decades, the United Nations (UN) has begun step up its devotion to a discrimination that has not, and still does not, received the attention it deserves. This article chapter exemplifies the work to date of various UN bodies in this budding area of concern. Several special procedures of the former UN Commission on Human Rights, which are now assumed by the current Human Rights Council, have drawn attention to human rights violations perpetrated against sexual minorities. Both the Subcommission on the Protection of Human Rights and Secretary General have taken a participatory role in highlighting the problem of sexual orientation discrimination. The UNHCR has declared that persons facing attack, inhumane treatment, or serious discrimination because of their homosexuality, and whose governments are unable or unwilling to protect them, should be recognized as refugees. Keywords: human rights council; human rights law; sexual orientation discrimination; UNHCR; United Nations (UN) bodies