Human Rights Conference Pride Week: Trans, intersex and gender variant communities – UNRC TPs

Dobro jutro, bonjour,

Minister Zigmanov, Commissioner Jankovic, excellencies, dear colleagues and friends. Thank you for inviting me to open this annual Pride Week conference on Human Rights. I also thank everyone present today, and all those participating to the different events this week, for your tenacity and intention to support Serbia on this important journey towards less discrimination and more social inclusion, particularly towards the LGBTI community. The attendance for this opening segment shows that the LGBTI community, the issues and rights that they are fighting for, are supported by many individuals, within multiple institutions and organisations, by multiple countries, no matter the political and social environment.

There is still a way to go – particularly for the trans and intersex people who are often invisible, when it comes to equal access to rights – while being some of the more discriminated against. They are in focus today in this conference. One of the UN core duties in countries such as Serbia is to uphold the principle of Leaving No One Behind, and as such we will continue to advocate for a greater attention and action to the systemic gaps and discrimination against this particular community, including through pathologisation – which remains one of the root causes of human rights violations faced by trans people.  

2. Briefly from a global perspective: Rules and laws related to different sexual orientations have existed for more than 2500 years, including in the military sphere, but the wide scope of laws affecting the LGBT community has been developed mostly in the past 10 to 15 years. The Universal Periodic Review for Serbia, now in its 5th cycle provides important recommendations, urging the adoption of comprehensive legislation on legal gender identity recognition, as well as the affirmation of healthcare for trans and intersex people – without stigma, discrimination and abusive requirement. In 2019, the World Health Assembly adopted the 11th revision of the ICD, which removed trans-related categories from the chapter of mental and behavioral disorders. Globally and locally, the United Nations has actively promoted equality through campaigns like Free and Equal - which challenges stereotypes and stigma and raises awareness of human rights violations faced by LGBTI persons.

3. In Serbia we have witnessed positive developments in recent years towards the LGBTIQ community, with the revisions of the Antidiscrimination Law and the adoption of the Antidiscrimination Strategy. The law for same sex union is pending. 4 areas where we needed to focus our efforts in the future, 2023 and onwards:

I) Laws and policies, ii) services provided to the community to ensure access to rights, iii) behaviours and attitude iv) support to individuals of the LGBTI community who might feel under intense physical or emotional stress.

Specifically for the trans community - Serbia hosts good medical institutions that receive trans individuals from around the world for surgical interventions. Such medical services are not free for nationals, so costs is a critical issue for trans people – as well as the access to social and medical support around serbia. We still need to ensure the legal recognition of gender identity in official documents, as well as access to health services, including affirming procedures for trans and intersex people, must be provided. Equally important is that trans people and organizations are consulted and involved in all processes that have an impact on their rights.

Fighting prejudices and promoting diversity remains a challenge – including within the wider LGBTI community. Besides implementing protection mechanisms and judicial ways, there is a lot more outreach to the general public to share positive narratives, not to propagate negative and harmful stereotypes about trans people, and shift the discussion away from sexual orientation to equality of rights. In these times of multiple crises, war and suffering in Europe’s neighbourhood, and enormous challenges to tackle such as climate change, pollution, inequalities and public health, the last thing Serbia needs is fighting yet another fire, especially around human rights topics. Today, I call for all responsible parties to find reasonable ways to bring people together, rather than tear them apart. I call for citizens and their representatives to nurture diversity, dignity and non-discrimination for all, solidarity, dialog and the building of consensus.

I conclude with the mention that this event coincides with the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights. As we commemorate this significant milestone, let us reaffirm our commitment to stand up for the human rights of everyone, without discrimination, including on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. 

Thank you.