blog page block - Blog Page Block
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity at the UN: The mandate that needs to stay
July 1, 2022| Contributed by Isa Calero Forero & Lauren Breuer - OutRight International Summer UN Interns
In early July, the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) will vote on renewing the mandate of the United Nations Independent Expert on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI). Members should vote in favor of renewal of this mandate, which plays a critical role in documenting human rights violations based on sexual orientation or gender identity and working with governments to advance the inclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people.
“It’s Important to Fight Every Single Day”: Kyiv Pride Comes to Warsaw
June 27, 2022| Contributed by J. Lester Feder and Senior Fellow - Emergency Research
With shouts of “Glory to Ukraine” and “F— Putin,” thousands of Poles marched through the streets of Warsaw on Saturday alongside a delegation of Ukrainian lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) activists.
The queer-led March for Peace, organized by the Warsaw Equality Parade and KyivPride, was a historic show of solidarity for Ukraine’s queer community amidst Russia’s assault on the country. The war has transformed LGBTQ organizations on both sides of Ukraine’s borders, including in Poland, as advocacy groups turned themselves overnight into humanitarian and shelter organizations to support queer people inside Ukraine or forced into exile.
Supporting LGBTIQ Ukrainians, Inside and Outside Ukraine
May 12, 2022| Contributed by Neela Ghoshal - OutRight's Senior Director of Law and Policy & Research
Within hours of Russia’s assault on Ukraine in February, OutRight Action International began mobilizing support for LGBTIQ groups across the country. We now are supporting more than two dozen queer groups within Ukraine that transformed themselves overnight. They opened shelters for the displaced, created programs to distribute food, medicine, and other aid, and offered psychological and legal help. Most of these groups were focused on advocacy and community building; they rapidly had to learn how to provide emergency humanitarian aid. And activists are doing all this work while dealing with all the hardship and trauma war has brought to their own lives.
STATEMENT ON THE MURDER OF SHEILA LUMUMBA
April 26, 2022| Contributed by Yvonne Wamari - OutRight Africa Program Officer
(Nairobi) OutRight Action International condemns the brutal murder of Sheila Lumumba that occurred in her home, in Karatina, Nyeri County, in Kenya, on 19 April 2022. It was reported that six men broke into Sheila’s apartment, tortured, raped, and killed Sheila. It is alleged that this was a homophobic attack on Shelia.
The Importance of Transgender Visibility
March 30, 2022| Contributed by Andrew Schlager (Dev and Comms Assistant) - Jordan Hubbard (Communications Intern)
Visibility is an indisputable and fundamental part of the modern-day human experience. To be visible can often mean being represented, validated, and appreciated. However, for the transgender community around the world, attaining and maintaining visibility is an ongoing battle that sometimes turns dangerous and/or violent. The incredible experience and journey of Rikki Nathanson, a legendary transgender activist and leader, perfectly captures this reality.
How NFTs & Crypto Philanthropy Are Helping OutRight Fight for LGBTIQ Human Rights Everywhere
March 28, 2022| Contributed by Katie Hultquist (Director of Leadership Giving) - Jordan Hubbard (Communications Intern)
OutRight is dedicated to searching for new and innovative ways to uplift and support the global LGBTQIA+ community. Although our global movement is severely under-resourced and faces increasing threats, there has been significant social and legal change over the last few decades and we believe there is a pivotal opportunity to radically accelerate equality everywhere. However, we need more allies to be successful in our efforts. This unwavering motivation and commitment has led us to the world of NFT and cryptocurrency philanthropy! NFTs and cryptocurrency have truly taken the world by storm. From expanding the ways in which one can be an activist to fostering and inspiring a new wave of art movements, NFTs in particular are emerging as a vital avenue for 21st century philanthropy, community building, and creative expression.
Sri Lanka’s Criminalization of Lesbian Sex is Discrimination, UN Body Finds
March 24, 2022| Contributed by Neela Ghoshal - OutRight's Senior Director of Law and Policy & Research

Repealing laws that prohibit consensual relationships between people of the same sex “is essential to prevent and protect against violence, discrimination and harmful gender stereotypes.” This clarion call to decriminalize same-sex relations is one of the striking pronouncements in a groundbreaking March 23 decision in which the United Nations Committee for the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) found the government of Sri Lanka in violation of its obligations under international law to prevent discrimination against women.
St. Lucia “breaks the bias” with new, LGBTIQ-inclusive domestic violence act
March 15, 2022| Contributed by Leah Thompson - OutRight'sCaribbean Advocacy Officer

On March 8, St. Lucia’s Parliament passed the landmark Domestic Violence Act, 2022, becoming one of the few countries in the Caribbean to provide legal protections to people in same-sex relationships who experience domestic violence—and the only country in the region to explicitly prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in the implementation of such laws. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ) people whose relationships may fall outside a cisgender, heterosexual norm are now able to access all the resources and remedies provided in the Act, including protection orders from the court.
OutRight Advocates Protections for Rights of Older Persons
March 4, 2022| Contributed by Grace Poore - Regional Program Coordinator for Asia

The Age With Rights campaign organized by the Global Alliance for the Rights of Older People (GAROP) was inaugurated on March 3rd 2022 with online country level activities in different global regions and a global rally summit to rally support for a new United Nations Convention on Rights of Older Persons.
OutRight Welcomes Religion Fellows 2022
February 16, 2022| Contributed by OutRight UN Program

OutRight is excited to announce that we have recruited eight activists to engage in our year-long, immersive United Nations Religion Fellowship Program. The Fellowship is aimed to train LGBTIQ people that do work to combat religiously motivated violence and discrimination.
#StartSmall Invests $2 Million in OutRight’s Work To Accelerate Change For LGBTIQ People Around the World
February 15, 2022| Contributed by Katie Hultquist - OutRight's Director of Leadership Giving
OutRight is thrilled to announce that #StartSmall, Jack Dorsey’s philanthropic initiative, is contributing $2 million to support our work to protect and advance human rights for LGBTIQ people everywhere. This generous donation will further OutRight’s vision of protecting and lifting up at-risk LGBTIQ people around the world, including advancing laws and policies for queer and transgender equality, supporting activists and organizations especially in countries that others often overlook, pioneering research documenting the experiences of our global community, and ensuring the inclusion of LGBTIQ people in the recovery from the pandemic and future humanitarian crises.
We'll Keep Fighting in 2022
December 31, 2021| Contributed by Maria Sjödin - Acting Executive Director and OutRight Action International
This year began full of hope, leaving the unprecedented experiences of 2020 behind, and looking forward to rebuilding and recovering. And for so many of us those hopes were, at least somewhat, realized. Vaccines are widely available in many places, travel has resumed, albeit with restrictions, we can meet friends and loved ones. But at the same time, this is far from the reality for many more, including for countless LGBTIQ people around the world who have faced another challenging year.
How Access to Elections Affects LGBTIQ People
December 21, 2021| Contributed by Luiza Veado - OutRight UN Program Officer
In December 2021 LGBTIQ activists celebrated the adoption of the resolution “Strengthening the role of the United Nations in the promotion of democratization and enhancing periodic and genuine elections” during the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly. The resolution includes an explicit reference to sexual orientation and gender identity. Why was this a milestone, and how does access – or lack of access – to elections affect LGBTIQ people?
A Decolonial Journey to Dignity: Reflections on Botswana’s Decriminalization
December 13, 2021| Contributed by Katlego K Kolanyane-Kesupile
For many people the notion of waking up a faultless criminal will forever remain a wild idea and not a lived experience. I, on the other hand, have spent the majority of my maturing years figuring out ways to live a full life while protecting the peace of those who love me – most of all, my mother – who had every right to fear for me. Being a member of the LGBTQ+ community in Botswana had long felt like being on death row, never certain when you’d be charged with marching to the gallows. This all changed on 29 November 2021 when the Government of Botswana lost its appeal to recriminalize consensual same-sex sexual activity as the full bench of judges of the Court of Appeal finally, and most importantly unanimously, upheld the dignity of my community, stripping us of colonial legislative oppression.