From Matuba Mahlatjie, Outright Action International

New York, 9 April 2024 – For the first time in its 78-year history, the United Nations Security Council received a full briefing in a regular session on security issues impacting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in a conflict setting. Marcela Sánchez, a lesbian human rights defender and executive director of Colombia Diversa, a human rights organization based in Bogotá that focuses on LGBTQ people’s human rights, briefed the United Nations Security Council on LGBTQ persons in the Colombian peace process. Sánchez called for an end to attacks against LGBTQ persons in Colombia and demanded the full, equal, and safe participation of women and LGBTQ people in the implementation of Colombia’s peace agreement.

“Every attack against an LGBTQ person, every human rights defender killed, and every murder left uninvestigated sends the message that our lives are dispensable. I hope that today, this Council can send a powerful signal to the LGBTQ population in Colombia that their lives matter and that you will stand by your commitment to protect their Rights,” said Sánchez in her statement.

The government of Malta, which held the rotational presidency of the Security Council for the month of April, invited Sànchez to the briefing. Sànchez’s visit was sponsored by the Women, Peace, and Security NGO working group and supported by Outright International.  Malta’s invitation follows two informal “Arria-formula” meetings the Security Council has held on issues related to sexual orientation and gender identity: in 2015, the Council was briefed on ISIL’s targeting of LGBTQ individuals in Iraq and Syria, and in 2023 the Council discussed integrating the human rights of LGBTI people into its work.

“For far too long, the Security Council ignored the fact that LGBTQ people exist in every conflict setting and are often targeted for who they are. If security and peacebuilding efforts leave out marginalized groups, there is no durable peace,” said Maria Sjödin, executive director of Outright International. “Today’s briefing is a concrete step towards mainstreaming the experiences of LGBTQ people across the Security Council’s mandate and deepening the Council’s understanding of gender persecution in conflict settings.”