Mar 23, 2012 | News
The ICJ is pleased with the decision of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights that parental sexual orientation is not a factor in child custody cases.
On 20 March the Inter-American Court of Human Rights ruled that parental sexual orientation is not a factor in child custody cases and that Chile had violated Karen Atala’s rights to equality, non-discrimination and privacy when the Supreme Court of Chile removed custody of her three daughters from her because she had begun a relationship with another woman.
In its first sexual orientation case, the Court held that sexual orientation is a protected ground, included under “other social condition” in Article 1 of the American Convention on Human Rights.
The Court further stated that the best interests of the child test could not be used as a pretext for prohibited discrimination in custody cases.
The Court also found that the Supreme Court of Chile’s reliance on stereotypes and prejudices was a violation of the State’s obligation to protect rights. Finally, the Court stated that the American Convention did not protect a specific form of traditional family and that states must recognize diverse family structures.
The International Commission of Jurists was called by the Inter-American Commission as an expert and submitted written and oral testimony on the role of parental sexual orientation as a factor in child custody cases.
Decision:
(http://www.corteidh.or.cr/docs/casos/articulos/seriec_239_esp.pdf)
Expert Submission:
(https://www.icj.org/dwn/database/Jernow%20Written%20Submission.pdf)
Mar 8, 2012 | News
The ICJ today condemned the misrepresentation of international human rights law by some member States of the UN Human Rights Council.
Feb 14, 2012
The ICJ wrote a letter to Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders about a physical attack on Caleb Orozco in Belize City as he was returning from an international LGBT human rights conference.
Belize-attention situation defenders-open letter-2012 (full text in English, PDF)
Feb 9, 2012
The ICJ and Interights submitted a third-party intervention in this case.
In the case of Vejdeland and Others v Sweden, the European Court of Human Rights unanimously held that the conviction of the four applicants for “agitation against a national or ethnic group” was not contrary to Article 10 of the European Convention. The applicants had distributed leaflets at a school about the negative influence of “homosexual propaganda” in education and stating that “homosexuality has a morally destructive effect on the substance of society.” The ICJ and Interights argued that sexual orientation should be treated in the same way as categories such as race, ethnicity and religion, which are commonly covered by hate speech and hate crime laws, because sexual orientation is fundamental to a person’s sense of self and is used as a marker of group identity. The Court agreed, stressing that “discrimination based on sexual orientation is as serious as discrimination based on race, origin or colour.” The interference pursued a legitimate aim, that of protecting the reputation and rights of others, and was necessary in a democratic society. There was therefore no violation.
Case Vejdeland Sweden-Judgment-2012 (full text in English, PDF)
Case Vejdeland Sweden-legal submission-2012 (full text in English, PDF)
Dec 20, 2011
The ICJ welcomes the release of the first ever United Nations report on human rights, sexual orientation and gender identity.
The mandate for the report came from a UN Human Rights Council resolution introduced by South Africa last June. The report documents widespread discrimination and violence faced by LGBT people worldwide, and calls on States to apply the international legal framework to end these human rights violations. The findings of the report are due to be presented and discussed by governments at an expert-led panel at the Human Rights Council in March 2012.
laws acts individuals-UN report-2011 (download the UN report in English, PDF)
