Jul 23, 2009
Esta guía explica como el derecho internacional puede y debe ser usado para proveer a las víctimas de violaciones de derechos humanos en el campo de la orientación sexual o la identidad de género, de la protección que merecen.
La guía explica como aplicar los Principios de Yogyakarta, recientemente adoptados, y contiene pasajes seleccionados de decisiones de cortes y tribunales regionales.
En cualquier parte del mundo, con independencia del entorno político, cultural o religioso, se cometen violaciones de derechos humanos en razón de la orientación sexual o la identidad de género real o percibida de las personas, incluídas violaciones graves como la detención, la tortura y las ejecuciones extrajudiciales.
Muchos países tienen legislación y prácticas nacionales discriminatorias, al igual que leyes que penalizan expresiones de la orientación sexual y la identidad de género.
Todos los seres humanos son personas ante la ley con independencia de su orientación sexual o identidad de género, y gozan de los derechos y libertades que se derivan de la dignidad inherente a la persona humana, así como de la igualdad ante la ley sin discriminación.
Los jueces y abogados, desempeñan un papel esencial como protectores y garantes de los derechos y libertades de todas las personas, con independencia de su orientación sexual o de su identidad de género.
El derecho internacional provee a la judicatura y al gremio legal de una poderosa herramienta para la protección de los derechos negados en base a la orientación sexual y la identidad de género.
sexual orientation international law-Practitioners Guide-2009-spa (texto completo en español, PDF)
Jul 22, 2009 | News
The ICJ releases the electronic version of Practitioners’ Guide No. 4: Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and International Human Rights Law.
Around the world, people of diverse sexual orientations and gender identities are singled out for abuse. In states with laws that criminalize same-sex sexual conduct, LGBT people are arrested, detained, tortured, and, in some cases, executed.
Even in states with no official penal sanctions, LGBT people are the target of violent hate crimes, harassment, and ostracism. They live in fear of losing their jobs, their housing, and their families, all because of how they live and whom they love.
For the past five years, ICJ has worked on promoting the applicability of human rights law to violations based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Together with the International Service for Human Rights, ICJ facilitated the development of the Yogyakarta Principles.
This document, drafted by a distinguished group of human rights experts, articulates the human rights principles that apply to sexual orientation and gender identity, and identifies the legal sources of States’ obligations to protect, promote and fulfil rights.
Drawing on the Yogyakarta Principles, the ICJ wrote the Practitioners’ Guide to provide judges, lawyers, and activists a detailed understanding of the legal foundations for the protection of people victimized on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
The Practitioners’ Guide offers a comprehensive review of the principles of non-discrimination, equality, and privacy. It then analyzes the scope and nature of the legal prohibition against some of the most severe violations – torture, deprivation of liberty, extrajudicial and arbitrary executions, and denial of the rights to freedom of expression, association, and assembly.
Through the Practitioners’ Guide, the ICJ hopes to increase awareness of human rights principles that protect people of all sexual orientations and gender identities, as well as to encourage legal advocacy.
For the text of this Practitioners guide, see Sexual orientation, gender identity and international human rights law – Practitioners’ guide, no. 4
Jul 22, 2009
People of diverse sexual orientations and gender identities are often singled out for abuse. When laws criminalize same-sex sexual conduct, LGBT people are arrested, detained, tortured, and, in some cases, executed.
May 23, 2008
Major Witt was suspended from duty as an Air Force reservist nurse on account of her sexual relationship with a civilian woman.
She alleged that the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy of the US military, violated substantive due process , the Equal Protection Clause and procedural due process. A district court dismissed her suit under a US Federal Rule of Civil Procedure. In this judgment, the US Court of Appeal for the 9th Circuit substantially reversed this decision and remanded the case to be tried with stipulations on the standards that should be pursued in such a trial. This is the judgment of the case and the ICJ amicus brief
US-Brief of Amicus Curiae International Commission of Jurists on the case of Major Witt-Analysis briefs-2008 (full text, PDF)
US-Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit-Report-2008 (full text, PDF)
Jan 11, 2008
The ICJ emphasizes that nations undergoing constitutional reform processes have a unique opportunity to develop protections against sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination.
These protections are solidly grounded in international human rights law. The universality and indivisibility of this body of law is reflected in the newly-developed Yogyakarta Principles.
Nepal-Three Presentations on Nepal’s new Constitution and Fundamental Rights of Minorities-Publications-2008 (full text, PDF)
