Delivered by: Mr Oscar Ekéus, Senior Advisor
Mr President,
Sweden aligns itself with the European Union and the Nordic Baltic statement as previously delivered.
All human beings are born free and equal and entitled to the same human rights without discrimination.
Yet reality is different.
Loving the person of your choosing or living openly as who you are, sometimes comes with great and unacceptable risks.
We see regressive attitudes towards LGBTIQ-persons mounting, and all over the world LGBTIQ-persons are being subjected to violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, as well as sex characteristics This is true not least for transgender and other gender diverse persons. Rather than being protected by the law, consensual same-gender relationships remain criminalized in almost 70 states. In some states even punishable with death penalty.
This is unacceptable. States and Governments everywhere have the same responsibility to respect, protect and fulfil all human rights, without discrimination.
In this context, the importance of the renewal of the groundbreaking mandate of the UN Independent Expert on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity this summer cannot be understated.
I thank you.
