Intervention OSCE-HDIM

[10/6/2008]

Boris Dittrich, advocacy director in the LGBT program, Human Rights Watch.

 

I am representing Human Rights Watch, an international human rights organization. We report about human rights violations in many countries in the world. This afternoon, between 6-8 PM, Human Rights Watch will present its new report. It is about hate crimes against Lesbians, Bisexual women and transgender men in Kyrgyzstan.

The Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, ODIHR, publishes its report on hate crimes in the OSCE region today. The important report contains a section about violent hate-motivated incidents including homophobic incidents and violations against transgender people. People get killed or injured because they have -or are perceived of having- a different sexual orientation than the majority in their country.

From ODIHR’s report, but also from the report by the Fundamental Rights Agency, published earlier this year, and that of Human Rights First, it is clear that homophobic hate crimes and hate crimes against transgender persons take place in the whole OSCE region. Earlier this year Human Rights Watch presented its report on hate crimes against these communities in Turkey.

What is NOT clear is the consensus among OSCE participating states about inclusion of sexual orientation and gender identity in the mandate of the OSCE. Especially the Holy See as we have heard in the intervention before mine, and the United States in the past have argued that sexual orientation and gender identity are not part of the mandate of the OSCE.

Human Rights Watch recognizes that all forms of intolerance and discrimination are subject to OSCE commitments. The mandate of the OSCE includes discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity.

It is time for clarity. Human Rights watch calls upon the OSCE to mention specifically in all its documents that homophobia and transphobia are part of the OSCE’s mandate and that these forms of intolerance and discrimination will be taken seriously by the OSCE and all its bodies.

Thank you.

Boris Dittrich, advocacy director LGBT-program Human Rights Watch.
Warsaw, October 6, 2008

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